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Four-Door European Saloons: Aston Martin Rapide vs. Porsche Panamera 
It seems there has been a wave of sickness that has swept over Europe. It’s not the disease-ridden kind of sickness, but it’s still rather interesting. Where as the United States has been working on making their supercars faster, the Europeans have been hard at work making their high performance cars more practical. There is nothing wrong with practicality, but it’s certainly not the new speed. Power, beauty, and performance are three things that matter more to us than practicality. Sure the Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni doesn’t have rear seats or all-wheel drive, but it’s still bloody fun to drive and that makes us happier than any backseat could. Yet, for some that isn’t enough. Porsche was the first to catch the disease and it has really affected them quite badly. Worse than others in fact. Their first go at a practical vehicle was a bit too tall, long, and very out of place. Imagine Land Rover creating a sports car and you’ll get the idea here. It was called the Cayenne and it must have been a ’real’ illness that made them think it looked remotely good. Now we have the Panamera and, sadly, the same thing has occurred, just in a smaller and easier to swallow dose. It doesn’t look great, but it does offer insane performance with room in the back for two full sized people. Aston Martin decided to follow the German lead with the Rapide. This is their first practicality attempt in quite some time and initial impressions are very good indeed. This car looks the part, but does it drive as well as the Panamera. We’re about to find out. Hit the jump to keep reading. Full story . Aston Martin Rapide gets pinned under a tree
The force of Mother Nature is both unpredictable and devastating. And when you’re caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, well, things like this could happen. The devastating hailstorm that wreaked havoc in the Midwest damaged a lot of property and injured a lot of people, but what really caught our attention is this Aston Martin Rapide that was sitting in the parking of the Midwestern Automobile Media Association. Unfortunately for the owner of the Rapide, he parked his super car directly in front of a tree, which, as a result of the hailstorm, snapped and fell on its hood. The only redeeming factor in this is that it wasn’t that big of a tree that fell, but either way, the damage is still significant enough to cost a ton of money in repairs. Aston Rapide Sports saloon number one gets factory send-off
Aston Martin celebrated an important milestone in the company’s history when the very first Rapide sports car was rolled out of the brand’s very own Rapide Plant in Graz, Austria. According to Aston Martin, the new Rapide, which made its debut as a concept car back in 2006 at the Detroit Motor Show, will be available in a number of the company’s 125 showrooms covering over 34 countries all over the world. Prices for the four-door sports car are $199,950 in the US and around £139,950 in the UK. Despite the three-and-something-year-wait for the road version of the Rapide to become more than just a pipe dream, fans of Aston Martin have already voiced their excitement with the release of the company’s latest toy. So, while the price tag may be steeper than most, expect the Rapide to post strong sales numbers in the months after the car hits dealerships all over the world. The wait sure has been worth it. 2010 Aston Martin Rapide by Cargraphic
After three years of waiting for the Aston Martin Rapide’s arrival, most of us were pretty impressed with the car’s sleek, proportioned look. The English coach builder put a lot of thought into the lines and dimensions of the car that would make everyone forget about the 4-door Lagonda that was the saloon for Aston Martin during the mid-seventies to late-eighties. Of course, not everyone could appreciate the new 4 door just as it was and that is why Cargraphic has merely whispered a few changes into the Rapide to tweak its near-perfect status. Cargraphic began the Rapide’s minimalistic transformation with a tail diffuser, wing mirror caps, and a spoiler at the front apron. Then they added a remote-controlled, high-grade, steel flap exhaust with a polished shield. Exhaust counterpressure is lowered by adding a 200 cell catalyst. This system enables the Rapide to produce a few more horsepower, although we assume, since the number is not mentioned, that it is by an insignificant amount. Finally, Cargraphic replaced the current tire setup with their very own 21 inch light alloy rims surrounded by 255/35R21 tires in the front and 295/30R21 tires in the back. Additional rim designs are available in 20 and 22 inch options with the GT, I-10, and SPORT. The modest changes in the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide aren’t something to go crazy about, but if one was looking for a Rapide that promotes a tad more style and function then this would be the way to go. Aston Martin Rapide Nurburgring Edition spied testing
We were able to receive shots of the Aston Martin Rapide Nurburgring Edition’s first tests in preparation for the high endurance race that is the ADAC 24H Nurburgring. The Rapide has undergone some changes to make the car race-ready, but, true to Aston Martin form, the modifications have been minimal. The only modifications made were to make the car race-ready and to reduce body weight. Body weight reduction was achieved by eliminating the interior trims and features. The Rapide seen here features some nice sleek black livery that we could safely assume will be ripped off closer to race time to reveal the car’s original blue color scheme. The Aston Martin Rapide’s engine is a 6.0 Liter V12 mated with a six speed Touchtronic 2 automatic transmission producing 470 HP and 443 lb-ft of torque. The original four door sedan has had the back doors sealed off, leaving it with more of a racing feel. Aston Martin has had success on this track before so we would expect a magnificent showing at this year’s ADAC 24H race on May 13th-16th, 2010. New Aston Martin Rapide to be Unveiled at the 11th Annual Gala Preview of the New York Auto Show The 11th Annual East Side House Settlement Gala Preview of the New York International Auto Show is scheduled for April 1, 2010 at the Jacob K. Javits Center. The gala will include food, cocktails, entertainment, and