Aston Martin has made the decision to make its Lagonda sub-brand about electric cars, and the latest concept previewing what we can expect bowed at the Geneva motor show this week. Named simply the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept, it is a large, electric SUV previewing a future Lagonda production model.
The All-Terrain Concept follows up on a curious and difficult-to-define Lagonda concept we saw in Geneva a year ago, one combining an expansive MPV layout with some futuristic interior features. This year's concept is a little more down to earth, relatively speaking, but it's clear that Aston has been watching science fiction flicks in creating this vehicle … or sketching a Bond villain's lair.
"This is a car that would be at home whisking someone straight from a glamorous red carpet event to a remote scientific research lab," said Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda president and Group CEO. "It shows the bold possibilities for Lagonda and demonstrates how the company will push to expand horizons in every area, whether it be technology, design or scope of travel."
If that doesn't sound like a Bond film plot, we don't know what does. And it certainly helps that the concept itself is finished in a dark, sinister exterior color. Will 007 himself pilot this vehicle, or will it be a Bond villain? The villain drove a Jaguar in one of the last films, so perhaps Bond will have to use the Lagonda SUV, which will by no means be guaranteed to come out unscathed at the end of the film.
Aston admits it took inspiration from the Concorde in sculpting the lines of last year's Lagonda Vision concept — the body itself did have an aeronautical feel to it, down to a very generous rear overhang — but the sleeker Concorde is not the aircraft we would have guessed Aston Martin was thinking of. This year's concept takes inspiration from a superyacht, Aston says, further underscoring the sinister Bond villain overtones felt here.
"There is a relaxed elegance to the rear-leaning gesture of the belt line, but there is also an inherent robustness that is in keeping with the terrains that the vehicle is designed to tackle," Aston Martin says. "The surfacing is incredibly futuristic, with forms and shapes that look like they have been created by the huge, planetary forces of gravity fields."
It's clear by now that Aston Martin designers have been watching science fiction films. But when it comes to actual science and engineering behind the bodywork, the automaker says the concept stores its batteries in the floor, while the interior features rear seats positioned as far back as prudent. The two front seats can rotate and face the rear seats, Bond villain conference-style, while the concept operates autonomously.
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