1981 ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA

The Aston Martin Lagonda was a luxury four-door saloon built by Aston Martin of Newport Pagnell, between 1976 and 1989. A total of 645 examples were produced at an average selling price of £150,000, and the name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchased in 1947. Aston Martin was facing severe financial pressure in the mid-1970s following the petrol crisis and the Lagonda was aimed predominantly at the US and Middle Eastern markets.

The Lagonda was the first production car in the world to use computer management, a digital instrument panel and second-series cathode ray tubes for the instrumentation. It combined striking styling with an opulent 'members club' leather interior, and with its state-of-the-art instrument panel was a veritable spaceship. Aston's well-proven 5.3-litre V8 employed a quartet of twin-choke Weber 42DCNF carburettors and produced a maximum of 280bhp at 5,000rpm with 320lb/ft of torque available lower down the range, all fed through a Chrysler three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission. More than 17-feet long, six-feet wide and weighing two tons, the Lagonda was an imposing sight from any angle, yet despite its bulk proved capable of reaching 60mph in 7.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 145mph.

The history file shows that the Lagonda was serviced by both the Newport Pagnell works and I.H.Mason Aston Martin Services of Bayswater during his ownership. In October 1988, Aston Martin Lagonda (Newport Pagnell) stripped it back to bare metal and repainted it Kent Green. They also stripped out the dash facia and centre console assembly to remanufacture a centre console that housed a cocktail cabinet in the rear incorporating a television and radio units. They also modified the dashboard facia to incorporate a glove box assembly. The Lagonda was enjoyed by a further two owners before joining the Anthony Hamilton Collection in January 2022 at which point it was fully restored over a three year period. The all-alloy 90-degree V8 was stripped, 'blueprinted' and totally rebuilt in 2023 to Aston works specifications and dyno tested at Mass producing 305bhp. Other work included the TorqueFlite 727 gearbox fully rebuilt including converter, rear Powr-Lok diff rebuilt, new prop-shaft, new Koni suspension front and rear, (first car to get new Koni rear conversion), reconditioned power steering, air conditioning system converted to modern compressor and gas, carburettors fully rebuilt, new lines plus pump, all radiators replaced, and fresh fluids throughout. There are multiple invoices in the history file further detailing this work. Importantly, the digital dashboard is fully functional.