Aston Martin CEO wants to create Ferrari rival, Lagonda sedans to take on Bentley
Andy Palmer, CEO of Aston Martin, has publicly revealed some of the company's possible expansion plans.
In an interview with Car and Driver, Palmer said, "The reason we’re doing [the Valkyrie] is to create a halo car, but also to create DNA for a mid-engined sports-car range".
If the boss gets his way, the Valkyrie mid-engine hypercar (below) will be followed up by a smaller mid-engine model to tackle Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren.
As the mid-engine sector is new to Aston Martin, Palmer believes that it's important for the brand to establish a level of credibility with a crazily expensive model first, and then move "downwards one step at a time".
The mid-engine Ferrari-fighter has already entered the design phase, but the real work, engineering, won't be given the go-ahead unless the company keeps hitting it sales and revenue targets.
Should the sub-Valkyrie model be approved, it won't appear until after the next-generation Vantage and the new DBX crossover are released.
Above: The limited-edition Lagonda Taraf is based on the Aston Martin Rapide.
Palmer also laid out what's being envisioned for the Lagonda, which will sit as a marque in its own right and will be pitched into the super-luxury sedan segment against Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
The company is currently running studies into how many models the range should encompass. There might only be one model, or potentially three, but Palmer's gut instinct is that there should be two different Lagonda sedans.
Again, nothing's been approved yet, with the Lagonda expansion contingent on the company meeting future financial targets.
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