2014 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Coupe - Untitled Demo on 2040-cars

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Aston Martin spotted testing striking Lagonda sedan

Aston Martin may be known more for its two-door GTs and cabrios, but it has made a handful of four-door sedans. They've historically worn the Lagonda name as either a nameplate or marque, and that's just what we seem to have here. Spied running along familiar test routes in the UK, this prototype is reportedly registered to Aston Martin and based on the current Rapide S, complete with the company's long-serving AM11 6.0-liter V12. Only whereas the Rapide packs everything in tight on a short wheelbase – albeit with more room in the back than the two-door DB9 or Vanquish – this prototype appears to be riding on a stretched wheelbase. Over that lengthened frame, Aston's Q customization department has apparently draped custom bodywork with lines that seem to blend elements of the last Aston Martin Lagonda sedan that wedged its way in between 1976 and 1990 on the one hand, and Zagato's pair of Centennial concepts presented last summer on the other. One thing it clearly is not, however, is the Lagonda crossover concept which Aston revealed to mixed reviews at the Geneva Motor Show back in 2009. The big question is where this sedan is heading (beyond its test route). We could be looking at a highly exclusive creation for a handful of wealthy clients, or at a production model to relaunch the Lagonda brand as has long been anticipated. We're hoping it's the latter, but we'll just have to wait to find out. Judging by how close it looks to completion, it shouldn't be too long.

Everybody's doing flying cars, so why aren't we soaring over traffic already?

"Where's my flying car?" has been the meme for impending technology that never materializes since before there were memes. And the trough of disillusionment for vehicles that can take to sky continues to nosedive, despite a nonstop fascination with flying cars and a recent rash of announcements about the technology, particularly from traditional automakers. Earlier this month, Toyota applied for an eye-popping patent for a flying car that has wheels with spring-loaded pop-out helicopter rotors. The patent filing says the wheels/rotors would be electrically powered, while in on-land mode the vehicle would have differential steering like tracked vehicles such as tanks and bulldozers. At an airshow in July, Aston Martin unveiled its Volante Vision Concept, an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle it developed with Rolls-Royce. Aston says the Volante can fly at top speeds of around 200 mph and bills it as a luxury car for the skies. Audi used the Geneva Motor Show in March to unveil a flying car concept called the Pop.Up Next it developed with Airbus and Italdesign. If the Pop.Up Next, an electric and autonomous quadcopter/city car combo, gets stuck in traffic, an app can be used to summon an Airbus-developed drone to pick up the passenger compartment pod, leaving the chassis behind. Audi said that the Pop.Up Next is a "flexible on-demand concept that could open up mobility in the third dimension to people in cities." But Audi also acknowledged that at this point it has no plans to develop it. The cash-stoked, skies-the-limit Silicon Valley tech crowd is also bullish on flying cars. The startup Kitty Hawk that's backed by Google co-founder Larry Page announced in June that it's taking pre-orders for its single-seat electric Flyer that's powered by 10 propellers and is capable of vertical takeoffs and landings. The current version can only fly up to 20 mph and 10 feet in the air and has a flight time of just 12 to 20 minutes on a full charge. The Flyer is considered a recreational vehicle, so doesn't require a pilot's license. Uber says it plans to launch its more ambitious Elevate program and UberAIR service in 2023. "Uber customers will be able to push a button and get a flight on-demand with uberAIR in Dallas, Los Angeles and a third international market," Uber Elevate promises on its website.

Maybach and Aston Martin alliance talks fall apart

If you have, like us, been salivating at the notion of a new generation of Maybach and Lagonda ultra-luxury crafts built by Aston Martin, we've got some bad news: According to reports emanating from Germany, talks between AML and Daimler have broken down.
The proposal under negotiation would have seen Daimler outsourcing production of the next family of Maybach models to Aston Martin, which in return would benefit from Mercedes-Benz platforms and engines - not only for its svelte GTs, but also for its own future Lagonda line of limousines and luxury SUVs. That, and a boatload of money - or at least that's what AML was reportedly seeking, an issue that served as the stumbling block over which the deal reportedly collapsed.
That's not to say the two parties couldn't still reach some sort of a compromise, but short of that, Daimler may opt to either shut down Maybach altogether, find another partner, or take another stab at building new models internally.