Aston Martin Rapide Prices

The British supercar maker Aston Martin has unveiled the price of the new four-door saloon; the Rapide. The luxury vehicle price starts at £139,950. Deliveries start from March next year at an expected total of 2000 sales a year.

In the standard kit includes a Bang & Olufsen sound system, heated memory seats and dual-cast brakes. The car will also feature an adaptive damping system. The Rapide is the first Aston to be built at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria, with each car taking about 220 man hours to build.

Main competitors are the Maserati Quattroporte and the Porsche Panamera. The full price of the Rapide differs £95,298 with respect to a top-spec Porsche Panamera 4.8 V8 Turbo PDK and £89,860 with respect to a Maserati Quattroporte 4.7 V8 GT S.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide Test Drive

The Rapide is an offshoot of the DB9 and shares many parts with the coupe. It's been stretched 11.4 inches to accommodate the additional doors and larger, rear bucket seats. Its fluid exterior—probably the best-looking four-door in the market—incorporates pressed aluminum, steel and composite materials. If the front end looks like a DB9, that's because the Rapide's hood and front doors and much of the front structure came straight off the DB. Under the skin, aluminum extrusions are bonded together to form the chassis, just like the rest of the Aston lineup. Notably, the new four-door gains only about 330 pounds over the coupé, for a total curb weight of 4300 pounds.

Under the Rapide's bulging and subtly vented hood resides a DB9-sourced, 6.0-liter V12 powerplant that produces 470 hp at 6000 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm. The mill meets a Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox with shift-by-wire controls. A carbon-fiber driveshaft and aluminum torque tube send the power rearward. The engine and gearbox are mounted close to the firewall, which is one reason why the Rapide has a 51/49 front/rear weight distribution. The suspension's adaptive damping system uses two valves to adjust stiffness to one of five settings, based on road conditions and driver input.

Though not the first street car to incorporate brake discs with aluminum hubs (known as “hats" in the racing community) and steel rotors (the Audi R8 earns that distinction), the Rapide is the first Aston Martin to incorporate the feature. The main benefit, other than lighter overall vehicle weight, is reduced unsprung mass—about 20 percent less than steel-only rotors. The six and four-piston Brembo calipers use hydraulic brake assist, and the Rapide's 20-inch alloy wheels are wrapped in meaty Bridgestone Potenza S001s, 245-millimeter-wide tires in front, 275 out back.

Cargraphic Aston Martin Rapide

Cargraphic is known mostly for their visual upgrades on luxury and exotic cars. Their take on the Aston Martin Rapide is no different, they have stated their intention to add a new set of rims most notably, however, there’s also a little more going on than these pictures tend to tell.

Cargraphic claim that they will offer a new rear diffuser, mirror caps in carbon fibre and a spoiler to the front apron when they finally get their hands on Aston’s latest.

Aston Martin Rapide is available from March

Aston Martin was a traditional car manufacturer about 10 years ago. At that time the British company produced about 600 cars per year – a production number that, everything seems different from glorious. Fortunately, those times seem to be forgotten: Dr. Ulrich Bez, the company then took over steering and has the sports car maker back on track. Annual production now stands at a good 6,000 units per year.

Latest coup for the production of Dr Bez is a four-door sports car. There is no doubt that with this idea they will emulated the German rival Porsche. Even last year brought the Porsche Panamera to market – a sports car suitable for families.

Nine months later, the British are so far the Aston Martin Rapide is in the starting blocks. The four-door based on a very similar concept as the Panamera. Aston Martin has built a sports car, breaking all records whose dimensions. From a sleek sports car can be no question: The Rapide is 5.2 meters long and has a wheelbase of 2.99 meters. The empty weight is approximately 2 tons.

So that drives the Aston Martin Rapide, despite the heavy weight like a thoroughbred sports car, it was equipped with a 12-cylinder engine. The V12 engine delivers 477 hp and develops a torque of 600Nm. This force is sufficient to cope in the sprint from 0 to 100 km / h in 5.2 seconds. The top speed is 296 km / h. Information on the fuel made the British have not, but experts familiar with the engine and expect to use about 16 liters per 100 kilometers.

