What is it?
It's the revival of a century old luxury brand. Aston Martin can't really make big luxury cars because that isn't its remit (although the forthcoming four-door Rapide is arguably a successor to Aston Martin-based Lagondas of the past), so this is its ticket to space and comfort - or the 'avant-garde luxury product', as Aston puts it. The massive 4x4 is just a styling concept at the moment, but it manages to do the 'stretched up sports car' thing much better than Porsche does with the
Cayenne. It takes cues from Aston coupés (like the lights and the side swage lines) and adds a grille bigger than an Ikea shelving unit and rims the size of the London Eye. It's powered by a V12 petrol engine, of course, and in another surprise it's based on Mercedes architecture - the GL-Class SUV to be precise - as will be the case for the production version.
Why's it here?
Not since the early '90s has a car been sold wearing the Lagonda badge, despite its heritage, but now Aston is telling the world (but particularly princes, Chinese oligarchs and Russian oil tycoons) that Lagonda is back with a big profligate bang. It's yet another piece in the strangely dichotomous jigsaw that is the global car industry right now: on one hand, makers teetering on the brink are pedalling cheap, green cars because the world is smoggy and skint; yet on the other there's a burgeoning hypercar market thanks to expanding brands like Rolls-Royce, Maybach and now this. The new-money pie is more delicious and lucrative than ever, and Aston wants a slice.
Show stopper or floor filler?
A classic show stopper. We knew Aston had plans to revive Lagonda, but not that it would show a proper prototype at Geneva. And we know what you're thinking, too: "who's going to buy one of these V12 beasts in the UK?" Aston knows the answer, though, and while it will sell Lagondas here, it justifiably doesn't expect to shift too many. Instead, it's focussing on emerging markets like China and Russia, where the appetite for outrageously priced mega-cars seemingly can't be abated.
Mark Nichol - 4 Mar 2009
