The Aston Martin Lagonda, a full-size luxury four-door saloon, was produced by the British automaker Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990.
A total of 645 units were manufactured during this period. Its name originates from the Lagonda marque, which Aston Martin acquired in 1947.
The model spans two distinct generations: the short-lived Series 1 introduced in 1974, based on a lengthened Aston Martin V8, and the strikingly redesigned Series 2, unveiled in 1976 with a bold, wedge-shaped aesthetic.
Developed during a period of financial strain for Aston Martin, the Lagonda quickly garnered attention and deposits, providing a much-needed financial boost to the company.
Only seven Series 1 models were produced before the car underwent a radical transformation in 1976.
The Series 2, designed by William Towns, was a dramatic departure from the brand’s traditional styling, embracing the angular “folded paper” design language of the 1970s.
The result was a daring, futuristic look that earned the Lagonda its place among other iconic wedge-shaped vehicles of the era, such as the Lamborghini Countach, Lotus Esprit, and DMC DeLorean.
Powering the Lagonda was a 5.3-liter DOHC V8 engine, delivering 280 horsepower. The car was equipped with a Chrysler three-speed TorqueFlite automatic transmission.
While the Series 1 had a slightly higher top speed of 149 mph, the Series 2 could reach 143 mph. Aston Martin later introduced additional iterations, producing four series in total.
These included the rare Series 3, with just 75 units made, and the Series 4, with a production run of 105 cars. The final Lagonda rolled off the production line in 1990.
The Aston Martin Lagonda stood apart from nearly every other luxury saloon of its era, thanks to its groundbreaking interior design.
Combining futuristic aesthetics with a premium leather-clad cabin, the Lagonda’s dashboard was an engineering marvel for its time.
The most striking feature was its digital LED instrumentation, which felt more at home in a spacecraft than in a car.
This advanced, computer-based information and control system was introduced decades ahead of its time, offering touch-sensitive buttons and a single-spoke steering wheel that could easily be described as a work of art.
It was though the utterly incredible interior that meant the Lagonda stood out from pretty much any other
Throughout the history of the marque, the hand-built Lagonda was amongst the most expensive luxury saloons in the world.
The only other production cars to approach its price were the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit/Silver Spur and the Bentley Mulsanne.
The Lagonda was the first production car to use a digital instrument panel. The development cost for the electronics alone on the Lagonda came to four times as much as the budget for the whole car.
The Series 3 used cathode-ray tubes for the instrumentation, which proved even less reliable than the original model’s light-emitting diode (LED) display.
Despite its revolutionary approach, the Lagonda’s polarizing design and mechanical challenges earned it both admiration and criticism.
Bloomberg Businessweek named it one of the “50 Ugliest Cars of the Last 50 Years,” while Time magazine included it in its list of the “50 Worst Cars of All Time,” citing its electronics as impressive in theory but often prone to failure.
Still, the Lagonda remains an emblem of bold ambition and innovation in automotive history.
The interior of the Series 2 had a futuristic dashboard and controls.
The 1st Series Lagonda was essentially just a four-door version of the Aston Martin V8.
The 1976 wedge-shaped styling contrasted sharply with other cars of its day,
(Photo credit: Aston Martin / Wikimedia Commons / Upscaled and enhanced by RHP).