Plenty of love affairs will have started on a double-decker bus. But Dimitri Labis is likely the only person to have fallen head over heels for a silver Aston Martin Lagonda after spotting it from the top deck.

When he was just 14 years old, Belgian-born Labis was on a solo tour of London, something he did on a relatively regular basis, hopping across the English Channel and exploring London by double-decker with an A-Z city map in hand.

During one of these trips in the early 1980s, a sighting outside Knightsbridge Park Tower Hotel marked him for life: a silver Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, flanked by a Lamborghini Countach and a Daimler DS Limousine. This wedge-shaped, sleek slice of technology etched itself into his memory as an emblem of futuristic luxury. Today, Labis owns an astonishing collection of 11 Lagondas.

He still has a photograph of that moment, captured on 35mm film outside the front of Knightsbridge Park Tower Hotel, on the edge ofLondon’s Hyde Park. In the photo there’s a silver, early Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, a car that makes the Mercedes 450 SEL behind it look like a pauper’s jalopy, and behind that is a kinky boots-red Lamborghini Countach, its optional rear wing obscuring the Daimler DS Limousine at the end of the parking bay. Taken at a time of historically high unemployment rates and painful inflation rates, the photo is a stark snapshot of the haves and have-nots.

Eccentric excess: spotting Lagondas in London

His teenage car-spotting trips took him to exclusive showrooms, where he admired vehicles he couldn’t yet afford. At P.J. Fischer in Putney, a Bentley and Rolls-Royce specialist, a welcoming Swiss car enthusiast allowed young Labis to sit in a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Another favourite haunt was Straight Eight, a classic car dealer where he ogled Lagondas on display. “I would look in the back of the classic car magazines, see which dealers were advertising Lagondas, and I would go around all of them travelling on the double decker!” he recalls.

The Lagonda debuted in 1976 with a daring look and equally bold price to match. At the time, it was the second most expensive car on sale, second to the throne behind the Rolls-Royce Camargue.

Fast-forward to 2005: Labis, now successful, bought his first Aston Martin – a 1971 DBS V8 – on eBay. It wasn’t a Lagonda, but it was a start. Then, in 2007, he finally acquired a Lagonda, also through eBay. Despite knowing the pitfalls of Lagonda ownership, Labis was hooked, ignoring warnings about the car’s quirks and corrosion issues.

“I had been told, and I had been to see many. But I didn’t care, I just wanted one. But I must admit I learned from my mistakes with that car. It was a UK car and had many corrosion issues. After that I knew more about what to look for.”

As he soon found out, Lagondas were prone to issues, especially the iconic, finicky dashboard electronics. The car's ambitious but unreliable digital dashboard, designed by Cranfield Institute of Technology, was among the first in the world. “The dashboard wasn’t working when I bought it, so I sent it to David Marks, a CRT specialist in Nottingham,” he says. Since then, the dash has functioned flawlessly, a testament to expert repair.

Labis’ collection grew as he continued to acquire Lagondas, including a rare long-wheelbase Tickford model. His obsession wasn’t purely for show. To Labis, these cars were meant to be driven.

Driver appeal: Aston Martin Lagonda

He praises the Lagonda’s power and handling – a “fantastic driving experience” – and frequently embarks on road trips across Europe, sometimes even sleeping in his Lagonda. “The stability and comfort are outstanding,” he says, though he admits the turning circle and sheer length of the car can make manoeuvring akin to a Krypton Factor challenge.

Labis’ dedication for the Lagonda extends to the community surrounding the car. He and his wife often join other Lagonda enthusiasts on road trips. Given that only 631 of these classic cars were made, each gathering feels like a reunion of a rare club. “There’s even a Lagonda lover song,” he laughs, though he insists it’s “printable.”

Labis knows his collection may seem eccentric, but he sees it as more than an indulgence. When asked if he considers them investments, helaughs, “The longer you keep them, the more you spend on them to keep them maintained.”

His daughters are interested in the cars, though his son prefers modern supercars. And wherever he drives, the distinctive Lagondas still draw curious onlookers.

Labis’ admiration for the car extends to the daring vision that created it. Designed by William Towns and engineered under Michael Loasby, the Lagonda was Aston Martin’s response to a financial crisis at the company.Company chairman Peter Sprague had championed the high-tech design, hoping that the car’s deposits would keep the struggling brand afloat. “It was comparable to building the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain,” Sprague later recalled.

Today, Labis’ fleet stands as a tribute to a unique piece of automotive history. To some, his devotion may seem illogical, even unhealthily obsessive. But to Labis, the Lagonda represents more than just a car; it’s a symbol of his love for British culture, his adventurous spirit, and a lifelong fascination with the futuristic dream that Aston Martin brought to life in 1976.

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