If you want an Aston Martin with four doors, that’ll be the Rapide… right? Yes, that’s right. But it’s not the only one. At least, it’s not the only one Aston Martin makes – even if it doesn’t carry the same badge.
We’re referring, of course, to the Taraf – the first Lagonda made in decades. And one has just popped up for sale in Dubai.
Lagonda, for those unfamiliar, is an additional brand that David Brown acquired in 1947 and merged with Aston Martin. It’s snaked in and out of obscurity in the decades since, last seeing production in the form of the wedge-like Aston Martin Lagonda sedan in the 1970s and ’80s.
Aston set about reviving the name about a decade ago, and revealed an unfortunately poorly received crossover concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. That project was ultimately shelved, eventually replaced by the luxury sedan you see here.
Called the Taraf, the sedan is based on the same VH architecture that underpins the DB9, Vanquish, Rapide… pretty much everything that Aston has made up until the new DB11. It also packs that same long-serving 6.0-liter V12, but tasked with motivating an exclusive luxury sedan.
The idea was to sell the Taraf exclusively in the Middle East, but availability was eventually broadened to other markets as well. That does not appear to have increased production, though: according to Alain Class Motors, which has this example listed for sale, the original plans for no more than 200 examples was ultimately lowered to 120, but only 48 have been built to date.
That makes this a rather exclusive vehicle indeed, and it can be yours for the right price. The dealer isn’t listing just what that price is, exactly, but the Taraf originally retailed for about $1 million, and this one only has 683 miles on the odometer.