Artour
04-16-2009, 08:26 AM
Aston Martin Rapide revealed in production form
April 16, 2009 -- Aston Martin has unveiled the first official picture of its new Rapide four-door sedan.
The production car stays true to an eye-catching concept first revealed at the Detroit auto show in 2006.
The British sports car maker, which Ford Motor sold two years ago, confirmed that the Rapide will be powered by a 6.0-liter V12 rated at 470 hp with 600Nm of torque.
It will likely debut in September at the Frankfurt auto show and go on sale in early 2010 as the company's first true production sedan.
The picture shows the long, low-slung car with Aston's trademark side strake and front end. It also has muscular shoulders in the rear and a sleek roofline. The doors swing up and open in the back, and are termed "swan wing," which the company says makes for ease of entry and exit.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CA&Date=20090416&Category=ANE02&ArtNo=904169995&Ref=AR&Profile=1042&MaxW=600&border=0&title=1
The Rapide likely will debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September.
The Rapide is based on Aston's vertical/horizontal extruded aluminum architecture, and is fitted with a Touchtronic gearbox. Aston is calling it a sports grand tourer, and there are four full-size seats plus room for plenty of other goods.
The company's design director, Marek Reichman dubbed the Rapide the "long-distance runner" of the Aston fleet, compared with the "sprinter" V8 Vantage and the "muscularity" of the DBS.
Pushing this car toward production was one of the first moves by new owners Dave Richards and a group of Kuwaiti investors when they bought Aston Martin from Ford Motor in 2007.
Magna Steyr in Austria will build the Rapide. It will compete with the Porsche Panamera and the Mercedes-Benz CLS.
April 16, 2009 -- Aston Martin has unveiled the first official picture of its new Rapide four-door sedan.
The production car stays true to an eye-catching concept first revealed at the Detroit auto show in 2006.
The British sports car maker, which Ford Motor sold two years ago, confirmed that the Rapide will be powered by a 6.0-liter V12 rated at 470 hp with 600Nm of torque.
It will likely debut in September at the Frankfurt auto show and go on sale in early 2010 as the company's first true production sedan.
The picture shows the long, low-slung car with Aston's trademark side strake and front end. It also has muscular shoulders in the rear and a sleek roofline. The doors swing up and open in the back, and are termed "swan wing," which the company says makes for ease of entry and exit.
http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=CA&Date=20090416&Category=ANE02&ArtNo=904169995&Ref=AR&Profile=1042&MaxW=600&border=0&title=1
The Rapide likely will debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September.
The Rapide is based on Aston's vertical/horizontal extruded aluminum architecture, and is fitted with a Touchtronic gearbox. Aston is calling it a sports grand tourer, and there are four full-size seats plus room for plenty of other goods.
The company's design director, Marek Reichman dubbed the Rapide the "long-distance runner" of the Aston fleet, compared with the "sprinter" V8 Vantage and the "muscularity" of the DBS.
Pushing this car toward production was one of the first moves by new owners Dave Richards and a group of Kuwaiti investors when they bought Aston Martin from Ford Motor in 2007.
Magna Steyr in Austria will build the Rapide. It will compete with the Porsche Panamera and the Mercedes-Benz CLS.