Aston Martin Lagonda
This 4-door sedan arrived for the 1976 model year, though not officially in the U.S., which had to wait until 1982 for the federal version. It sat on a 115 inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 208 inches. It was rather heavy at about 4600lbs. The suggested retail price was in the $150000 range, but the car was appointed as well as a comparable Rolls Royce or Bentley of the day. They were even hand-built just like those. It was shaped like a wedge and featured pop-up headlamps. While some consider the styling revolutionary, many consider it one of the ugliest cars of all time.
The engine was a 5.3L DOHC 4x2bbl V8. Its carburetors were supplied by Weber. The U.S. spec cars were rated at about 263hp with 292tq. Euro-spec cars were as high as 350hp and 400tq. Backing the engine was either a 5-speed ZF manual or 3-speed Chrysler automatic. Axle ratio was rather bland on U.S. spec cars at 3.07:1 for the automatic trans, and 3.54:1 with the manual. For as heavy and low powered the U.S. spec cars were, performance was not at all bad. Zero to sixty happened in about 8 seconds and top speed was 140mph.
The Lagonda is a like it or hate it type of car. Evel Knievel liked the look so much, he bought an ’84 version (which was identical to the ’83s) and promptly had a Chevrolet 502 V8 shoehorned in, and added side pipes. For the rest of the world, there’s surprisingly a decent sized community of enthusiasts for these cars.
