What's this then?

Aston Martin has released an official set of images for its Lagonda 'super saloon' giving us our first look at the car's interior.

Haven't we seen this already?

Sort of. The firm did release some shots of the Lagonda during hot weather testing in Oman though we do suspect the firm's hand was forced on that occasion by Oman Air tweeting images of the car being loaded onto one of its planes...

Okay, so what do we know about the car then? Not an awful lot truth be told. Aston is remaining very tight lipped about the whole thing. We do know that the car has been inspired by the 1970’s Lagonda that was designed by William Towns with the long slender body, low-slung front, and narrow headlights all ‘borrowed’ from his 1976 creation. We also know that the bodywork will be crafted by hand and will, in part at least, be made of carbon fibre. We also know that it will be built on the existing VH architecture, which leads us to suspect it will use the 6.0-litre V12 engine from the Rapide S. But hasn’t Aston just signed an engine deal with Mercedes-Benz? Yes, but we suspect that VH platform will not easily take an alien engine. Much more likely that Aston will use a unit it knows will work with the platform and while it does have a V8 that will fit in the V12 is much more befitting of a super-luxury car.

What about this interior then?

While we caught a glimpse of the Lagonda's interior in the Oman pictures this is our first opportunity to study it in detail and it certainly looks the part. Seating is for four with each chair finished in deeply quilted leather. Wood and brushed aluminium are featured throughout and Aston's usual 'waterfall' centre console is mirrored in the back with what looks to be controls for seat massage and recline function along with the usual climate control switches.

Looks plush. When can I have one?

You can't. Not unless you live in the Middle East and Aston Martin invites you to buy a Lagonda. This car is going to be so exclusive that Gaydon has not announced how many will be built or even how much it will cost. The thinking seems to be that to those who are offered a Lagonda price will be irrelevant.

Paul Healy - 1 Oct 2014