"We have now investigated and concluded that the revival of the Lagonda brand would allow us to develop cars which can have a different character than a sportscar and therefore offer a perfect synergy."
The carmaker, which supplies British secret agent James Bond with his DBS coupe in the upcoming "Quantum of Solace" movie, aims to sell between 7,000 and 7,500 sports cars this year after about 7,400 in 2007.
Having bought Aston Martin in 1947, its then-owner David Brown acquired rival British carmaker Lagonda that year to gain access to the latter's chassis and W.O. Bentley engine. Production was subsequently concentrated at Aston Martin.
Apart from a series of Lagonda four-door saloon models introduced in the mid-seventies and designed by William Towns, the name later effectively ceased to exist.
"In 2009, Lagonda is about to celebrate its 100th birthday and in its centenary year we are confident that we will show the first concept of a car which could be in the market in 2012," the Aston Martin CEO said.
The concept is expected to be unveiled at the Geneva auto show in early March 2009.
A spokesman for Aston Martin said the new luxury vehicle would be "truly versatile" but declined to comment further on what market segments might be targeted or where the model would be built, since its UK Gaydon plant is running at full capacity.
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"We do not consider the William Towns version as a leading design," the spokesman added.
SUPER SPORTS CAR
Bez said in the statement he believed the new brand could be suitable for both existing and emerging markets, allowing the company to expand its presence to more than 100 countries in the world from 32.
Wendelin Wiedeking, chief executive of luxury rival Porsche (PSHG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), has often said the company's expansion into new markets first became possible once it departed from its sports car-only focus to launch the Cayenne sport utility vehicle.
Aston Martin's CEO told Reuters late in May that the company would not focus on expanding its network of 125 dealers in emerging markets since he felt the brand suffered from insufficient awareness.
Although Bez opened new sales points in Moscow, Shanghai and Beijing last year, he recently looked to add to its retail network with new showrooms in cities like Seattle, Istanbul, Warsaw and Bari on top of recent additions in Valencia and Bordeaux.
Ford Motor Co F.N. sold Aston Martin for 479 million pounds ($864.9 million) in March 2007, to a consortium led by David Richards -- former Formula 1 Benetton and BAR racing boss -- and including John Sinders as well as two Kuwaiti funds.
Next year it plans to launch the four-door Aston Martin Rapide to compete with Maserati's (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Quattroporte, to be followed by a limited series of 77 super sports cars expected to retail at over $1 million each.
source:reuters
