Ever since Aston Martin took over rival automaker Lagonda in 1947, it has been looking for a way to differentiate the brand from its own. Over the course of the past few decades, Lagonda sedans have been built on Aston Martin platforms. A couple of years ago at the Geneva Motor Show, the company unveiled a concept vehicle for Lagonda's revival in the form of a crossover-utility vehicle. The reviews were not positive, but Aston says the negative reaction was to the concept's form and not to the idea itself.
As a result, Aston Martin is reportedly preparing to spin Lagonda off into its own line of very high-end crossovers targeted at developing markets like Russia and China. (This in contradiction to previous reports that they'd go with a rebodied version of the Aston Martin Rapide.) The vehicles could be built atop Mercedes-Benz platforms, and will range in price from around $150,000 to nearly half a million, placing it far above even the most expensive luxury SUVs and crossovers currently available.
