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Aston Martin considers offering new Lagonda Taraf outside of Middle East

Aston Martin officially took the wraps off its new Lagonda sedan in Dubai on Monday, revealing the luxury limousine in all its glory and revealing its nameplate as Taraf – derived from the Arabic word for "luxury" (not for some Kurdish starlet). A fitting name, since it will only be offered to select customers in the Middle East, where a large number of its '70s-era predecessors have found homes. But while the model was clearly and emphatically targeted at the Persian Gulf clientele, Aston Martin is reportedly considering offering the Lagonda Taraf in other markets as well. Both Car and Top Gear are citing Aston's new chief executive Andy Palmer on the matter from the unveiling in Dubai: "I can confirm today that we are also evaluating the opportunity to offer this Lagonda in other markets." Whether it would carry the Arabic name along with it, we don't know. Nor do we know, for that matter, if the US would be among those markets which Aston would consider selling the sedan. "We have enjoyed excellent levels of interest in the Lagonda and we are investigating possibilities for other markets besides the Middle East," said Matthew Clarke, the company's spokesman for the Americas, in correspondence with Autoblog. "However, we can't add any more or be any more specific at this very early stage." Understandable, of course, but we hope to hear good news in the near future.

Check out Christina Nielsen, the 23-year-old Dane leading the IMSA GTD series

Thanks to hard driving, a good car, consistency, and four podiums this season, 23-year-old Christina Nielsen from Horsholm, Denmark owns the lead of the GT Daytona class in the IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship. It's a slim lead at 199 points, just two points over Christopher Haase and Dion von Moltke, co-drivers of the #48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS who are second and third and both on 197 points. Nielsen drives the Aston Martin Racing #007 TRG-AMR V12 Vantage GT3 in both USCC and the GTA class of the Pirelli World Challenge. Kuno Wittmer is her co-driver in the USCC, you might remember him as the winner of the driver's championship with the short-lived Chrysler factory team. TRG-AMR recently inducted the Canadian and 17-year-racing veteran to the be the team's number one development driver and be a mentor to Nielsen. Nielsen is the daughter of a Danish sports car racer but she only started racing in 2007 when a friend took her to a kart track. She said she got hooked on that first visit, and in 2011 she finished third in the Karting World Championships. Two years later she won the B Championship at the German ADAC GT Masters with 14 podiums in 16 races, including two victories. Last year she drove in the Patron Endurance Cup and Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, this year she graduated to TRG-AMR. There are three races left in the USCC season, and Nielsen said she likes the upcoming tracks and the team's chances. You can check out her race-craft in the two videos below. News Source: IMSAImage Credit: Brian Cleary/Getty Images Motorsports Aston Martin Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos uscc

Here's what else you could buy for the average new-car price of $40,573

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. The average price of a new car in America hit a new record in December 2020: $40,573. Not that we're surprised — the average has been over $35,000 for the past few years — but seeing that baseline figure crest 40 large is still a sticker-shock to the system. So, as we do every once in a while, we put our collective heads together and came up with a list of alternatives that you could choose to buy for that sum, new or old, classic or practical. Now, let's be crystal clear about one thing here. We're not actually recommending you make this type of decision. That said, we wouldn't blame you if you did. Managing Editor Greg Rasa: $40,000 will buy a fully loaded Camry or moderately equipped crossover. Or, for $39,997, to be exact, one could go motoring in a fine British automobile. This 2006 Aston Martin DB9 Volante in Alabama has 21,452 miles on it, and depreciation has worked its cruel magic: It is listed for less than one-quarter of its $168,000 starting MSRP when it was new. A check of other used DB9s nationwide indicates this is a fair price. This Aston's CarFax reveals two owners. (One, really, as the second was a dealership. Looks like it got traded in for a Porsche.) If you're understandably concerned about reliability, its service history indicates no surprises to date. Remember, it has a 450-horsepower 5.9-liter V12. And spring is coming. Of course a used Aston Martin is riskier than a new Camry. But as Louis Prima sang, "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think." What price beauty? Less than $40 grand. Associate Editor Byron Hurd: This price point opens up a ton of options in the "nearly new" luxury space, including a few good enthusiast picks, but my nod here goes to the Cadillac ATS-V. The discontinued, M3/M4-rivaling, 465-horsepower sport sedan and coupe can be had all day long in this price range with low miles. In fact, the real challenge is finding one in the spec you want, since it's one of those old-fashioned cars that actually presented the buyer with choices. Here's a clean, six-speed sedan in an actual color for less than our target price, for example. Coupes are more plentiful than sedans, especially in interesting colors, but there are plenty of them out there.