| Lagonda Taraf | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lagonda Taraf at the Goodwood Festival of Speed | |
| Edvvc from London, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons | |
| Manufacturer | Lagonda (Aston Martin) |
| Production | 2015–December 2016 (120 produced) |
| Assembly | Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom |
| Designer | Marek Reichman[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Full-size luxury car (F) |
| Body style | 4-door saloon |
| Layout | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive |
| Platform | VH Generation IV |
| Doors | Swan |
| Related | Aston Martin DB9 Aston Martin Rapide |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 5.9 L AM11 V12 |
| Transmission | 8-speed ZF 8HP70 (Touchtronic III) automatic |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 3,190 mm (125.6 in) |
| Length | 5,397 mm (212.5 in) |
| Width | 1,917 mm (75.5 in) |
| Height | 1,389 mm (54.7 in) |
| Kerb weight | 4,398 lb (1,995 kg) |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Aston Martin Lagonda |
Lagonda Taraf
The Lagonda Taraf is a four-door full-sized luxury car manufactured by Lagonda, a marque owned by British automobile manufacturer Aston Martin since 1947. The Arabic word "taraf" means ultimate luxury in English.[2] Only 120 cars were built, each of which was priced at US$1 million.[3]
History
The Lagonda marque was founded in 1906 by Wilbur Gunn. It won the 1935 Le Mans 24 Hour race with a Lagonda M45R driven by John Stuart Hindmarsh and Luis Fontés. The Lagonda Rapide V12, introduced in 1939, was the most expensive car in the United States at the time of its launch. The company soon filed for bankruptcy however due to failing customer interest in luxury and sports cars brought on by the Great Depression and the onset of the Second World War. The marque was bought by Alan Good, who outbid Rolls-Royce Limited. In 1947, Lagonda was bought by David Brown, who had also bought Aston Martin. The brand came back in 1976 after decades of being inactive with the introduction of the Aston Martin Lagonda luxury saloon, badged as an Aston Martin model. However the model was discontinued in early 1990, effectively killing off the brand name as well.[3][4][5]
Aston Martin decided to revive the Lagonda brand in 2009 to expand into untapped market segments and celebrate Lagonda's centenary.[6]
The resulting four-wheel-drive, four-seater concept saloon, unveiled in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, met with mixed reviews. The company then focused on development of the Taraf under Project Comet (the initial code name for the car).[1][7][8]
V12 6.0 556cv 600N.m. Falcon® Photography from France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Lagonda branding on the Taraf. Falcon® Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rear view Falcon® Photography from France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Design
Project Comet was undertaken by Aston Martin's Q division which specialises in commissioning bespoke cars and customising existing models to customer specifications. The final full-sized model was completed within 8 months of the first studio sketches in January 2014. Marek Reichman attributed to the swift execution to lessons learnt from the production of the One-77, which took two years to complete from design to conception.[9]
The car was intended as a homage to the Lagonda model, produced between 1976 and 1990. A total of 645 of those cars were produced, each of which took 2,200 man-hours to build.[10]
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