ston Martin has announced that it intends to revive the legendary Lagonda marque, and will use it to launch a whole new range of large luxury models.Dr Ulrich Bez, boss of Aston Martin, said he plans to relaunch Lagonda as a sub-brand from 2012 in order "to develop cars which can have a different character to a sports car". It's a move that's meant to extend Aston Martin appeal beyond sports cars.
Aston Martin currently sells cars in 32 countries, but CEO Bez believes the brand should launch new models that can appeal to "more than 100" existing and emerging markets.
It's likely that Lagonda will offer a range of high performance, luxury saloons. A spokesperson admitted that the new models would be "more practical" than anything in the current Aston line-up, but he added that an SUV would be out of the question.
As we reported earlier this month, rumoured links between Aston and Mercedes-Benz could make Maybach platform sharing an option. However Aston won't be drawn on its new sub-brand's market positioning.
The Lagonda designs are yet to be finalised. But Aston boss Bez said it will use its own unique design language, and will offer "exclusive, luxurious and truly versatile products".
The company confirmed that the forthcoming Rapide, due in 2009, andthe One-77 hypercar would still be badged as an Aston Martin, not a Lagonda.
