Aston Martin Rapide

Arguably, the star of the recent Detroit Motor Show was the new Aston Martin Rapide concept car.  With the vehicle about to be shown at the forthcoming Geneva Auto Salon in March, interest in this remarkable car gathers pace.

The Aston Martin Rapide concept is a four-door, high-performance coupe of remarkable grace and poise.  Based on Aston Martin's unique VH (Vertical/Horizontal) architecture, the Rapide combines the company's commitment to power, beauty and soul with space and practicality for every eventuality

Now a four-door Aston Martin may seem a little at odds with the cars the company have been producing up until now, however, delving back through history reveals a very different story.  For instance, Aston Martin first produced a four-door Touring model for the 1927 London Olympia Motor Show and its first interpretation of a four-door saloon came in 1939 with the experimental avant-garde prototype known as the "Atom".  David Brown's purchase of the company was greatly influenced by the performance of the Atom, intended to demonstrate Aston Martin's technical expertise and future strategy.

In the 1970's eight four-door versions of the V8 Saloon (plus a prototype) were built for clients, and again in the '90's several Virage and supercharged Vantages were built as four-doors by Aston Martin Works Service.

Rapide, therefore, was a natural choice to demonstrate the flexibility of the company and it's ability to design and engineer a completely new car within a short period of time.  The visual language of an Aston Martin is highly distinctive.  Across a range of three cars, the company's design team, led by Design Director Marek Reichman, fulfils Aston Martin's core values - power, beauty and soul - with bodywork that is taut, poised and muscular.

"The brand is about excitement," says Reichman, explaining how the concept is intended to provide everything customers have come to expect from an Aston Martin, and more.

"We wanted to make the most beautiful four-door car in the world," he says.  Unarguably, they have succeeded.  A four-door was a natural way of providing access to the Rapide's increased interior space.

And it is in the interior that the Rapide continues Aston Martin's reputation for highly-tailored, individual cockpits.  Compact, yet surprisingly spacious, the cabin is abound with details that provide the onlooker with a proper sense of occasion.  The beautiful watch-like instrumentation of the DB9 & V8 Vantage models makes a welcome appearance and is complemented by a Jaeger-LeCoultre designed clock in the centre of the console.  A transparent, ultra-light polycarbonate roof - a first for the company - brings an increased sense of spatial awareness.

The generous rear luggage compartment is accessed via a hatchback, a feature shared with the Vantage and the pioneering DB2/4 of 1952.  The boot of the concept has a chiller cabinet incorporated in the boot, perfectly shaped to hold a single magnum of Jacquesson champagne, along with four elegant flutes.

The car is powered by the same 6.0 litre V12 engine from the DB9, yet uprated to 480bhp.  Mated to the six-speed Touchtronic gearbox, the gearing has been adjusted to suit the longer wheelbase and more refined ride.  Carbon brakes (a first on an Aston Martin) give the Rapide immense stability and stopping power.

Now whilst the Aston Martin Rapide is purely a concept car, the big question has to be whether or not this car (or similar) would have a place in the line-up.  At the moment its very much "wait and see", however should you have an interest, then please call us at HWM to register your intent.