Aston Martin once again confirmed that it has no desire to produce another four-door model outside the DBX SUV, according to MotorAuthority. During a recent press conference, the outlet sat in with CEO Adrian Hallmark and learned that Aston remains uninterested and a successor to the Lagonda is definitely out of the question.
Over the past several years, rumors and even hints from some previous Aston executives suggested a new successor to the Lagonda sedan may be on the planning board. This coincided with Aston’s need to expand its lineup to sell more cars, which would help boost its profits—it’s one of the main reasons why the DBX crossover SUV came to fruition. However, due to limited resources and not enough demand, no business case exists for such a model.
A New Lagonda Just Won’t Align With Aston’s Current Theme
Aston Is A Niche Luxury Sports Carmaker
Despite having made four-door sedans in the past, such as the original Lagonda, the Lagonda Taraf, and even the Rapide, Hallmark simply said that a new Lagonda just wouldn’t align with the company’s current theme. Right now, the Gaydon automaker wants to focus on producing unique, niche luxury sports cars with performance as the main theme. This is on top of the dwindling demand for sedans in general.
“It’s hard enough managing one brand,” Hallmark answered when asked about a Lagonda. “It wouldn’t be a core product,” further noting that it simply wouldn’t fit into Aston’s current lineup all that well.
The last four-door model produced by Aston aside from the DBX crossover SUV was the DB9-based Rapide five-door sportback and the limited-production Lagonda Taraf. The Rapide was essentially a five-door variant of the DB9 grand tourer, built from 2010 until 2020, complete with the DB9’s 5.9-liter naturally-aspirated V-12.
The Lagonda Taraf was an extremely limited-production model also based on the Rapide and DB9 built for just one year in 2015. It was designed specifically for the Middle Eastern market with a production cap of just 100 units. Though Aston ended up making 120 units for a few select other markets following some heightened demand for customers outside the Mid-East.
Before both the Lagonda Taraf and the Rapide, Aston Martin produced a Lagonda sedan from 1974 until 1990 and is one of the company’s most iconic models for its quirky avant-garde styling and interior electronics. Before that Lagonda sedan, Aston produced the Lagonda Rapide, the company’s first-ever luxury sedan, between 1961 and 1964. Only 55 were made and of those original examples, some sources say just 44 exist today.
There May Be More Hardcore Sports Cars, However
On the contrary, however, Hallmark did say that there may be more hardcore performance cars on the horizon to continue upping its game against Porsche, specifically the 911 and its variants. He did note Aston’s “lack of follow-up post-launch,” or new variants to models after the initial release. For example, when Porsche reveals a new generation of 911, it typically follows up with a Turbo variant and track-focused GT3 models. Other automakers made similar moves, such as the BMW M4, M4 Competition, and M4 CS.
Hallmark wants to change this and has some of the company’s two-door models in his sights as the ideal cars needing more hardcore performance variants. For instance, he would love to see a faster and harder-edged version of the Vantage coupe and roadster, and perhaps, even the latest V-12-powered Vanquish.
“We’ve got some really good ideas, like bringing an existing race car back to the road,” he concluded.
Source: MotorAuthority
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