Top in Automotive: Aston Martin Rapide

Showing posts with label Aston Martin Rapide. Show all posts

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

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 »

So, Does the New Ford Fusion / Mondeo's Snout Resemble that of the Aston Martin Rapide?

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.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

More often than not, when it comes to sports cars of the likes of the Aston Martin Rapide it’s better/wiser to keep the aftermarket upgrades as limited and as discreet as possible, which is the path followed by British customizer Afzal Kahn. Read more »

Spy Shots: Is Aston Martin Preparing a More Powerful Rapide S Model?

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Understandably, with only two years under its belt, it's too early for Aston Martin to be working on a mid-life facelift for its Rapide sports saloon. So, what is the British brand doing with this partially camouflaged prototype of the Rapide?

Our spies believe that the car you see in these photos is a more powerful and sportier version of luxury sedan named the Rapide S.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

A video that captured one of the more highly publicized car accidents of recent years, which incidentally (or not…) involved a young blonde woman driving a Bentley Azure convertible into four other luxurious cars in Monaco, has surfaced on the internet almost a year after the crash happened. Read more »

Aston Martin Rapide Receives a Heavy Facelift from an Audi Q5 in China

Friday, March 23, 2012

The world has one less Aston Martin Rapide to worry about today after a gunmetal grey example of the British luxury sports saloon had an unfortunate meeting with an Audi Q5 crossover on the busy streets of Beijing in China.

The two cars bumped heads with might, but fortunately, no one was seriously injured from the accident.

According to reports from the local media, police are still investigating the cause of the accident, so we don't know which of the two drivers is at fault here.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Most people tend to freak out after an accident with their cars even if there are no fatalities or injuries, but not Mr. Roberto Ricci, who had the misfortune of wrecking his prized Aston Martin Rapide sports saloon during a joy ride.

If you see Ricci's super cool reaction after the crash, you'd think that the Rapide suffered only a few minor scratches, when reality is that the car was brutally bashed / borderline repairable write-off.

The incident occurred in late July when Ricci, who is the founder and owner of RRD, makers of surfboards, windsurfs, sails and kites, took Dave White, editor of Mpora, for a quick ride in his Rapide after a guided tour of his company's facilities in Italy.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Seems like the recession isn’t hitting just common people, but is also affecting the market for $200,000-plus supercars. One such example is the Rapide, Aston Martin’s sports sedan, whose sales are falling way off initial expectations.

According to media reports, the British carmaker is cutting back production of the Rapide to 25 cars per week, which translates to 1,250 per year, or 750 less than initial estimates.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

For the past two years, Aston Martin has been manufacturing the Rapide at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria, but that’s about to change soon as today, the British automaker announced that it will move production of the four-door sports saloon to the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, UK. The company said the necessary upgrades at its Gaydon headquarters for Rapide will begin immediately with a view to begin production of the Rapide in the second half of 2012. Read more »

Aston Martin to Auction Ulrich Bez’s Rapide for Japan

Monday, May 9, 2011

In a goodwill gesture towards the people of Japan, Aston Martin boss Dr. Ulrich Bez will auction his company Rapide sports sedan at this year’s annual Bonhams event at Newport Pagnell, with all proceeds from the sale to benefit charities providing aid to the victims of the recent earthquakes and Tsunami. The Bonhams auction house said that in support of this initiative, it would waive its commission the Rapide sale that will take place in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday May 21. Read more »

VIDEO: New Aston Martin Rapide Promo Films [Part 3]

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Aston Martin has released the third and final part of its promotional trilogy “True Power Should Be Shared” starring the Rapide four-door coupe. There's less action in this film as our heroes drive towards their destination, wondering what they are transporting. Well, it turns out to be some kind of a time machine, which saves them from being killed in an ambush and returns them to Lisbon, where everything started. Not what we expected, but at least the Rapide didn’t get blown up. Hit the jump to watch the video. Read more »

VIDEO: New Aston Martin Rapide Promo Films [Part 2]

Thursday, January 20, 2011

As promised, Aston Martin released the second part of a new promotional series of films featuring the Rapide sports saloon. Called “True Power Should Be Shared”, it’s a more of an action-packed sequel, showing longer driving scenes and a spectacular fight sequence, as the story gets more substance. Still, this is no James Bond movie, although seeing and hearing the British four-door coupe kind of makes up for the lack of originality. Video available after the jump.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

As part of its first foray into the digital campaign medium, Aston Martin will release three new promotional videos, featuring the breathtaking Rapide four-door coupe. Filmed in Lisbon, Portugal, the video follows a group of “agents” commissioned by a mysterious person to deliver a precious package, without opening it. A very Ronin-ish plot, we know.

The introductory part is available after the jump, while the second and third clips will follow on January 19 and 26, respectively.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

What's better than a sleek Aston Martin Rapide? No, not some German competitor, but the Rapide Luxe, a special edition version of the British sports saloon that quietly appeared on the automaker's official website.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Here's a sight that no driver would like to see his car in, even more so if the vehicles in question are a spanking-new $200,000+ Aston Martin Rapide sports saloon and a Bentley Continental Supersports.

According to Joel Feder (the man who took these photos), the incident happened at the Midwestern Automotive Media Association earlier this week when a thunderstorm followed by hail and strong winds took down a tree that landed right on the parked Aston Martin and Bentley.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Aston Martin has a reason to celebrate this week as the first examples of its new Rapide four-door sports car have left the Aston Martin Rapide Plant (that's the dedicated facility at Magna Steyr's operations in Graz, Austria) for delivery to customers around the world.

The company said that the Rapide will reach buyers and Aston Martin's 125 showrooms in 34 countries over the next few weeks.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Aston Martin has taken the wraps off the race-spec version of its new Rapide sports saloon with which it will compete in the Nürburgring 24-hour race on 15-16 May, 2010.

The British firm said that the Rapide race car will be very close to the production model with changes including the addition of essential race safety modifications, the removal of the interior trim to reduce weight and a retuned suspension. It will also run on slick tires designed for track use.