Aston Martin Rapide Pictures

The Aston Martin Rapide is a four-door, high-performance sport saloon, which British luxury marque Aston Martin introduced in early 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in 2006. The Rapide name is a reference to the Lagonda Rapide, a saloon car produced by Lagonda, now part of Aston Martin. The car is based on an Aston Martin DB9.

Aston Martin Rapide


Aston Martin Rapide



Aston Martin Rapide


Aston Martin Rapide


Aston Martin Rapide


Aston Martin Rapide




Aston Martin Rapide


Aston Martin Rapide





The base price for the Aston Martin Rapide is $235,800 (USD) and the first cars were rolled out in May 2010.
The Rapide is built at a dedicated plant at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria. Production began in 2010 and the factory plans to build 2,000 per year. The production version features a full-length glass roof and LED light bars on the rear end, two firsts for Aston Martin.

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin Rapide



Aston Martin Rapide



Aston Martin Rapide



Aston Martin Rapide

First Official Rendering Of Aston Martin Rapide

The Rapide’s front and rear aspects are closest to the Vantage V8, not the DBS or DB9. The front air dam features just one lower intake, the trunk valance is flush with the car, and the tailpipes flank the rear diffuser area. Those are all Vantage cues.

This supercar is 5-meter long car will be power by a 6.0-liter V12 engine, but slot exactly in between the DB9 and DBS in output with 480 hp. Autocar suggests this will get the car to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, but that could be optimistic – those 30 additional horses over the DB9 have to pull 286 more pounds, which will make it a challenge to outrun the middle sibling.

Not that it’s really meant to. The Rapide is Aston luxury for four, so it is taller than the DBS in order to provide more rear headroom for the “young adults” that can fit back there. The rear doors open wider than the front for ease of entry and the front seats have been raised to make room for the feet of back seat passengers. It even has a wagon-like folding rear bulkhead and parcel shelf. The Rapide will be appearing in the fourth quarter of the year when, with all hope, a better buying climate awaits it.
source:autocar