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Aston Martin Lagonda Vision Concept re-envisioned as zero-emissions luxury brand

After introducing the hand-built, limited-edition, one-million-dollar Lagonda Taraf saloon in 2015, Aston Martin is again reaching to its Lagonda heritage dating back to 1904. But while there's a new saloon concept to be presented, Lagonda has completely changed around it. The Taraf had a six-liter, 540-horsepower V12 under its hood: the new car has no engine and no hood. Instead, Aston Martin is turning Lagonda into what it calls the first zero emission luxury brand. The herald of the newly born Lagonda is the Vision Concept, and it showcases the design language Aston Martin is preparing for a 2023 launch. While Astons still embrace the internal combustion engine, the letter "O" in Lagonda's logo is re-purposed to stand for zero emissions. As per Aston's statement: "With no need to package a vast internal combustion engine, gearbox and transmission, Lagonda's designers could optimize the interior down to the smallest detail and then build up the exterior of the car around it. The Lagonda Vision Concept doesn't have a bonnet because one is not required." The production Lagonda is to be fully autonomous "on all routine circumstances and all recognizable roads." This means the steering wheel can freely move from the left side of the car to the right, or retract completely. Choosing to not do the driving isn't alien to Lagonda customers, as Aston Martin's Andy Palmer explains. "For owners of true luxury cars, autonomy has existed for over a century, in a carbon-based form called a chauffeur." He adds, "We imagine most Lagonda customers will choose to be driven, but whether by a person or a computer will be up to them. And if they want to drive themselves, the car will ensure that is a delightful and memorable experience too. Lagonda will provide that choice." The tall, airy cabin has been designed with the help of Savile Row tailors, and the armchair-like seats can be arranged to face each other. The seats aren't mounted on runners, but cantilevered arms. As for range, Lagondas will have been engineered for a real-world 400-mile range with solid-state batteries. There's "intelligent all-wheel-drive," with any wheel able to be given 100 percent of the available torque.

Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG formalize technical partnership

The development of a partnership between Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin has been a long time coming. The news dates back to 2008, and over the five years since was supposed to lead to a rejuvenation of both the Maybach and Lagonda brands. That program ultimately fell apart, but the tie-in was forged afresh in July when the two automakers signed a letter of intent over a renewed partnership. And now that partnership has been formalized.
In a deal just announced, Mercedes-AMG will build a new V8 engine for Aston Martin that will power a new generation of luxury GTs for the British marque, presumably to replace the 4.7-liter V8 in the Vantage. The relationship appears to be similar to the one already in place between AMG and Pagani, only in this case, will involve Daimler taking as much as a five-percent stake in Aston Martin and an observer seat on Aston's board.
The technical partnership is also set to lead to the supply of electric and electronic systems, and could incorporate "additional areas of cooperation in the future." Whether that will include a fresh attempt at reviving Lagonda remains to be seen, as does the future of Aston's long-serving, Ford-based 6.0-liter V12 engine. But for now you can read the full announcement below.

2022 Aston Martin Vanquish to offer a manual transmission

The retail versions of the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valhalla remain a ways off, but carmaker CEO Andy Palmer but has given us something to look forward to beyond the flagship hypercar and its baby brother. Palmer told Australian outlet Car Sales that the Vanquish would be offered with a manual transmission. The pledge fulfills Palmer's previous statement "that I want to be the last manufacturer in the world to offer manual sports cars, and I want to honor that commitment." There's at least one potential caveat with this: The seven-speed dogleg manual transmission recently released for the Vantage AMR forced a reduction in power numbers. The gearbox, developed with transmission maker Graziano to work with the Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, cut torque to 461 pound-feet compared to 505 lb-ft in the automatic-equipped coupe. The detune added 0.3 seconds to the 0-60 mph time, but we're confident buyers were happy with the compromise and tech bits that allowed full-throttle upshifts and rev-matching downshifts. The Vanquish will use an electrified, twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter six-cylinder developed in-house at Aston Martin. Even so, with a lot more power and torque expected in order for the Vanquish to stand above the Vantage and battle the Ferrari F8 Tributo, McLaren 720 S, and Lamborghini Huracan, buyers could again face abridged output. Aston Martin hasn't said a word about figures, but the F8 and 720 S already crest 700 hp and bring 568 lb-ft. The Valhalla, which will use the same engine as the Vanquish but is predicted to pack around 1,000 hp, will forgo the manual. Palmer told Car Sales, "that car will only come with a paddleshift transmission." As with the Ferrari, but unlike the McLaren and the Lamborghini, the Vanquish gets a bonded aluminum tub instead of carbon. Aston Martin designed carbon tubs for the Valkyrie and Valhalla for "owners happy to sacrifice comfort for ultimate speed." Palmer explained the Vanquish's intended daily-driver usability drove the choice for aluminum, which permits a lower, narrower sill for easier ingress and egress. Having two architectures is more expensive for the small company, but Palmer explained, "Unlike McLaren we're not trying to stretch the same assets over and over again. Our approach is ... hopefully ...