GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Lagonda to be world's first pure-electric luxury car maker

Aston Martin has chosen the Geneva motor show to re-launch its famous Lagonda brand as a guilt-free maker of pure-electric luxury cars.

Created to "disrupt" the luxury car segment, Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer says the revived British brand -- first founded back in 1904 -- will tempt buyers away from established car-makers like Bentley, as well as wealthy Tesla owners who tick every option box when they purchase their Model S or Model X.

Although Palmer is treating the debut of the Vision Concept as the rebirth of the Lagonda marque, that conveniently ignores the Aston Martin Rapide-based Lagonda Taraf that was in production between 2015 and 2016.

The Vision Concept is a huge four-door, four-seat fully autonomous pure-electric sedan that's rumoured to preview both a production limousine and a large SUV.

Deliberately created to be bold and controversial, the concept shows just how much space can be liberated by using an advanced all-electric powertrain, according to an Aston Martin spokesman.

Palmer says that from now on all models will be "100 per cent pure-electric". Although Aston is expected to buy battery cells from Samsung or another a supplier, Palmer told assembled Australian journalists that it is his intention to design, develop and engineer the electric motors and the battery control unit within Aston Martin.

This, says the Aston CEO, will help engineers create a powertrain with certain Aston (or Lagonda) characteristics that could include managing the torque produced by the motors or even piping an artificial soundtrack to heighten the excitement.

Inside the concept car, leather is shunned for vegan-friendly fabrics and lots of natural materials. The seats, for example, are made of cashmere wool and silk, the dash is made of carbon-fibre and the interior lighting uses crystal glass.

In the rear of the light and airy cabin, ceramic tiles are applied to the door panels, while the rear seats are encased in titanium.

New tech features exclusive to the Lagonda include a touchpad infotainment system that can also be operated using voice commands or gesture control.

Access to the rear cabin is via dramatic rear hinged doors that feature a gullwing-style roof panel that rises to help passengers enter or exit the car – unless it's raining, in which case the panel stays in place.

Neither Palmer nor the insider we spoke with would confirm that the new Vision Concept has been tailored to suit Chinese tastes, where people movers and SUVs, rather than low-slung sports cars, are a hit with billionaire business owners.

Last year Aston Martin doubled its sales in China and almost out-sold its more established rival, Ferrari. But with sales barely breaking 300 annual units, the volumes promised by the world's largest car market remain elusive for sports car makers.