This Forgotten Lagonda Concept Is Heading To Auction

Intended to relaunch the Lagonda brand, this 2009 concept never made it to production - but you could own it.

07 Nov 2023

It’s easy to forget that before the turn of the last decade, and the long-awaited arrival of the DBX, Aston Martin was in something of a lull. Rewind to 2009, and it could sell you the ageing DB9, the uprated DBS or the slightly smaller, but not all that much cheaper Vantage.

It lacked variety, and the firm knew it needed a bigger, more luxurious car to broaden its appeal. It just so happened that 2009 was also the year the Lagonda brand, under Aston’s ownership since 1947, turned 100.

The Lagonda Concept LUV was built to mark 100 years of the brand

At the Geneva Motor Show of that year, this was unveiled - the Lagonda Concept LUV. It had been intended to re-launch Lagonda as a more luxurious shoot-off of Aston, but never progressed past the concept stage. Lagonda itself never quite relaunched to the scale Aston had intended - there was the Taraf saloon, of which only 200 were made - but the Concept LUV paved the way for the Rapide and eventual DBX.

Now, it’s up for auction. Based on a Mercedes GL of the era, the concept does have a 5.9-litre, naturally-aspirated Aston V12 under its bonnet. As you’d expect from a show car intended to signal a relaunch of a luxury brand, it’s pretty well-equipped too - with air suspension, carbon ceramic brakes and 22-inch alloy wheels.

Despite its concept status, the LUV looked near-production read

Though it was functional at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the car apparently now has some electronic gremlins making it undriveable and needs some work to get it running again. There’s also the caveat that it’s not road-legal, albeit the listing states it could in theory be modified to be used on roads.

At the time of writing, bidding sits at £17,000 with five days to go. Seems like a current bargain for a V12 Aston Martin SUV, though, you do need to consider the costs of getting a one-of-one concept car from 2009 working again if you’ve got any intention of using it.