Aston abandons Lagonda SUV
Aston design boss says Lagonda SUV plan was of 'a different time' and a fancy four-door is the future
And what of Lagonda and the SUV?
“We first showed the Lagonda SUV concept back in 2009,” explains Marek. “We still have plans for the brand. There might be some surprises in the marque’s re-establishment into the market place, but as a very unique coachbuilt experience. And that’s probably what’s most befitting of the brand.”
Will Lagonda become a high-end badge, perhaps like Special Operations to Jaguar Land Rover or a limited edition model in its own right?
“It’s more. It’s the reinvention of the marque, the brand, but done in a very, very limited way. It’s not something we believe that is a mass product.”
When Aston Martin talks of ‘limited’ and ‘special’ and ‘not a mass product’, then you know we’re talking about a very special car indeed. It means, in all likelihood, fewer than 100 units, very exclusive and with a price tag to match. Our money is now firmly on the rumoured Lagonda four-door, pitched squarely at the emerging markets in China and the rest of Asia. And what of Dr Bez’s SUV?
“That was a different time,” interjects Marek smoothly. “It was Ulrich’s time. And now we’re in a very, very different time, with a different plan and with a different projection of what that brand should become.”
myhandle - great idea, might as well sell AML to Merc and move production to Germany. The employees would be really happy.
Just hope they drop plans to become a coachbuilder too.
If Lamborghini build their SUV - which I believe they plan to do - then Aston will remain one of the few sports car brands which make solely sports cars (and a sports saloon with the Lagonda reintroduction). Many others have prostituted their brands for volume, except Aston (which perhaps would have liked to do in the past).
So therefore it now operates in its own niche - one can only assume that the strategy is to keep volumes low and maximise profit margin on each unit.
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