An Argument About Luxury Cars Is Brewing Between Rolls-Royce And Aston Martin
It all started with a rather candid interview with Aston Martin Lagonda design chief Marek Reichman in Autocar earlier this week. Speaking about the re-launch of the Lagonda brand and its idea of future luxury vehicles - demonstrated via the Vision Concept - Reichman didn’t hold back, saying: “You can’t see Apple or Google executives in a [Rolls-Royce] Phantom. You can see them in this.”
So far, so strong, but later in the interview, Reichman dropped this little nugget into the conversation: “Rolls-Royce and Bentley are Ancient Greece today. I worked on the original Phantom. The brief was Buckingham Palace on wheels. It was important to do that to establish it. But the world has changed, and the royals have changed.”
Factor in that and a description of the modern Rolls template being an “imperfect package for luxury,” it should come as no surprise that it wasn’t long before a response was issued.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Otvös branded the comments “highly unprofessional,” going on to say that, “They [Aston Martin/Lagonda] really don’t understand our segment, they really don’t understand the customers. They are in a complete different league on pricing, they have zero clue what’s going on in the upper, upper segment, zero. I am sorry to be so blunt.”
The Goodwood-based brand then put out a press release about the 103EX concept it revealed a while ago, including the following quote from Müller-Otvös: “When we revealed 103EX to the world in 2016, Rolls-Royce set the agenda for the future of luxury mobility. Since then it has become clear that other car brands have acknowledged our vision, so much so that they have adopted most aspects, apart from the most visionary and radical.” I think you can probably guess what he’s referring to there.
So is that the end of it, or has this war of words only just begun?
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
Bentley where are youuuuuu?
Exactly what I was thinking. I thought it would be RR vs Bentley
Honestly, I love how Rolls is “the Buckingham Palace on wheels.” People love classic design and feel and there will always be a market for anything geared towards the classical. And that is exactly where I think Rolls needs to stay. To me, they are a brand where, when you sit in the seats, you feel elegant, and refined and like royalty. Aston Martin and I would assume the Lagonda sector as well will be more grand tourer. Something beautiful on the outside and inside but also something that you know is a car. An amazing luxury car with very capable performance, but a car nonetheless. In the end, I think this is only the begining but I think this is a discussion of blueberries and blackberries. Yes, both are berries but they are two different berries with different audiences.
These words are like fine wine……
They’re fine as hell
A good comparison is like Apple and Samsung.
Apple is for all the posh people, who like brand loyalty
Samsung is for those who like to make a statement not just by the brand but also by the product itself
I agree almost completely with what you say, except for the fact that I believe from my limited knowledge of the situation that lagonda is going to be a like a rolls royce but with more contemporary styling and more techy features
Rolls is in a different league than Aston. Rolls-Royce has always seem to be about luxury above all, as AM seem to steer for performance and luxury together. Though I don’t know the full extent of both companies history’s, so don’t quote me on that.
Talking about the Lagonda part of AM rather than AM itself
the 103EX reminds me of something…..
Am I the only one who thinks that auto executives have the worst restrain ever?
I have a solution for both , the limited series lagonda built some years ago, was a “luxury” car and the actual rr ghost is another . This fridge and the lagonda concept are just crap… So instead of insult each other they just need to create true cars , not cheap automated vacuum cleaners
Rolls’ aren’t automated, it’s the owners Butler/Servant who drives it.
That’s because Apple or Google don’t have style…
Not everybody wants style. Some people would like a 500k car that has a 10k Computer power in it. Sure it’s not classy, but imagine the tech. Jesus, the Bose system, a GTX1080Ti Graphics on the SatNAV. It’s perfection for some people.
“Thine mother is quite homosexual”
“Nay thee”
Aston: Ur brand is lame
Rolls: No u
“Verily, sir, thou art a faggot”
“Nay - thine words are of thyself, but what of I?”
[DELETED]
I love Aston Martin a bit more than these brands but I really love the rivalries that are coming out of the woodwork. Remember when Lamborghini and Ferrari said things like this to each other? Let’s bring this back!