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Aston martin Lagonda 1985--RARE--and crazy In 1976 flared, bellbottom trousers and flowered shirts were in vogue. The Concorde started supersonic service between Europe and the US. ABBA climbed the pop charts. It is difficult to identify other automobiles that so effected and affected the style of their day as the Lagonda. Long and shingle-shaped with a low flat hood, shrunken roof and impossibly luxuriously and futuristically equipped interior, it was the ultimate 4-door saloon. It was like nothing else before or since. Built in the Aston Martin tradition of bespoke construction, each of its four cam V-8 engines was signed by the Newport Pagnell craftsman who built it. The dashboard forecast Star Wars, a panoply of touch switches and nixie tube displays with voice alerts in suave British tones. Swathed in fine leather and rich wood, it recalled Thirties coachwork with a retracting sunroof ... over the rear seats, not the driver. The four-cam 5, 340cc Aston Martin V-8 cranked out over 300 brake horsepower and gave the sleek William Towns designed Lagonda saloon 140+mph performance. Built from 1974-1990 they cost $15, 000 in 1985, explaining why production reached only 645 in fifteen years.
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