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New Aston Martin Rapide S gets 550HP and a Huge Grille [w/Video]

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

If there are one or two things the Rapide wasn't short of, it sure wasn’t looks or power. On the other hand, the upper echelons of the luxury four-door sedan segment are becoming more crowded by the day and Aston Martin’s offering, which is already three years old, isn’t getting any younger.

Thus, the Gaydon-based manufacturer developed the Rapide S, a more powerful (by a significant 17 percent), redesigned and re-engineered version of its sports sedan.

Instantly recognizable by its single-, instead of two-piece, front-grille, the sportiest four-door ever built by Aston Martin keeps the Rapide’s delicious looks and adds more of everything.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Transferring vehicles in the air by helicopter for promotional purposes is nothing new in the world of exotic luxury and sports car brands, as we've seen it being done many times in the past (see how Lamborghini, Ferrari and Bentley did it by clicking the respective links).

Nevertheless, Aston Martin can lay claim to being the first to place a car onto the helipad of the world famous 'Burj Al Arab' hotel in Dubai, which sits 1,000ft above the ground at the top of the sail-shaped building, as part of its ongoing celebrations for its 100th birthday.

If Aston Martin’s Rapide strikes you as an elongated DB9 with two extra doors and seats, that is because, well, it is.

Designed as a more practical alternative to the British luxury automaker’s line-up, which otherwise consists only of two-door models, the truth is that the Rapide may be the one of the sexiest four-door models on sale, but it hasn’t managed to achieve the kind of sales Aston was hoping for.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

On January 15, Aston Martin became 100 years old and to celebrate its birthday, it announced the launch of 100 examples of each of its model lines, including the V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide and Vanquish – but not the Cygnet (we wonder why…), which are offered for sale worldwide now. Read more »

Watch Evo’s Harry Metcalfe Review the 750HP Aston Martin One-77 Supercar

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Reviewing a car two years after its production commenced is quite unusual in the automotive world, even if the vehicle in question is a supercar. Aston Martin, though, had vowed that no motoring journalist would get his/her hands on the One-77, so it didn't provide a test car to anyone.

But as they say, when there is a will, there’s a way. The simplest is to convince an owner to lend you the car. Not the easiest of tasks when it’s a £1.2 million (US$1.9 million, €1.5 million at today’s exchange rates), 750HP hypercar of which only 77 exist.

Friday, December 28, 2012

Car of the year is so old hat; picking the world’s best car, on the other hand, is quite an ambitious undertaking. It’s an intriguing one, too, and probably that’s the reason CAR magazine decided to go ahead with it for their December 2012 issue cover story.

We bet the editors had a difficult time trying to narrow down the finalists to a reasonable number. In the end, they came up with five cars from different segments.

There’s a luxury SUV, a four-door, four-seat supercar, two luxury saloons and a two-door, four-seater supercar.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Just yesterday, we were telling you about the rumors surrounding former Ducati owner Investindustrial's interest in Aston Martin.

On Friday, the wedding became official with the Italian private equity fund Investindustrial signing a deal to acquire a 37.5 percent stake in Aston Martin from the brand's major shareholder, Kuwaiti-based Investment Dar, which had a 64 percent share in the carmaker.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Reports about Aston Martin major shareholder Investment Dar looking to offload a stake in the British sports car maker in order to secure much-needed funds, have been circulating since early November.

Mahindra & Mahindra, which last year acquired Korean SUV maker SsangYong, was said to be the highest bidder. According to Bloomberg News, though, it seems that it has lost out to London-based equity firm Investindustrial.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Earlier this month, we ran a story about Aston Martin's major stockholder Investment Dar seeking a buyer for the British carmaker. According to the report, one of the interested buyers was India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, while Toyota had ordered a preliminary analysis, but didn’t proceed to a full-on evaluation.

All of the aforementioned parties either refuted the story or declined to comment; but then that’s usually the case with such transactions.

Now, The Financial Times is reporting that Investment Dar is currently in talks with the final bidders for a 50 percent stake in Aston Martin, citing four sources familiar with the subject.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

If you own a DBS and specifically, a Carbon Edition model, and are not interested in Aston Martin's replacement that revives the Vanquish nameplate, but would still like to give your car a more customized appearance and power, German tuning brand "Wheelsandmore" has prepared a little something for you.

It's new "+" package starts with an engine tune that includes F1-sport air filters, a catalytic converters neutralization kit and a flap-controlled exhaust system, to bring output from the standard 517PS (510hp) and 570Nm to 557PS (548hp) and 660Nm.

Friday, November 9, 2012

On March 12, 2007, Ford sold Aston Martin to a consortium led by David Richards (of Prodrive and WRC fame) together with Aston Martin collector John Sinders and Kuwaiti-based companies Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.

