The Lagonda brand had been moribund for a decade when Aston Martin revived it in 1974 as the model name for a new four-door saloon based on the existing two-door V8. A prototype (‘MP/230/1’) had been used by AML chairman David Brown in 1969 but the project would not come to fruition until after his departure and Aston Martin’s acquisition by Company Developments.
Launched at the London Motor Show in October 1974, the new Lagonda was 305mm (12″) longer in the wheelbase than the two-door V8 whose engine and running gear it shared and to which it bore an understandably strong resemblance. Priced at £14,040, including Purchase Tax, at the time of its launch, the Lagonda cost 24% more than the contemporary V8 and thus was one very expensive motor car. The first example completed was for Aston Martin’s then chairman, William Wilson. Unfortunately, the ongoing Middle East ‘oil crisis’ and other economic woes meant that the market for a 160-mph luxury saloon had declined sharply.
An exclusive model even by Aston Martin standards, the Lagonda was catalogued until June 1976, by which time only seven had been made. Chassis numbers ranged from ‘12001’ to ‘12007’, while a further example – chassis ‘12008’ – was sanctioned at a later date. Of the seven cars built in period, five were completed with automatic transmission (like this example) and only two with the ZF five-speed manual gearbox.
