Aston Martin Lagonda takes shape
Initial testing for V12 sedan in Oman provides first look at new designAfter being teased a week ago, the Aston Martin Lagonda – a four-door super-sedan – has broken cover after it was air-freighted into Muscat, Oman, for hot weather testing.
Oman Air, the Sultanate's airline, issued a press release accompanied with photos of the new car that confirms a "key partnership" with Aston Martin, which will sell the Lagonda exclusively in the Middle East and is purchasable by invitation only.
As previously reported, the car's designer Marek Reichmann has dubbed the car "exceptional automotive art" and what's clear from these new photos is that Aston Martin has created its most divergent model yet.
The front end features Aston's trademark long bonnet (with vents, naturally) and large grille, but the latter now sits flush with the slimmer, almost wrap-around headlight clusters. It's a very large car, based on the same VH architecture as the Rapide, and will offer passengers more than any other Aston Martin.
Although the brake lights and rear design are very much in the Aston Martin mould, it's the flat deck lid and upright side windows that give the car its sedan qualities, which the company is hoping will appeal to ultra-wealthy Middle Eastern customers.
Reichmann said the new model marks "reinvention" of the Aston Martin brand, so we could see future models borrowing styling cues from the
limited-edition sedan.
Built in very limited numbers, sales of the Aston Martin Lagonda will begin in 2015 at an undisclosed but expectedly very steep price. It will make use of carbon-fibre bodywork to reduce its weight and increase performance.
The UK-made vehicle is built by Aston Marton's Q division, which handles all bespoke and custom orders, and the engine concealed beneath the prototype's bonnet in Oman has not yet been revealed. It's expected to get the big 6.0-litre V12 in order to offer cracking acceleration, possibly in the low 4.0 second bracket for the 0-100km/h sprint.
Power output is likely to be around 450kW.
Once the pre-production Aston Martin Lagonda has completed its hot weather testing in Oman, it will be air-freighted back to the UK.
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