Aston Martin is planning to revive the Lagonda badge on a sedan, according to UK press reports.
Aston Martin has owned the 108-year-old British luxury car marque since 1947.
The new sedan will not share the styling of the Lagonda SUV concept that was roundly criticized when it debuted at the 2009 Geneva auto show. Instead, reports say the new Lagonda will adopt the proportions, if not the styling, of the 1976-90 Lagonda sedan, the last time the nameplate was used by Aston Martin on a production vehicle.
Lagonda's history
Lagonda was founded by Wilbur Gunn, an American who set up a workshop in England and built his first car in 1909. The name comes from a river near Gunn's hometown in Springfield, Ohio.
In its heyday, Lagonda was a serious rival to ultra-luxury brands including Rolls-Royce and Bentley. When Bentley went bankrupt in 1931 and was taken over by Rolls-Royce, company founder W. O. Bentley moved to Lagonda and designed the company's iconic LG6 model, which Aston took as its inspiration for the SUV concept unveiled in 2009.
By 1947, Lagonda was struggling financially and it was bought by David Brown, the British tractor magnate, who had earlier taken control of Aston Martin.
In the 1970s, Aston chief designer William Towns created the Aston Martin Lagonda V8, a wedgy four-door sedan with angular styling.
That was the company's last production car. For the past two and a half decades the name has lived on only in Aston's official legal company title, Aston Martin Lagonda.
