A true luxury brand reborn: Aston Martin revives Lagonda

Lagonda, a luxury marque founded in 1906, has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947.  Aston has since used the brand to market a series of low-volume luxury sports sedans along the lines of Maserati’s Quattroporte, with the last real production car being made in 1987.  Pictured above is the 1993 concept car Lagonda Vignale that debuted at the Geneva motor show.  Today Aston Martin’s current CEO, Ulrich Bez, is announcing plans to revive the marque as a sportier alternative to Rolls-Royce and Bentley.

“After my eight years with Aston Martin, four with profitability, and 16 months of independence, it’s time to think about a longer term future. Aston Martin is an honest, authentic brand which builds the most beautiful sportscars combining modern technology with craftsmanship.”

“Next year we will launch the four door Rapide sportscar, and this will be followed by the project ‘one 77’, the most spectacular Aston Martin ever. Aston Martins are currently available in 32 countries but we will remain limited in our market penetration by the pure character of our cars – sportscars.”

“We have now investigated and concluded that the revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar, and therefore offer a perfect synergy. Lagonda will use a unique design language as Aston Martin does. We will take elements of DNA from the past but will be very future orientated as we are with Aston Martin. With Lagonda offering exclusive, luxurious and truly versatile products with high quality and usability and suitable for both existing and emerging markets, I believe we can be present in more than 100 countries in the world.“

“In 2009 Lagonda is about to celebrate its 100th birthday and in its centenary year we are confident that we will show the first concept of a car which could be in the market in 2012,” he confirmed.