Aston Martin Lagonda

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This article is about a particular model of motor vehicle. For the motor vehicle manufacturer, see Aston Martin Lagonda, Ltd.
Aston Martin Lagonda
1989 Aston Martin Lagonda
Manufacturer Aston Martin
Production 1976–1989
Predecessor Lagonda Rapide
Successor Aston Martin Rapide
Class GT car
Body style(s) 4-door saloon
Layout FR layout
Engine(s) 5.3 L V8

The Aston Martin Lagonda was a luxury four-door sedan (saloon) built by Aston Martin of Newport Pagnell, England, between 1976 and 1989. 645 examples of this model were produced and the average selling price was £150,000.

Aston Martin was about to go out of business in the mid-1970s and needed something to bring in some much-needed funds. Traditionally, Aston Martin had worked on 2+2 sports cars, but the Lagonda — the model being named after a grand sporting marque — was 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's cash reserves.

The car was designed by William Towns in an extreme interpretation of the classic 1970s "folded paper" style. It was as unconventional a design then as it is now. Car enthusiasts are fiercely divided on the car's aesthetic value.

Throughout the history of the marque, these hand-built Lagondas 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.[citation needed]

A number of "series" were produced during the lifetime of the model, including a facelift in the 1980s which attempted to round off the car's razor-like lines and removed the troublesome pop-up headlights, which had proved unreliable.

The Lagonda was the first production car in the world to use computer management and a digital instrument panel, although the computers in many of the original cars are failure-prone. The development cost for the electronics alone on the Lagonda came to 4 times as much as 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, club-like leather interior, together with its then-state-of-the-art instrumentation, contrasted starkly with its decidedly "old world" 4-cam V-8 carbureted engine and Chrysler 3-speed "TorqueFlite" automatic transmission; the latter two combining to provide a poor, often single-digit miles-per-gallon rating.

Special variations of the series included:

[edit] Specifications

  • Engine: 5.3 L (5340 cc/325 in³) DOHC V8
  • Length: 17.4 ft (5.3 m)
  • Width: 5 ft, 11,5 in (1.8 m)
  • Weight: 4622 lb (2097 kg)
  • Top speed: 230 km/h (143 mph)

[edit] References

  • Sujatha Menon, ed. (2004). Super Cars, Classics of Their Time. Quintet Publishing. ISBN 0-7607-6228-7. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Aston Martin and Lagonda road car timeline, 1948–present
Type 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Grand tourer DB1 DB2 DB2/4 DB Mk III DBS/Vantage DB7 I6 DB7 Vantage V8 Vantage
DB4 DB5 DB6 V8 Virage/V8 DB9
V8 Vantage V8 Vantage V12 Vanquish DBS V12
Supercar Zagato Zagato Zagato AR1
4-door 2.6-Litre 3-Litre Rapide Lagonda Rapide
Owner David Brown Limited William Willson Sprague & Minden Pace Petroleum & Gauntlett Gauntlett & Livanos Gauntlett, Livanos & Ford Ford Richards, Sinders, Dar, Adeem, & Ford