Aston Martin Lagonda

Aston Martin Lagonda

Aston Martin’s first attempt to revive the Lagonda marque came in 1961 with the DB4-based 6-cyl Lagonda Rapide saloon, but only 64 were built over the ensuing three years. The second revival attempt was the Series 1 Lagonda V8 saloon – essentially a lengthened, 4-door version of the 2-door AM V8 coupe with a Lagonda grille, but demand for the £14,000, 160mph car was poor and a mere seven were built between 1974 and 1976.

Despite this less-than-stellar success with 4-seaters, visitors to the 1976 Earls Court show were stunned by the Series 2 Lagonda V8. Featuring very edgy and futuristic wedge-shaped styling, along with pop-up headlamps, advanced LED instrumentation and touch-sensitive switches, this long and luxurious 4-door super-saloon was considered by many to be the motoring equivalent of Concorde.

Under the Lagonda’s long nose were familiar Aston Martin mechanicals – a 280bhp 5.3-litre DOHC V8 which allowed for 0-60 in 8.8 secs along with a 143mph top speed.

Originally offered at £25,000 in 1977, by the end of the decade the price had almost doubled to just under £50,000, rendering it pricier than the 4-seater Ferrari 400 and Maserati Kyalami, and only slightly less expensive than a two-door Rolls. This, along with it being over 17ft long and 6ft wide with a somewhat cramped interior and an avaricious thirst for fuel, meant that the Lagonda didn’t fly out of UK showrooms.

Luckily for Aston Martin, the car did prove reasonably popular with the company’s Middle Eastern clientele, and so including the later Series 3 and 4 versions, a total of 645 were produced up until 1989. Current values can range from as little as £30k for a runner in need of TLC, up to around £110k for a minter.