The information was revealed by Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez during a recent interview with Autocar. The main reason, according to Bez, is due to the lack of awareness of Lagonda, particularly in emerging markets where Aston Martin is still attempting to establish its own name.
“In places where this car [the Lagonda] must sell, like China, no-one has even heard of Lagonda,” said Bez. “We can call the car Lagonda, and even put the Lagonda wings on it, but it would be an Aston Martin Lagonda.”
Bez didn’t reveal what form the new Lagonda model would take, though an SUV like 2009’s Lagonda concept is the most logical, given the strong demand for such vehicles where luxury sales are growing. He did, however, strongly suggest that the Lagonda would be based on a Mercedes-Benz platform, just like the 2009 concept, which was based on the bones of a GL-Class SUV.
Referring to the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg, Bez said, “If you look at how Porsche and Volkswagen worked together to produce two completely different cars, it would be possible to have a similar arrangement with Mercedes so long as our car was clearly and distinctly an Aston Martin.”
Using an existing platform would help Aston Martin save substantial costs as well as accelerate development. Engines and other technical components will likely be sourced from new alliance partner AMG.
Unfortunately for Aston Martin, it may be several years still until we see a new Lagonda SUV, and by that time most rival brands will have SUVs of their own. Due within the next couple of years are SUVs from Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini and then we could see additional SUV models from the likes of Rolls-Royce and Spyker.
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