Four months later, a Vanquish S was the last car to roll out of the Newport Pagnell plant before production was transferred to Gaydon. Ever since, the British automaker has increased its worldwide presence considerably; it even opened its first dealerships in China.

Now a report from Bloomberg New says that Investment Dar, which controls 64 percent of Aston Martin’s shares, is searching for buyers interested in the British sports car maker.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

From the moment Aston Martin did the unthinkable by placing its name and badges on the Toyota iQ (Scion in North America) city car to build the Cygnet, just about anything goes when it comes to imagining future products for the British brand.

One of the more interesting projects we have seen lately comes to us from a first year Automotive and Transport Design student at the Coventry University, identified under the alias 'Mcflurry1992'.

Friday, October 26, 2012

We have no idea how it can be done, but Aston Martin is reportedly thinking about shoehorning its 5.9-liter V12 engine into the miniscule Cygnet city car to create a special build that makes the Nissan Juke R look like a walk in the park.

We will remind you that the Cygnet is the Aston Martin-badged version of the Toyota and Scion iQ three-door hatchbacks, and that at 3,078mm (121.8 inches) long, it is roughly the same length as the wheelbase of the regular BMW 7-Series sedan (the Li models have a 3,210mm long wheelbase…).

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The DB9 has a lot going for it. First of all its shape, which was designed by Ian Callum and finished off by Henrik Fisker who, as you know, has since moved on to pastures new and green.

Then we have its underpinnings: its predecessor, the DB7, was based on the ancient Jaguar XJ-S, though with many changes. The DB9 was built around an all-new aluminum platform, dubbed VH (for vertical – horizontal) that is light years ahead in all respects.

Monday, October 15, 2012

A lot has been said about the styling similarities between Ford's new corporate nose and in particular, the trapezoidal grille, and the one used by the Blue Oval's former premium brand, Aston Martin, on models like the Rapide luxury sports saloon.

Naturally, when the opportunity arose, Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire didn't miss out on the chance to park his black 2013 Ford Fusion (to be sold as the new Ford Mondeo in Europe and other regions) next to an Aston Martin Rapide in the same color and shoot a few pictures for us to compare.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Aston Martin seems to be following Porsche's evolutionary example not only in terms of design, but also in other areas by constantly tweaking, upgrading and adding new editions to its existing range of models.

After the recent presentations of the new Vanquish coupe and the refined 2013MY DB9 series, the British automaker has turned its attention to the Rapide sedan that was captured by our scoop photographers with barely any camouflage.

We previously reported that Aston Martin was readying a peppier "S" version of its luxury sports saloon, which we believe still holds true, but we now know that the regular Rapide will also benefit from a light makeover.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

You can rest assure that when Aston Martin presents a new model – let alone a facelift of an existing vehicle, you will have a very hard time telling the differences from their predecessors, which is the obviously the case with the refreshed 2013 DB9 in both Coupe and Volante (convertible) body styles.

According to the British automaker, the styling changes on the DB9 are "reminiscent of the outgoing Virage, which ceases production with immediate effect". We will remind you that the Virage was presented last year to close the ~~invisible~~ gap between the DB9 and the DBS, which has now itself been replaced by the new Vanquish.

We will start our tour of the 2013 DB9 with the exterior makeover that includes a redesigned hood, front grille surround and bumper, new front fender air vents, a new design for the rear bumper and the boot that incorporates a much more pronounced spoiler lip to improve aerodynamics.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

It has taken Aston Martin no less than three years to roll out the open-top version of the V12-engined Vantage.

Given that other roadsters, like the Ferrari 458 and McLaren MP4-12C Spiders, which use much more advanced tops than the canvas unit employed by the Aston Martin model, hit the market not long after their coupe versions, this is quite a long time.

Monday, September 10, 2012

He has a license to kill, instantly charms all the pretty ladies and gets all the latest toys. And by “toys” we mean all kinds of vehicles, from trucks to Soviet battle tanks and of course, cars, lots of them.

The one he has been most associated with is the Aston Martin DB5, while his most recent drive was a DBS. In between, he has also sat behind the wheel of a Lotus Esprit that doubled as a submarine, a Jaguar XKR and some BMWs – the best of which, the Z8, was cut in half.

Friday, September 7, 2012

We got our first taste of the 2013 Vanquish a couple of months ago, both online and in the flesh at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but Aston Martin has since made available a renewed photo gallery and the first official dynamic footage in a new promotional film.

The DBS-replacing Vanquish adopts the next generation of Aston Martin's VH bonded aluminium monocoque architecture as well as an upgraded 5.9-litre V12 engine generating 565hp (573PS) and 620Nm (457 lb-ft) of torque.