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.

Aston Martin Lagonda<tr><td colspan=2>Image:89 Lagonda.JPG</tr>
Manufacturer:	Aston Martin<tr><th>Production:<td>1976–1989</tr><tr><th>Predecessor:<td>Lagonda Rapide</tr><tr><th>Successor:<td>Aston Martin Rapide</tr><tr><th>Class:<td>GT car</tr><tr><th>Body style:<td>FR 4-door saloon</tr><tr><th>Engine:<td>5.3 L V8</tr>

The Aston Martin Lagonda was a luxury four-door saloon built by Aston Martin of Newport Pagnell, England, between 1976 and 1989.

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 car with a brand new Aston Martin V8 engine. As soon as it was introduced, it drew in hundreds of deposits from potential customers, helping Aston Martin's chances.

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 æsthetic value.

Throughout the history of the marque, hand-built Lagondas were amongst the most expensive saloon cars 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 computers in many of the original cars are failure-prone. 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 dismal, often single-digit miles-per-gallon rating.

Special variations of the series included:

Rapide (a two-door, short wheelbase version)
Tickford limousine

[edit] Specifications

Engine: 5.3 L (5340 cc/325 in³) DOHC V8
Length: 17.4 ft (5.3 m)
Width: 5 ft (1.5 m)
Weight: 4622 lb (2097 kg)
Top speed: 230 km/h (143 mph)

[edit] External links

Lagonda Net — Roger Ivett's site dedicated to the Aston Martin Lagonda.
[1] — Aston Martin owners club.
Aston Martin Lagonda official specifications

[edit] References

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

A subsidiary of Ford's PAG											Aston Martin and Lagonda road car timeline, 1948-present																																[edit]
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 III										DBS/Vantage																										DB7						DB7 Vantage						V8 Vantage
												DB4				DB5			DB6				V8																				Virage/V8														DB9
																														V8 Vantage																V8 Vantage								V12 Vanquish						DBS
Supercar														Zagato																									Zagato															Zagato			AR1
4-door	2.6-Litre					3-Litre								Rapide															Lagonda																															Rapide