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Lagonda All-Terrain Concept previews electric SUV shaped by planetary forces

Coming soon to an ultra-wealthy desert oasis near you is Lagonda, the spinoff from Aston Martin that will be devoted to creating luxury cars rather than sports cars. They will be electric and have autonomous driving features, and although their final production guises are still to be revealed, the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept introduced in Geneva provides a second clue as to what a production Lagonda might be like. Whereas last year's Vision Concept was a road-going quasi-sedan that mostly centered on autonomous driving, the All-Terrain Concept is going for the Range Rover crowd. Taller and obviously a crossover, Aston Martin describes it as "an ultra-stylish, supremely luxurious, fully electric, emission-free vehicle that can transport its occupants to remote and spectacular locations." It certainly isn't bereft of adjectives. Like other EVs, the concept utilizes a skateboard-style vehicle platform that spreads the battery weight low throughout the floor, which not only raises that floor to provide a more SUV-like view out, but actually lowers the center of gravity for superior handling. It also makes the car very stiff, which allows for the All-Terrain Concept's rear-hinged coach doors and flip-up gullwing roof bits. "The Lagonda All-Terrain Concept adds a hugely exciting sense of adventure to the unique brand of luxury, emission-free vehicles that Lagonda is planning to produce," said Aston Martin Lagonda President Andy Palmer in the press release. "This is a car that would be at home whisking someone straight from a glamorous red carpet event to a remote scientific research lab." Remote scientific research lab? Good grief. Who does this guy thinks his customer is, James Bond? Oh wait. The Aston design team drew design inspiration from super yachts, which can mostly be seen in the rear-leaning tail and severely swept-back profile. The high ground clearance and chunky fenders imply a certain degree of ruggedness that's not entirely dissimilar to the Rivian R1S. In terms of other styling details, well, take it away press release. "The surfacing is incredibly futuristic, with forms and shapes that look like they have been created by the huge, planetary forces of gravity fields." Okey dokey. The rear hatch is described as having a clamshell design, and it houses a thin LED strip hidden beneath a lip. This allows the light to be beamed downward and reflected out, thereby concealing the actual LED elements from the viewer. Nifty.

Xcar tackles winter in an Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster

The Aston Martin Vantage has an unusually long history, characterized by constant improvement. It was introduced ten years ago with a V8. Two years later Aston shoehorned in its ubiquitous V12, and more than five years after that, it upped the output. All the while it's offered Roadster versions of each iteration until we ended up with the fastest convertible the company had ever made. The resulting Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster will reach a highway gallop by the time you've finished pronouncing its full name, but exciting as it is, the prospect of driving a soft-top convertible channeling 565 horsepower through the rear wheels in the snow is, well... let's just say that, while such a car would be near the top of our list in most situations, it wouldn't be our first choice for winter transportation. That hasn't deterred the team at Xcar from taking on a British winter in this ludicrous drop-top. What they found was a roadster that's anything but perfect, but one they're glad exists – even if there are better choices for snowy climes.

Aston Martin appears to be testing a V12 Vantage in these spy photos

For a few years now, the Aston Martin Vantage has been without V12 power. It's technically been without Aston Martin power, too, since its twin-turbo V8 comes from Mercedes-AMG. But that may change in the near future based on these spy photos from the Nurburgring. They show a Vantage, but one that's wider and with exhaust that suggest it may get a few more cylinders like its close cousin, the V12 Speedster. Staring us down is the prototype's enormous front grille, taller and wider than standard Vantage units. It's flanked by two smaller inlets and underlined by an aggressive front splitter. The whole front seems to be wider, as evidenced by the mismatch around the front fender and hood. Speaking of the hood, there's a big mesh "V" sitting on top to cover what are likely heat-extracting vents, which would probably be important for handling the heat from a twin-turbo 5.2-liter V12. Changes at the back are a bit more subtle, but only a bit. The rear fenders have large fender flares, suggesting the production car will also be wider at the back with correspondingly larger tires. There's a little gurney flap on the rear spoiler, so we may see a more aggressive spoiler in production. We also see a center exhaust instead of each of the dual pipes on the ends of the rear diffuser. This exhaust looks a lot like what Aston used on the V12 Speedster, itself based on the Vantage, but without the roof section. This is probably the strongest evidence that the car has the extra cylinders. With Aston clearly knowing how to shove a V12 into a Vantage chassis, and the high-end sports car market's never-satiated desire for more powerful and rarer items, a V12 Vantage seems like a slam-dunk product. The question will be, what output will it make. The V12 Speedster made 700 horsepower, but it was a limited-production special edition. The V12 Vantage could get the DB11's 630-horsepower variant to give the Speedster a bit of breathing room. And that would still be a nice power increase over the 503 horsepower of the regular Vantage. Based on these spy shots, we'd bet we have around a year before we see the production model, maybe a little less, maybe a little more. Related Video: