Aston Martin stretches the concept of an SUV with its latest Lagonda

A year ago, Aston Martin wowed attendees of the Geneva Motor Show with the audacious impracticality of its Lagonda limousine concept. This year, the British marque is coming down to earth with an all-terrain SUV concept Lagonda that is... every bit as ridiculous as the first one. Now dubbed the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept, the new car is still the size of a small train carriage, it still has doors longer than a Smart car, and it’s still decorated more plushly than a Swiss lodge. But there’s one key difference: Aston Martin’s promise that the All-Terrain SUV will enter production in Wales in 2022.

So let’s take a moment to try to figure out what parts of this ridiculous assemblage of engineering and luxury excess have a chance of making it in a real road-going vehicle. Aston Martin claims fully autonomous and zero-emissions driving, courtesy of an electric powertrain, both of which can be taken as realistic goals for a 2022 car. The steering wheel and the large displays built into it and the backs of the front seats are fine, and so are the Swarovski crystals embedded into the seat padding and all of the finery that the doors are clad in.

I do struggle to believe that anything quite so enormous as the Lagonda All-Terrain Concept can be put on the road without requiring an enormous battery, and I’d imagine a few of its dimensions would shrink between the current conceptual stage and any prototype approaching production readiness. I also question the hovering — yes, I verified that it does indeed levitate — key for the car, which an Aston Martin rep tells me also doubles as a navigation dial. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an intensely futuristic bit of design, but I imagine it’s also intensely fiddly to try and actually use.

Working on the theme of making the technology invisible, Aston Martin’s Lagonda concepts ultimately boil down to exhibitions of extreme opulence. From the indulgent exterior curves and lines to the grandiose size and space within the interior. It’s an SUV, Aston Martin claims, but it’s unlike any SUV I’ve ever seen or will ever have the means to purchase. Still, it makes for fun pictures, and it’s an entertaining conversation starter.

Photography by Vlad Savov / The Verge