Those who want to grow the four-door sports car that needs to have a bulging wallet. The Aston Martin Rapide is available at dealerships beginning in March.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide Test Drive

The Rapide is an offshoot of the DB9 and shares many parts with the coupe. It's been stretched 11.4 inches to accommodate the additional doors and larger, rear bucket seats. Its fluid exterior—probably the best-looking four-door in the market—incorporates pressed aluminum, steel and composite materials. If the front end looks like a DB9, that's because the Rapide's hood and front doors and much of the front structure came straight off the DB. Under the skin, aluminum extrusions are bonded together to form the chassis, just like the rest of the Aston lineup. Notably, the new four-door gains only about 330 pounds over the coupé, for a total curb weight of 4300 pounds.

Under the Rapide's bulging and subtly vented hood resides a DB9-sourced, 6.0-liter V12 powerplant that produces 470 hp at 6000 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm. The mill meets a Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox with shift-by-wire controls. A carbon-fiber driveshaft and aluminum torque tube send the power rearward. The engine and gearbox are mounted close to the firewall, which is one reason why the Rapide has a 51/49 front/rear weight distribution. The suspension's adaptive damping system uses two valves to adjust stiffness to one of five settings, based on road conditions and driver input.

Though not the first street car to incorporate brake discs with aluminum hubs (known as “hats" in the racing community) and steel rotors (the Audi R8 earns that distinction), the Rapide is the first Aston Martin to incorporate the feature. The main benefit, other than lighter overall vehicle weight, is reduced unsprung mass—about 20 percent less than steel-only rotors. The six and four-piston Brembo calipers use hydraulic brake assist, and the Rapide's 20-inch alloy wheels are wrapped in meaty Bridgestone Potenza S001s, 245-millimeter-wide tires in front, 275 out back.

Aston Martin Vantage undergoes facelift

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage, one of which was caught testing a few days ago, looks like it was given a new facelift. If you’re familiar with the Vantage, then you’ll notice a number of modifications on this particular car, including a redesigned front-end bumper, new 10-spoke, 19-inch wheels, and the addition of a higher rear spoiler and rear diffuser.

2011 Aston Martin Rapide First Drive

2011 Aston Martin Rapide Picture

Crafting the ultimate four-door sports car.

The 2011 Aston Martin Rapide is the most significant car launched by the storied British automaker since Dr. Ulrich Bez took over the reins in July 2000.

It is the company's first four-door sports car — actually its first four-door of any description if you exclude its association with Lagonda. More important, the Rapide is the first Aston Martin aimed at expanding sales to buyers in so-called emerging markets as well as traditional markets such as the U.K. and America. It is also the first Aston Martin to be built outside England. Since production at Gaydon, England, is maxed out at 8,000 vehicles, assembly of the 2,000 Rapides expected to be sold every year has been turned over to Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.

Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Aston Martin V8 ­Vantage is one such car. No slouch in the visual department, it's also a rare aural delight. I say this as someone who normally finds little ­pleasure in hearing an accelerating engine. Most often, and especially late at night outside my house, it ­inspires only thoughts of the violent revenge I'd like to carry out on the driver of the guilty vehicle.

But I feel sure I could listen to CDs of a speeding V8 the way some ­insomniacs find comfort in recordings of whale song. It's a deeply soulful sound, like a John Coltrane solo – only played on an alloy camshaft rather than a tenor saxophone.

What's more, it grows sweeter as the revs increase, so you can find yourself flirting with three penalty points while acceler­ating towards that beckoning siren sound. Alas, "I'm sorry officer, I was beguiled by the music of the engine", is the kind of explanation that soon leads to an exchange with a Breathalyser.

Why buy an Aston Martin V8 ­Vantage rather than, say, a Porsche 911? To most of us, this is about as relevant as asking where would we least like to live, North Korea or Burma? It's an abstract inquiry, a ­hypothetical game. Nevertheless, there are individuals who do face this very dilemma. And the answer, ultimately, is that you'd opt for the Vantage for reasons of style.

Aston Martin Rapide Review

Day one – Valencia, Spain.

Five years ago Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez, told the six-foot plus Aston Martin Director of Design Marek Reichmann, that he wanted him to build the most beautiful four-door sports car in the world.

That’s easier said than done, but if you know Ulrich Bez, you also know that he means what he says.

From what I have seen tonight in Valencia albeit briefly, that job is done.

