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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.

Fernando Alonso to join Aston Martin F1 team next season

LONDON — Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso will extend his Formula One career by joining Aston Martin next season. The 41-year-old Spaniard will replace Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement last week. AlonsoÂ’s contract with Alpine was ending this season. Aston Martin said Monday that it signed Alonso to a multi-year deal. “No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me,” Alonso said of Aston Martin. “I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organization that is committed to learn, develop and succeed.” Alonso will be going into his 20th season in F1. He won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006. He took two years off in 2019 and 2020 to race in other series, including runs at the Indy 500. “I have witnessed the excitement in the engineering team and throughout the whole organization at the opportunity to work with Fernando,” Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said. “We know that nearly everyone can learn from someone of FernandoÂ’s calibre and experience. We are confident that he will inspire everyone to lift their game.” Aston Martin, whose other driver is Lance Stroll, son of owner Lawrence Stroll, is only ninth in the 10-team constructorsÂ’ standings this season. Alonso said he knows Lance and Lawrence well and they share the same “ambition and passion to succeed” in F1. “We all appreciate that there is much to be done to get to the front, and that we must apply all our energies in working together to find performance,” Alonso said. “The passion and desire to perform that I have witnessed convince me to maintain my enjoyment and commitment to the sport. I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me.” Alpine has been improving in recent seasons and sits fourth in the constructorsÂ’ race. Alonso is 10th in the 20-driver standings. He joined Alpine in 2021 after his two-year break from the series. Related video: 2023 Aston Martin DBX707 walkaround

Here's what else you could buy for the average new-car price of $40,573

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. The average price of a new car in America hit a new record in December 2020: $40,573. Not that we're surprised — the average has been over $35,000 for the past few years — but seeing that baseline figure crest 40 large is still a sticker-shock to the system. So, as we do every once in a while, we put our collective heads together and came up with a list of alternatives that you could choose to buy for that sum, new or old, classic or practical. Now, let's be crystal clear about one thing here. We're not actually recommending you make this type of decision. That said, we wouldn't blame you if you did. Managing Editor Greg Rasa: $40,000 will buy a fully loaded Camry or moderately equipped crossover. Or, for $39,997, to be exact, one could go motoring in a fine British automobile. This 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante in Alabama has 21,452 miles on it, and depreciation has worked its cruel magic: It is listed for less than one-quarter of its $168,000 starting MSRP when it was new. A check of other used DB9s nationwide indicates this is a fair price. This Aston's CarFax reveals two owners. (One, really, as the second was a dealership. Looks like it got traded in for a Porsche.) If you're understandably concerned about reliability, its service history indicates no surprises to date. Remember, it has a 450-horsepower 5.9-liter V12. And spring is coming. Of course a used Aston Martin is riskier than a new Camry. But as Louis Prima sang, "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think." What price beauty? Less than $40 grand. Associate Editor Byron Hurd: This price point opens up a ton of options in the "nearly new" luxury space, including a few good enthusiast picks, but my nod here goes to the Cadillac ATS-V. The discontinued, M3/M4-rivaling, 465-horsepower sport sedan and coupe can be had all day long in this price range with low miles. In fact, the real challenge is finding one in the spec you want, since it's one of those old-fashioned cars that actually presented the buyer with choices. Here's a clean, six-speed sedan in an actual color for less than our target price, for example. Coupes are more plentiful than sedans, especially in interesting colors, but there are plenty of them out there.