The Aston Martin DBX, introduced in 2020, is the first SUV and 4×4 in the 109-year-old British manufacturer’s history, albeit being earmarked to be preceded by an SUV model envisioned to relaunch the prestigious Lagonda marque in time for its centenary as a car manufacturer.
In September 2008, Aston Martin announced its intention to revive the Lagonda brand and proposed a concept car – to be showcased the next year – to coincide with the brand’s 100th anniversary. So, on the first day of the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, the covers came off the Lagonda Concept – described by Aston Martin as an LUV, which stood for “Luxury Utility Vehicle”.
The Lagonda concept was very different from what was expected, and unlike anything Aston Martin had shown before – an avant-garde four-door, four-wheel-drive SUV crossover. While little was known about its specification, the Lagonda Concept LUV was based on the running gear of a Mercedes-Benz GL and powered by an Aston Martin V12 engine.
According to Aston Martin, the idea behind the concept vehicle was to introduce performance luxury to emerging markets and territories around the world. As such, it was designed to be a luxury performance vehicle with four-wheel drive and additional ground clearance to handle challenging road surfaces.
While the accompanying media release proudly announced the return of Lagonda, the reception of the concept car by the media and potential customers was less than enthusiastic, bordering on astonishment and disbelief. After only one day, the vehicle was removed from the main stand, initially replaced by a One-77 rolling chassis and later by a One-77 mock-up vehicle.
Any production plans were quelled, and, as reported by the website www.astonmartins.com, the concept was only displayed once more – in 2009 to invited visitors within the Aston Martin design centre at Gaydon – before the Lagonda Concept disappeared from the public eye for more than a decade.
Even so, over the next couple of years, occasional news reports were speculating on the project’s revival. This was boosted by the announcement in 2013 of a technical agreement between Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG for the supply of engines and other systems.
However, the Lagonda Concept never made it to production, and in 2015, the DBX Concept was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. In 2019, the controversial Lagonda show car was again seen in public at the AMOC Spring Concours by special arrangement with the Aston Martin Heritage Trust and the car’s owner.
Still, it appears that the Lagonda project is ongoing, as, in 2018, the All-Terrain Concept was revealed in Geneva. Who knows, maybe a Lagonda production model could make its appearance next year?
Report by Ferdi de Vos | Images: Aston Martin Lagonda
