A full-size luxury four-door sedan, the Aston Martin Lagonda was produced by Aston Martin from 1974 until 1990. The company made 645 of them.
Aston Martin Lagonda Introduction
In 1947, Aston Martin bought the Lagonda marque and renamed it the Aston Martin Lagonda. Series 2 was released in 1976 as a completely new design based on a longer Aston Martin V8 in 1974, whereas the original was only in production for a few years.
History of Aston Martin Lagonda
William Towns designed the Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2. The company unveiled it in October 1976 as a future concept automobile for customers and a rescue for Aston Martin, facing rising reputational and financial pressure. Aston Martin needed a new car that was exciting and profitable after changing hands twice in only four years. The Lagonda drew a lot of attention when initially exhibited at the London Motor Show, thanks to the world's first electronic instrument panel on a production vehicle. The sleek four-door sedan with the revolutionary LED dashboards was a success, despite the Lagonda's angular wedge-shaped body—a dramatic divergence from Aston Martin's typical curves. It took two years to get Lagonda's much-anticipated electronics to operate correctly, which resulted in the development phase of ditching the intended large screen. The Lagonda's electronics were unreliable after the dashboard was modified to be manufactured and shipped to its first customer in 1979. Although the computers in many of the earliest automobiles are prone to malfunction, the Lagonda was the first production car in the world to employ computer control and a digital instrument panel. The expense of developing the electronics alone for the Lagonda was four times the budget for the entire vehicle. The equipment on the Series 3 were cathode ray tubes, which were even less dependable than the light-emitting diode (LED) display on the previous model.
Series 1 (1974 - 1976)
Sir David Brown sold Aston Martin in 1972 to Company Developments, a property development company located in the Midlands. It would be another five years after David Brown's remarkable 1969 four-door prototype, MP230, well before Lagonda was available to the general public. Fundamentally comparable to the two-door V8, but with a longer wheelbase of 2915 mm and a length of 4928mm altogether. Sadly, there was a small market for a 160 mph super-saloon because of the Middle East oil disaster and other economic situations. Aston Martin manufactured just seven of these automobiles since they were so tiny.
Series 2 (1976 - 1978)
The wedge-shaped Lagonda V8 saloon debuted at the London Motor Show in 1976, and it was a complete departure from the 1974 model, sharing just the engine. The Lagonda did not begin production until 1979. The company used digital LCD dashboards and touch button controls in Series 2 automobiles. However, Aston Martin removed these features in 1980. In 1980, the company priced the Lagonda at £49,933. The automobile was first sold in the United States in 1982, with just modest regulatory changes to the air dam and front bumper.
Series 3 (1985 - 1987)
In January 1985, the Lagonda got the Weber/Marelli Fuel Injected engine with the electrically operated sequential system and the V8 coupe and Volante. The company only made the Series 3 for a year, with just 75 units produced. The company decided to change the engine's suffix to V/585, and it is both healthier and more fuel-efficient than the vehicle with carburetors.
Series 4 (1987 - 1990)
Aston Martin introduced the Series 4 at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1987, and the car's original designer, William Towns, gave it a big exterior update. Aston Martin produced a total of 105 Series 4 Lagondas at a rate of roughly one per week. They built the final automobile in January 1990. Towns softened down the car's edges, and they removed the pop-up headlights, with the most noticeable change being a new structure of three headlights on either side of the grille. Towns also removed the character line and included the 16-inch wheels. As of 2011, 81 copies were still registered in the United Kingdom, down from 94 in 1994.
Aston Martin Lagonda 2022
The Lagonda Vision electric car debuted in 2018 as a teaser of Aston Martin's new Lagonda brand. Aston Martin revealed the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept a year after, a stylish electric SUV with a bigger, more luxurious cabin and automated technology than the DBX. The company will produce the new Lagonda SUV in St Athan, Wales, starting same year. The All-Terrain Concept was supposed to be the first Lagonda car to go on sale in 2022 when manufacturing would have begun. However, the Lagonda SUV development has since been canceled by the manufacturer. To that end, the company focuses its efforts on electric vehicles offered under the Aston Martin name. However, the Lagonda brand will remain. Aston Martin planned this model to be applied to more luxurious versions of old Aston Martin cars after Mercedes-AMG purchased a 20% share in the company.
Price
- Aston Martin MP230 V8 Lagonda - £14,000 (1974) is equal to £155,467 today ($208,407)
- 1980 Aston Martin Lagonda - £49,933 is equal to £228,149 today ($305,943)
- 1986 Aston Martin Lagonda - £60,093 is equal to £187,625 today ($251,590)
- 2022 Aston Martin Lagonda - The price is not final yet, but there's a rumor that the price could be around £300,000 ($402,414)
Features
The car's distinctive features were a long, flat bonnet on a thin front end and a couple of pop-up headlights. Aston Martin added two more lights to the front bumper and turn signals. The automobile was also quite wide, purely to make it quicker around turns. Inside the 1974 Lagonda, an unusually situated sunroof was on the roof. It was remarkable since they installed it above the back seats instead of the front seats, as in most systems. There were four leather seats on the inside.
From the controllers for the front power seats to a full LED dashboard, the entire inside looked futuristic. The back seats were tight, and getting in and out of them was hard. On the other hand, the back passengers had their temperature control unit. The 1986 Lagonda had an odd design from the start, with a broad, flat, and pointed front end. At the time, it was thought to be unattractive. On the other hand, they designed the makeover to change the razor-like external shape and give it a more roundish appearance. The interior of the Lagonda was similarly luxurious and well-crafted. It was the first automobile to include an electronic instrument panel that indicated information such as speed, gear, and engine temperature, among other things. The screen was also responsive, displaying various alerts such as an open trunk lid or a high beam notice.
Specs
The power of the 1974 Aston Martin Lagonda comes from a 5.3L naturally-aspirated engine. This engine has a double overhead camshaft valve gear, a 90 degree V8 cylinder configuration, and two valves per cylinder. It produces 539 Nm (398 lb-ft/55 kg) of torque at 4500 rpm. A three-speed automatic transmission delivers this power to the wheels. The curb weight is claimed to be 1996 kg. The reported top speed is 140 mph (225 km/h).
Release Date
Aston Martin unveiled the V8 Lagonda in 1974 at London Motor Show. Unfortunately, only seven were sold, and the very first customer to buy the model was in 1979.