Aston Martin has been trying to breath new life into
its Lagonda brand for years now. Its previous attempts have failed to gain
traction, but this one could. It’s called the Lagonda Vision concept, and it’s
one of the big surprises the Geneva Motor Show has had in store for us this
year.
The show car looks further into the future than most of what we see from
Aston Martin. In fact it aims to relaunch the largely dormant name as a
zero-emissions luxury brand to take on the likes of Tesla and all the
challengers that conventional automakers have been cooking up.
The svelte, futuristic shape fits the batteries down
low in the floor of the car, thereby keeing the center of gravity low while
eschewing the traditional shape by which conventionally powered vehicles are
bound. Above those batteries, the EV offers copious space for four adult
passengers to stretch out in comfort, surrounded by glass, carbon fiber, ceramic
tiles, silk carpets and hand-woven wool upholstery.
The fresh take on British luxury is accessed by
enormous apertures created by the rear-hinged doors and opening roof sections
that allow passengers to stand up and simply step in and out. The front seats
are more like armchairs, and are mounted on cantilevered arms instead of rails
to clear floorspace. The steering wheel can be moved out of the way entirely to
let the autonomous systems take over while still allowing the driver to pilot
on demand.
The automaker hasn’t said much more about the
vehicle’s specifications, but the electric powertrain will be able to divert
all of its attention to any of the four wheels. It also boasts a range of 400
“real-world” miles – allowing it to travel between Los Angeles and San
Francisco, without stopping to
charge.
More than that, we couldn’t tell you at this point.
But the British automaker plans to put the vehicle into production in 2021,
just three years from now. It’s also showcasing scale models of two more – a
coupe and an SUV – following the same theme that are slated to follow in 2023.