While no one can deny that the accompanying shots of the Aston Martin’s Rapide clearly show the car to be stunningly beautiful, its only when you see it in the metal for the first time, do you realise that the competition may as well pack up their tools and go home.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide Test Drive

It's been nearly 20 years since Aston Martin has had a four-sedan in the stable. Now the firm best known for fleet-footed sports cars and a James Bond coupe takes on Rolls Royce, Bentley and Porsche with a handsome sedan. Meet the Rapide.
The Rapide is an offshoot of the DB9 and shares many parts with the coupe. It's been stretched 11.4 inches to accommodate the additional doors and larger, rear bucket seats. Its fluid exterior—probably the best-looking four-door in the market—incorporates pressed aluminum, steel and composite materials. If the front end looks like a DB9, that's because the Rapide's hood and front doors and much of the front structure came straight off the DB. Under the skin, aluminum extrusions are bonded together to form the chassis, just like the rest of the Aston lineup. Notably, the new four-door gains only about 330 pounds over the coupé, for a total curb weight of 4300 pounds.

Under the Rapide's bulging and subtly vented hood resides a DB9-sourced, 6.0-liter V12 powerplant that produces 470 hp at 6000 rpm and 443 lb-ft of torque at 5000 rpm. The mill meets a Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox with shift-by-wire controls. A carbon-fiber driveshaft and aluminum torque tube send the power rearward. The engine and gearbox are mounted close to the firewall, which is one reason why the Rapide has a 51/49 front/rear weight distribution. The suspension's adaptive damping system uses two valves to adjust stiffness to one of five settings, based on road conditions and driver input.

Though not the first street car to incorporate brake discs with aluminum hubs (known as “hats" in the racing community) and steel rotors (the Audi R8 earns that distinction), the Rapide is the first Aston Martin to incorporate the feature. The main benefit, other than lighter overall vehicle weight, is reduced unsprung mass—about 20 percent less than steel-only rotors. The six and four-piston Brembo calipers use hydraulic brake assist, and the Rapide's 20-inch alloy wheels are wrapped in meaty Bridgestone Potenza S001s, 245-millimeter-wide tires in front, 275 out back.

Aston Martin Rapide

First Steer Preview: Photos by Nick Dimbleby

Valencia, Spain—Now, I don’t want to exert any undue influence on the forthcoming full review of the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide by Anthony Crawford—for that, you’ll need to revisit this space in a couple of weeks time —but here’s what I am willing to admit: About halfway through my time behind the wheel of this very special saloon, I vowed to quit the automotive journalism business.

Reason being, I figured I had reached the pinnacle of driving experiences—and there was nowhere to go but down. I was powering along the supremely entertaining roads of the Spanish countryside at ungodly speeds, little to no traffic in sight, relishing the performance of a true driver’s car that offers so little in the way of compromise and so very much when it comes to pure performance and sheer style.

Make no mistake: The Rapide isn’t the fastest car on the planet, the most luxurious car on the planet or the most exclusive car on the planet. But it just may be the best all-around car on the planet. At least, that’s where it currently stands on my personal wish list.

So, then and there, I vowed to pack it in and pursue another line of work. Until, that is, my co-driver offered the following perspective: “So, if you have sex with your girlfriend and it’s the best sex you’ve ever had, does that mean you quit having sex?”

Fair point, I thought, no need to hone the CV just yet. Except now I’m losing sleep. Not over sex, mind you, but rather from devising a scheme that will secure me enough money to afford my very own Rapide.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide

Rapide--"the only four-door sports car in the world," according to the CEO of the company that's now flying solo since it was sold by Ford to a Kuwaiti-funded investment group three years ago.

CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez--the man whose cell phone rings to the James Bond theme--is unabashedly confident that the British luxury brand's new four-door is without peer. And even in a world economy still in intensive care, Aston Martin is planning a healthy future for the Rapide.

Reality has trimmed expectations for sales of the sexy sports sedan, though. "If you had asked me in 2007, I would have said 3000 to 4000 cars," for annual sales volume, Bez says. "Today, it would take 2000 to 3000 cars." Still, the Rapide is a game-changer for the Aston brand: Bez estimates in 2010, the company will sell a total of 6000 cars, of which the Rapide will account for one-third.

It's a magnitude shift that required an outside partner to build the Rapide outside of its ancestral home in Gaydon, England. The Rapide will be built in Graz, Austria, by Magna Steyr--an offshoot of the company that bid unsuccessfully for Opel, and now builds small-batch products like the Mercedes-Benz G-Class for automakers far and wide.

Aston Martin to race Le Mans in Gulf Oil livery

Aston Martin announced recently its 2010 racing plans include two Aston Martin Works LMP1 race cars which will run in the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Both Aston Martin Works LMP1 will race in the Gulf Oil iconic blue and orange livery and will be driven by Chris Buncombe, Stefan Mucke, Harold Primat and Darren Turner and Adrian Fernandez.