The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2019 - Issue 26

bite cars I n their mission to be more sustainable and kinder to the environment, Aston Martin aims to produce the world’s first zero-emission luxury car with the Lagonda Vision Concept. The plan was first unveiled in March 2018, with the production scheduled to start in 2021. The car brand be- lieves it will confound traditional thinking and take full advan- tage of the latest advances in electrification and autonomous driving technologies, which amount to the biggest revolution in land-bound transportation since the invention of the car. Through this, Lagonda will show true luxury and modern de- sign; far from having diametrically opposed interests, it will exist in total harmony, and enhance each other’s most desir- able characteristics. “We believe people associate luxury in their cars with a certain traditional and even old-fashioned approach because, to date, that is all that’s been available to them,” commented Aston Martin President and Chief Execu- tive Officer, Dr. Andy Palmer. “Lagonda exists to challenge that thinking and prove that being modern and luxurious are not mutually exclusive concepts.” At the moment, the Lagonda Vision Concept is a near-future study that previews the design language that could potentially be seen in the production Lagonda model in just over a year from now. Not only will the new concept be presented but there will also be two 40 percent scale models - one coupe con- cept and one SUV concept. This is done to illustrate how the Lagonda design language could be adapted for the future. “The Lagonda Vision Concept is an incredibly bold design statement,” said Aston Martin Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman. “The electrification revolution means there is no longer any need for horse and carriage design, and our new concept shows the scope of de- sign opportunities that open up once you no longer need to provide space for a large power source directly in front of the passenger compartment. In the Lagonda Vision Concept, the batteries occupy the floor of the car. Everything above that line belongs to us.” The concept model will represent a different kind of modern mobility and design. Designed from the inside out, there is no need to package a vast internal combustion engine, gearbox, and transmission so the designers can optimise the interior down to the smallest detail and then build up the exterior of the car around it. As the Lagonda Vision Concept will not have a bonnet because one is not required, it will still need to travel through the air and to do so as efficiently as possible to preserve battery life, which is why its shape is so sleek and dynamic. “The shape of the Lagonda Vision Concept is the result of sat- isfying a number of different requirements,” said Reichman. “The need to make a bold design statement, to establish Lag- onda as a company of the future and to show technological advancement can help liberate design too. So while Aston Martin’s design language can be seen as organic and natural, that of Lagonda is more sculptural, shocking, and challeng- ing. It is a shape formed by the collision of invisible forces, like those made by magnetic particles in an electrical current. The secret is to understand how to connect that shock and change to beautiful surfacing.” Turning to renowned English craftsman David Snowdon to enhance the interior of the concept model in an unconven- Images courtesy of Aston Martin