Lagonda name revived

'The backbone of a brand is a product,' said Aston Martin's chief executive, Dr Ulrich Bez, 'not a sheet of glossy paper.' So in resurrecting the Lagonda name at 8am on the Geneva show's second press day, he got design chief Marek Reichman to pull the cover off something whose shape looked worryingly like that of an SUV. In some ways the Lagonda Concept is an SUV. It is, after all, based on the platform of Mercedes-Benz's hefty GL-class, here in V12 form. And that's not just for convenience: Aston Martin Lagonda, as the company used to be known and should probably now be known again, has done a deal with the German company to share components and technology. But this is not, insists Dr Bez, an SUV. It's an AGLV, an 'avantgarde luxury vehicle'. The idea is that it can take AML into around 100 markets worldwide instead of the 32 it currently inhabits, new markets where it's helpful to have a lot of ground clearance such as the farther-flung parts of Russia. Once past the initial shock of this hefty lump with its 22in wheels and a radiator grille oddly reminiscent of a Subaru Forester's, it starts to make some sense even if world financial events have suddenly made its relevance questionable. For Reichman it was a chance to define a long-gone brand all over again; there are references to the pre-war Lagonda LG6, a V12 saloon with a long bonnet, a short tail and a 'letterbox' rear window, but it's not a retro car. 'The body language challenges a lot of areas,' he says, 'such as "What defines luxury?" It's a mixture of constructed, bold lines and free forms, with those LG6 proportions. The back sits down like a powerboat in the water. Lagonda founder Wilbur Gunn was a massive boat fan. 'We thought about using decking in the back of the cabin, but decided not to. There's some fake fur, though.' That fur, in a sort of waffle effect, is found just below the headrests. It's more obvious in the rear of the ample cabin, where the emphasis is on lighter colours. In the front the mood is darker and there's much burnished metal. The driving position seems much more car-like than you'd expect in a machine based on a GL-class, but the hip-point, the screen-pillar bases and the 'down-vision line' are all the same. 'I can see this car in Bond Street or on the road from Moscow to St Petersburg,' says Reichman. Well, if it worked for Porsche it could work for Lagonda. And if reaction is positive and funds allow, this new Lagonda could be in production – possibly at Magna Steyr in Austria, like the imminent Rapide – in 24 to 30 months. Evo asked Dr Bez how the show-goers were responding to the concept car. 'People seem to understand it,' he said, 'and they congratulate me on my baby. The dealers are saying, "When can we have it?" '

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