When it comes to unique cars, the Bertone Jet 2+2 takes the cake with ease
by Tudor Rus, on LISTEN 02:46Don’t get us wrong. The Aston Martin Rapide is a special car itself. It was the first four-door Aston Martin to make it into production and a declaration of beauty as far as its design went. One particular customer, however, wanted all that and more luggage room – after all, the Rapide only offered 317 liters of trunk volume, which is hatchback territory – and that’s how the one-off Rapide Bertone Jet 2+2 was born.
The only one of its kind
Try to ignore the fact that the Aston Martin Rapide had the gear selector deconstructed and spread on the center console, with a big round button for P, R, N, and D. Or that fact that the front and rear windows overlapped when closed to seal off the cabin from the rain. A particular Mr. Barry Weir wanted more from the Rapide, and since Aston Martin wasn’t selling a shooting brake version at the time, the only way for such a car to exist was as a one-off.
Easier said than done. Mr. Weir designed the car - on the back of a briefcase, nonetheless – and the rear section alone took three and a half months to be perfected.
On top of that, Aston Martin’s chief designer Marek Reichman initially rejected the final design because the folks over at Bertone wouldn’t use the upgraded Rapide front grille on the one-off car.
In the end, it all came together and the Jet 2+2’s body was hand-assembled just in time to debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, where it made a lot of jaws drop. Since it hadn’t been teased or hyped whatsoever, the car was a genuine surprise and got a lot of natural attention. Maybe the fact that the original Rapide was inspired by the DB9, a gorgeous car from every angle, contributed to its sleek appearance suited to the shooting brake treatment.
Other than the modified body, the Bertone Jet 2+2 featured the standard Rapide powertrain, aka a 5.9-liter V-12 with 470 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 443 pound-feet of torque at 5000 rpm. In the regular, 4299-pound Rapide, the mill, helped by a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, could boast 0-60 mph sprints of 5.1 seconds en route to a top speed of 188 mph.
| Engine | 5.9-liter V-12 |
|---|---|
| Horsepower | 470 HP @ 6,000 RPM |
| Torque | 443 LB-FT @ 5,000 RPM |
| 0 to 60 mph | 5.1 seconds |
| Top Speed | 188 mph |
The car in question is on sale via Classic Mobilia and it reportedly has just 10,000 miles on the odometer. That and its one-off status might demand a hefty price, easily into six-figure territory. Unfortunately, the ad doesn’t mention such details.
Source: Classic Mobilia
