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Of bespoke luxury
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the lucky children Veruca Salt gets her golden ticket, thanks to her father repurposing his peanut shelling factory in a chocolate-bar-unwrapping factory.
Picking up threads of One-77, Aston Martin unveils LagondaTaraf
In Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one of the lucky children Veruca Salt gets her golden ticket, thanks to her father repurposing his peanut shelling factory in a chocolate-bar-unwrapping factory. Now, there are only five golden tickets, and chocolate bars in the book seem quite popular.
How many bars would one need to buy just to have a seizable chance of finding one of the tickets? After doing the maths, Clément Pit–Claudel, a programmer and algorithmic puzzler estimated that the number of chocolate bars father Salt had to buy were around 40 million, making the odds of winning the golden ticket 1 in 40 million. Charlie on the other hand got lucky… really lucky.
Now, Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie (I am not Charlie), neither are you, and you must very well also understand that the odds of buying an Aston Martin LagondaTaraf is close to winning the Wonka’s ticket.
Rationally, it makes almost no sense. For $1 million you could instead buy every one of its obvious rivals. But then, is a 200-foot yacht a rational decision? Or a Rembrandt? A bargain compared with those nonautomotive status symbols, the LagondaTaraf is intended to be perhaps the first of a new line of sedan models aimed at challenging Rolls-Royce and Bentley; consider it a toe-dipping exercise to gauge demand in this most rarefied part of the market.
The return of Lagonda follows in the wake of other bespoke special projects by Aston Martin such as the creation of the extreme Aston Martin Vulcan supercar, Vantage GT3 special edition, One-77, V12 Zagato and the CC100 Speedster Concept.
“Based on the brand’s almost infinitely flexible VH architecture, the new saloon draws inspiration from the highly sought-after William Towns-designed Lagonda of 1976 and features many of the same cutting edge engineering techniques seen in modern Aston Martin sports cars such as the use of carbon fibre body panels,” Aston Martin stated in a release.
It is hand-built at Aston Martin’s manufacturing facilities in Gaydon, Warwickshire, in a dedicated building previously given over to the creation of the One-77 hypercar. The car is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine that makes about 600 bhptransfered to the rear wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission that transcends your love to 100 kmph in about 4.2 seconds.
The Taraf is an extremely likable car; though the price figure may suggest otherwise. But if you live in city like Hyderabad even the Nizam once used a Rolls Royce to sweep the road, or if the valet captain at your next visit to Golf Club asks which Mercedes-Maybach S600 is yours, then the Tarafcould be the way to get the exclusivity you’ve always craved for.
