Aston Martin Lagonda at Geneva Motor Show 2018: Forget concept cars – Aston has unveiled a driverless, electric concept brand
Aston Martin has unveiled its sleek new electric, driverless Lagonda Vision at the Geneva Motor Show – which it said was less a car, more a “near future study”.
The company demonstrated two versions of the Lagonda Vision at this week’s show, an SUV and a coupe, which it said could demonstrate how its new design language could be used in future.
It added that elements of the design used in the two vehicles could be used in production cars as soon as 2021.
(Click or tap on the images to see them in full screen)
The Lagonda Vision doesn’t have a bonnet…
… but Aston Martin chose to include a nose to keep it sleek.
Elements of the vehicle’s design could go into production by 2021.
The seats can be swiveled around…
… or reclined.
The steering wheel can be shifted from side to side.
Gullwing-style doors allow passengers to get in and out easily.
The design includes the world’s most ostentatious cupholder.
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Those include autonomous driving features which mean the car is able to drive itself in “all routine circumstances and on all recognisable roads” – allowing the driver to shift the steering wheel from one side to another, or rotate front seats so they face the back.
“For owners of true luxury cars, autonomy has existed for over a century, in a carbon-based form called a chauffeur,” pointed out Andy Palmer, the company’s chief executive.
“We imagine most Lagonda customers will choose to be driven, but whether by a person or a computer will be up to them. And if they want to drive themselves, the car will ensure that is a delightful and memorable experience too.”
The new design also misses out a crucial feature of most of its predecessors: the bonnet. However, the company said it had kept the car’s nose because it “needs to travel through the air and to do so as efficiently as possible to preserve battery life”.
“The car has been the greatest liberating force humankind has invented, and at the time the journey was as important as the destination,” added Palmer.
“All that has been lost over the last 100 years. Wherever you are in a Lagonda, whatever the journey and whichever seat you occupy, it will re-introduce you to the wonder of travel.”
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