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What we'd buy in 1985 (if extremely rich and nutty): the Aston Martin Lagonda

The Barn Miami, a Florida specialty dealer in unique and exotic cars, has just listed this 9,000-mile, two-owner, 1985 Aston Martin Lagonda. Priced at $75,000, it seemingly represents not only a bargain (original list price was $150,000, or around $360,000 in today’s money) but an investment opportunity, and a chance to own one of the most iconic and controversial designs in all of automotive history. When the Lagonda was launched in 1976, the storied British marque had fallen on hard times. Sales figures, build quality and employee morale were at a nadir, and the brand needed a big new idea. Aston turned to in-house designer William Towns, who had taken the brand out of the debonair, if increasingly anachronistic, DB2/4/5/6 styling paradigm with his creasy DBS of 1969. Towns delivered an outrageous wedge of ultra-luxury sedan, with a miniscule rectangular grille, a plank-like prow, steeply angled pillars, and a truncated trunk. A 280-horsepower quad-cam, quad-carb 5.3-liter V8 put power to the rear wheels via a Chrysler three-speed automatic transmission, yielding single digit fuel economy. And the lunacy continued on the inside, with one of the industryÂ’s first digital dashboards, the first application of touch-sensitive controls, and an odd sunroof above the rear passenger compartment. “I think this was the way of the company getting itself back on track with a completely new and revolutionary model,” says Paul Spires, the director of Aston Martin Works, the brandÂ’s in-house heritage and restoration shop, housed at the factory in Newport-Pagnell where the Lagonda was originally built. “In the second half of the 1970s, Rolls-Royce was enjoying success with its Silver Shadow and Bentley models, but there were very few other true high luxury sedans to choose from, and there was definitely a demand for something different and modern.” Different and modern, indeed. The Lagonda was at the hemorrhaging edge of the eraÂ’s electronic capabilities, featuring systems that are still getting the bugs worked out of them 40 years later. “When we look at many modern cars with touchscreen technology, you can perhaps see where the far-sighted and ambitions designers and engineers who created this car were looking,” says Spires.

Aston Martin Valkyrie does a tantalizing lap of Silverstone

The Aston Martin Valkyrie performed a low-level fly-by at Britain's Silverstone Circuit during the Formula One Grand Prix weekend. The lap marked the first public demonstration of the future paterfamilias of the Aston Martin range, after months of digital modeling and time in the simulator. Aston Martin test driver Chris Goodwin didn't drive the 1,160-horsepower coupe in anger, but he did touch the throttle with some emotion. Regrettably, video of the event lays music over the far more redeeming Cosworth V12 soundtrack, but we do get a taste of what's to come. Thing is, "Top Gear" visited Cosworth in December last year to get some face time with the 6.5-liter V12. Toward the end of the video, Cosworth ran an engine dyno simulation of the V12 going hard through the first sections of Silverstone. Oh, the sound. Oh, the fury. Combine that with the sight of the car cruising the circuit, and know that something wicked this way comes.  If you want to know just how serious the team behind the Valkyrie takes the brief, presenter Jack Rix said Red Bull F1 aerodynamics guru Adrian Newey stopped by the shop to look at the finished product, after two years of development. Newey tapped the lacquered carbon fiber intake manifold cover, then asked Cosworth how much the lacquer weighed. When Cosworth told him "130 grams," Newey looked disappointed. That response turned into offering Valkyrie buyers the option of having the engine's carbon cover with or without lacquer. In American terms, this is much ado over 4.6 ounces, or a McDonald's Royale with Cheese.   With deliveries scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, Aston Martin has a packed program of validation testing for the car, called Verification Prototype 1. After that come competition entries into the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Jay Leno, Ex-Stig test Aston Martin's latest cars

Aston Martin is on a roll right now. From unveiling its latest V12-powered hypercar codenamed the AM-RB 001 to building one-off convertibles of hardcore track toys, the automaker has really hit its stride. With cars like the DB11 and V12 Vantage S, Aston is also working on reinventing its road cars. Jay Leno, because he's Jay Leno, was lucky enough to test both cars at Willow Springs, and he invited former Stig Ben Collins to have some fun. In this clip from Jay Leno's Garage, the comedian gets a design overview of the DB 11 and then talks to Collins about his racing career, working on Top Gear, and doing Hollywood stunt driving. The pair plays a little James Bond chase on the track, with Collins in the V12 Vantage S and Leno in the DB11. Jay isn't exactly working all of the 600 hp from the twin-turbocharged, 5.2-liter V12, as it's a prototype. Meanwhile, Collins is hot-dogging the V12 Vantage S, with its anachronistic naturally aspirated 5.9-liter V12 and seven-speed manual transmission, behind him. Although the driving pace isn't quite matched, when two remarkable cars get together, everyone wins. Related Video: