Retrospective: The Aston Martin Lagonda Saloon

At the Geneva Auto Salon, Aston Martin decided to dust off their Lagonda nameplate with This Concept. Because the concept really is just another luxury crossover, arguably one with a historic name, I thought it was time to re-introduce you to the last vehicle that wore this prestigious badge. Introducing The Aston Martin Lagonda Saloon.

Aston Martin was about to go under in the mid-1970s and desperate times called for desperate measures. Traditionally, Aston Martin produced 2+2 Grand Touring cars. However, the Lagonda was to be a four-door saloon with a brand new V8 engine. As soon as it was introduced, it drew in hundreds of deposits from potential customers, helping Aston Martin to stave off receivership.

The car was designed by William Towns in what can be termed an extreme interpretation of the classic 1970s "folded paper" style. It was not unlike the then current Cadillac Seville, only more dramatic. It was as unconventional a design then as it is now, and there is still debate as to it's merits. Throughout it's history these hand-built carriages were amongst the most expensive saloons in the world. The only other "production" cars to approach its lofty price tag were the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Silver Spur, Bentley Mulsanne, and Maserati Quattroporte.

The Lagonda was the first production car in the world to use computer management and a digital instrument panel, and are all quite failure-prone. The development cost for the electronics was 4 times larger than the budget for the whole car. The second series used cathode ray tubes for the instrumentation, which proved even less reliable than the original model's LED display.

The Lagonda's striking design and opulent leather interior, together with its then-state-of-the-art instrumentation, went well with it's old world engine; Lagondas were powered by the famous Tadek Marek designed 5.4 litre 4-cam V8 engine. Although the engines were cast off site they were machined in house in the Engine Shop and each one was hand built by a single engine builder, who spent more than a week preparing each engine. The specific engine builder's name is recorded on a small plaque fixed on top of the engine. Engine horsepower ranged from 280 (early versions), ending up with over 300 by the time production ended. The transmissions used were the famous Chrysler "TouqueFlite" three speed automatic.

Only 645 examples were produced, between 1976 and 1989, at the Aston Martin Plant located in the town of Newport Pagnell, England. The average selling price of these cars was £150,000. There was one two door coupe produced by the factory, and a "Shooting Brake" conversion was completed in Switzerland. This is indeed a truly unique car that helped Aston Martin recover from the brink of decay, and should be used as a model for future Lagondas to emulate. Aston Martin should take the Lagonda Concept, and deep six it for a new, powerful, luxurious, and striking saloon to compete with Rolls Royce, Bentley, Mercedes Benz, and Maserati.