Aston Martin Lagonda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a particular model of motor vehicle. For the motor vehicle manufacturer, see Aston Martin Lagonda, Ltd.
 1989 Aston Martin Lagonda |
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| Manufacturer | Aston Martin |
|---|---|
| Production | 1976–1991 |
| 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. A total of 645 examples of this model were produced and the average selling price was £150,000. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchased in 1947.
Contents |
[edit] History
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 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" was 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 traditional 4-cam V8 carbureted engine and Chrysler 3-speed "TorqueFlite" automatic transmission; combining to provide a poor, often single-digit miles-per-gallon rating.
[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 (1.82 m)
- Weight: 4,622 lb (2,097 kg)
- Top speed: 230 km/h (143 mph)
Special variations of the series included:
- Rapide (a two-door, short wheelbase version)
- Tickford limousine
- Estate[citation needed]
[edit] References
- Sujatha Menon, ed. (2004). Super Cars, Classics of Their Time. Quintet Publishing. ISBN 0-7607-6228-7.
[edit] External links
- Lagonda Net — Roger Ivett's site dedicated to the Aston Martin Lagonda.
- Lagonda Rapier Enthusiasts web Site
- Official Used Aston Martin Locator
| Aston Martin and Lagonda road car timeline, 1948–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | V8 Vantage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DB4 | DB5 | DB6 | V8 | Virage/V8 | DB7 Vantage | DB9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| V8 Vantage | V8 Vantage | V12 Vanquish | DBS V12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Limited Run | Zagato | Zagato | Zagato | AR1 | One-77 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
