Classic Driver Car Market
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| 22/01/2001 Aston Martin Lagonda  The car Text: Sylvain Reisser Photo: Dominique Fontenat advertisement Launched at the London Motor Show in October 1976, the Aston Martin Lagonda broke with the traditions of the famous English company. Something of a Loch Ness Monster, the Lagonda was styled by William Towns, and looked like something right out of a science-fiction movie. Long and flat (130 cm high), it caused a sensation with its striking appearance. Halfway between a dream car and a flagship for billionaires, the Lagonda had a difficult birth. Designed to shock, it remained unknown for a long time because of difficulties in fine-tuning its electronics. The first delivery occurred in April 1978, but the Lagonda did not take off commercially until the 1980’s. In 1985 almost 100 Lagondas, about half the annual production, were produced by the Newport Pagnell factory, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd’s stronghold, and delivery time went from three and a half years to less than one year. Most of all, the Lagonda was a paradoxical car. Very innovative in some aspects, for example its almost lavish style and digital instrumentation, the Lagonda was at the same time the guarantor of the craftsman’s tradition. Displaying a certain opulence, at a price of £70,000 in 1985, it was intended for the wealthy. With quite sporty road-handling abilities, the Lagonda looked like nothing else, especially its interior. It included many innovations, in particular its avant-garde instrumentation, with three five-inch television screens displaying increases in engine revolution speed. Most daring for its time, the Lagonda inaugurated a speech synthesizer in the driver’s choice of English, German, French or Arabic. Retired from the manufacturer’s catalogue in 1989, the Lagonda remains a unique phenomenon in the history of Aston Martin and modern auto making. Its arresting image remains associated with the world of luxury cars by big oil tycoons. |
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