Teamspeed.com - Aston Martin officially revives Lagonda marque

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Aston Martin has confirmed plans to revive the legendary Lagonda marque and will use it for a range of new bespoke models, the first of which will appear in 2012. This way Aston Martin can reserve its own name for its sports car like the upcoming Vantage V12 RS and One-77 supercar, and have another brand to develop models with a completely different character to its performance range.

Speaking at the announcement of the brand’s revival, Aston Martin CEO Officer Dr Ulrich Bez said “after my eight years with Aston Martin, four with profitability, and 16 months of independence, it’s time to think about a longer term future.”

“We have now investigated and concluded that the revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar, and therefore offer a perfect synergy. Lagonda will use a unique design language as Aston Martin does. We will take elements of DNA from the past but will be very future orientated as we are with Aston Martin. With Lagonda offering exclusive, luxurious and truly versatile products with high quality and usability and suitable for both existing and emerging markets, I believe we can be present in more than 100 countries in the world.”

As a company, the new brand could push Aston Martin well past the 20,000 units per year mark, and allow it to achieve better profitability, especially with a rumored engine and parts sharing deal with Mercedes-Benz in the works.

Next year the Lagonda brand turns 100 years old and to mark the occasion a new concept vehicle will be launched. While there have been no official details, the concept is expected to be a luxurious saloon designed to rival the likes of Bentley and Rolls Royce. The last Aston Martin Lagonda to make production was the Series 4 saloon in 1987, however a concept car, called the Vignale, was also built in 1993.