handsomely dressed car lovers, but by far the most exciting portion of the evening will be seeing the new Aston Martin Rapide and having the opportunity to win an exclusive Aston Martin Rapide driving package. Okay, we’ll admit that we have seen the Rapide up close and personal, but we are very jealous of whomever wins this driving package. The package includes an excursion for two at the Aston Martin driving school in Detroit, Michigan, for a full-day, one-on-one driving lesson, as well as a one-week loan of the Aston Martin Rapide; a first opportunity to get behind the wheel of the car before sales begin late in the summer 2010. The package will be auctioned off in a Silent Auction occurring during dinner. Unfortunately, in order to bid on this extraordinary package, you must have a dinner ticket in hand. These tickets are reserved for benefactors. Check out the full story plus the official press release after the jump. Full story Video: Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera compare speed timesOn the surface, the Porsche Panamera and the Aston Martin Rapide looks to be set on an even playing field. But if you dig deeper behind the differences between the two, you’ll realize that the Panamera is just about a notch out of reach for the Rapide in some pretty critical performance elements - speed, power, and torque to name a few. Autocar knows that a heads-up race between the two cars wouldn’t even be competitive so they decided to set a handicap. Whereas only one person will be on-board the Rapide, the Panamera will have four people inside of it, with the hopes that the added weight on the Panamera would be a fair compromise for the Rapide. So they set out to do two separate time tests for both cars – one person on board the Rapide and four people riding the Panamera. Sounds like a fair fight, right? Turns out, the added bulk in the Panamera didn’t make a difference. The Porsche luxury sports car easily beat the Rapide’s time in the 0-60mph time, the 0-100mph time, and the 0-100-0mph time. And it did so pretty convincingly. The Panamera scored times of 4.6 seconds (0-60), 10.6 seconds (0-100), and 15.8 seconds (0-100-0), besting the Rapide across the board, whose times of 5.6 seconds (0-60), 12.2 (0-100), and 17.6 (0-100-0) was far less competitive than we initially thought, especially the pretty significant handicap the Panamera was given. Video: Aston Martin Rapide drives around the streets of ValenciaA new six-minute video of the Aston Martin Rapide was recently released during a recent media presentation of Aston Martin’s supposed ‘Porsche Panamera-repellant’ in Valencia, Spain. Though it doesn’t have the high-octane thrills of other videos we’ve seen in the past – for one, it starts off aimlessly driving at a parking lot – the length and detail behind the video is enough to convince us that this video is a must-watch. In it you’ll see the car being run around different locations - from the traditional city driving to a more picturesque country-side joyride –and it even has a number of interior shots to give us a close-up look at what’s inside the new Rapide. Don’t be fooled by the relative tameness of the video because the Rapide, with its 6.0-liter V12 engine that produces as much as 477 horsepower and 443 lb/ft of torque, is a certified beast on wheels. We get up close with the Aston Martin Rapide
Aston Martin recently invited us to take a closer look at their latest entry into the rapidly expanding high luxury sports car segment, the all new four door Rapide. It’s not every day that a part of the Frankfurt Motor Show comes to you, and that is the exact feeling that the English coachbuilder is hoping their clientele experience when they come to take a look at it. The car being shown to us happens to be the actual concept car from Frankfurt, and the preproduction Rapide was making its sixth stop on its cross country tour just up the road from us in Palm Beach. Aston’s hope is that by showing potential customers the car in person, they will be compelled to fill out one of the detailed order forms for the production version.  From the sound of things they were doing quite well, collecting almost 50 orders from the South Florida market and over 150 on the tour so far, with 1800 Rapides being produced for worldwide consumption and only around 500 making their way into the U.S., a large chunk of the limited production hand built $200,000 four door super cars have already been spoken for. The car in front of us was essentially fully finished stretched DB9, while the 2010 model will feature a bespoke chassis with the familiar 6.0 Liter 470 HP V12 up front and six speed semi automatic transaxle out back, but the entire underpinnings are going to be unique, which happens to be a big selling point for Aston.  Just glancing at the Rapide’s order form gives you an idea of the extent that Aston Martin is willing to go to in order to tailor their new four door to their pickiest of customer’s demands. As far as paint and upholstery are concerned every available option was on display in West Palm and aside from the standard options, the coach builder will match any color you can deliver. However Aston’s attention to detail even surprised us when they pulled out the leather case containing every one of the Rapide’s interior stitching options, available in both fine and coarse. Continued after the jump. Full story Aston Martin announces pricing for the Rapide
The GT sedan seems to be the hottest ticket on the market these days with Italians selling Quattroportes and now the Germans getting in on the action with the new Panamera, but the coachbuilders of England have not had anything to boast about until recently when they began work on a fast four door of their own in the $200,000 price range. When the Aston Martin Rapide arrives in showrooms it will be wearing a $199,950 price tag and will come complete with the new car smell from Aston’s Austrian facility. With over 200 man hours being deidcated to each Rapide and an estimated first year production run of 2000 units, give or take a few, the English craftsmen will deidcate 18,333 and a third days to making Rapides. With the hand built sports car experience that Aston Martin’s employees have gained from over the years will certainly play in the new Rapide’s favor. Press release after the jump. Full story | Find us on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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