The Aston Martin Rapide is a 4-door, high-performance sports saloon, which British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in early 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at Detroit's North American International Auto Show in 2006 and the production version of the Rapide was shown at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Rapide name is a reference to the Lagonda Rapide, a four-door saloon produced by Lagonda, now part of Aston Martin. The new Rapide is the company's first 4-door fastback saloon since the Aston Martin Lagonda was discontinued in 1989. It is based on the Aston Martin DB9 and shares the same VH platform.
The first cars were rolled out in May 2010, initially built at a dedicated plant at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria. The factory initially planned to build 2,000 per year, but relocated to England in 2012 after sales did not meet production targets.
Rapide (2010â€"2013)
Specifications
The Rapide is powered by a 5,935 cc (362 cu in) V12 engine, producing 470 bhp (350 kW; 477 PS) and torque of 443 lbf·ft (601 N·m). It is rear-wheel drive and has a six-speed Touchtronic automatic.
The Rapide can reach a top speed of 188.5Â mph (303Â km/h), and accelerate 0-100Â km/h (62Â mph) in 5.3 seconds, or 0-60Â mph (97Â km/h) in 5.0 seconds.
Equipment
The Rapide's standard features include a tilt-telescoping steering wheel, bi-xenon headlamps and LED taillamps. Leather and walnut trim are standard, with metallic accents; power front seats with memory, cooling and heating; Bluetooth; satellite radio (US version only); and USB and iPod connectivity. The Rapide comes, as standard, with a Bang & Olufsen 16 speaker sound system with two tweeters that rise from the dashboard on activation of the system.
Rapide S (2013â€")
Specification
As part of the 2014 facelift and revisions to the Rapide, the V12 engine is upgraded to now produce 550Â bhp (410Â kW; 558Â PS). Performance improvements include a top speed of 190Â mph (306Â km/h) and acceleration 0-100Â km/h (62Â mph) reduced to 4.9 seconds. CO2 emissions are cut by 23g/km to 332g/km.
The Rapide S received further revisions in 2015, with: new 8-speed automatic transmission; power increase to 552Â bhp (412Â kW; 560Â PS), resulting in acceleration 0-100Â km/h (62Â mph) in 4.4 seconds and a new top speed of 203Â mph (327Â km/h).
RapidE Concept
Aston Martin is working on an all-electric version of its Rapide luxury sedan, named "RapidE". The electric car will be all-wheel-drive with over 200Â mi (320Â km) of range.
Rapide S AMR
Aston Martin unveiled the new AMR line for the Rapide S at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, along with the new Valkyrie, the Vanquish S Volante, and the V8 Vantage AMR-Pro. The AMR car features a black mesh grille, performance upgrades, and a new styling package.
Production
Aston Martin opted to ending its production by sub-contractor Magna Steyr in the middle of 2012, six years earlier than expected. Production of the car was also halted temporarily in May 2011. In the face of a diminishing market for luxury saloons, and to match output to shrinking sales, Aston Martin has to cut annual production from 2,000 to 1,250 in June 2011 - and may go as low as 500 annually.
Motorsports
A Rapide S was entered in the 2010 24 Hours Nürburgring. Drivers included Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez. It finished second in the SP 8 class. This Rapide S was powered a new technology introduced by Alset GmbH, Hybrid Hydrogen system that enables to use hydrogen and petrol individually or at the same time in an internal combustion engine. Aston Rapide S was the first car to race the 24 Hours Nürburgring with hydrogen fuel.
Media
References
External links
- Official Rapide Page