February 8, 2010-"The new Aston Martin Rapide sedan is every bit as smooth and sinuous to drive as it looks on a show stand or in the pages of a magazine. That's as it should be. during its development, the car covered almost 5,000 miles around the Nürburgring's tortuous Nordschleife. We got to drive maybe 100 miles in a Rabide, none of them at the Nürburgring or even at Silverstone, which was just down the motorway. But we did manage to get an idea of what the Rapide was like form behind the wheel. It was almost exactly like the DB9 Coupe.
That's a good thing. the DB9 remains one of our favorite grand touring performance coupes, and the Rapide takes as much of its chassis and powertrain from that splendid beast. The Rapide rides on the same VH (vertical/horizontal) architecture as the DB9. The frame is made from a complex of extruded aluminum, aluminum honeycomb and a whole bunch of bonded aluminum plates. With each new model, the engineers at Aston get better at tweaking this platform, and thus the Rapide is 7 percent stiffer than the DB9 from whence it sprang.
The Rapide's body-in-white weighs just 693 pounds. The whole car, with fluids and fuel, weighs 4,378 pounds. That's almost 500 pounds more than the two-door DB9 but within a few pounds of the Maserati Quattroporte, the Porsche Panamera and the Mercedes-Benz CLS, all of which offer similar takes on the Rapide's sexy supersedan theme.
But those competitors all come with V8s underhood, even in their topmost models, while the Rapide is powered solely by a mighty 6.0-liter V13. It's exactly the same naturally aspirated engine found in the DB9, with peak power of 470 hp coming at 6,000 rpm. Peak torque is 443, lb-ft at 5,000 rpm. engineers compensated for the Rapide's extra weight by tuning the six-speed ZF Touchtronic 2 automatic transmission for better response to the extra load. There's also a lower final drive ratio of 3.46:1, compared with the DB9 automatic's 3.15:1.
Don't let the full-size curb weight dismay you, though; the Rapide goes from 0 to 60 in 5.1 seconds and tops out at 188 mph.
That's in a straight line. The car is just as impressive when going around corners. To achieve its 49/51 weight distribution, the Rapide uses a rear mounted transaxle connected to the front-mounted V12 via a torque tube concealing a carbon-fiber prop shaft. Upper and lower wishbones front and rear locate 20-inch wheels wrapped by Bridgestone Potenza tires. The setup is taut but not anywhere near harsh. Ride and handling are controlled without intruding on the luxury ride.
When you do find an appropriately twisting bit of highway, a button on the dash allows you to select comfort or sport for the adaptive damping system. The dynamic stability control system can be switched off entirely by holding the button down for five seconds. The transmission also has a sport mode that allows quicker and more forceful shifts that come at higher engine speeds. Again, not too quick or too forceful-this is a GT, not a sports car. Pull back on the magnesium paddles, and the transmission automatically goes into its manual mode, allowing shifts with both hands on the wheel. To make drivers forget that there is an extra foot of length out back, the engineers quickened the steering ratio from 17:1 to 15:1. From the driver's seat, you rarely think about the extra 12.2 inches trailing behind you. It's only in dinky English parking lots that the full size becomes cumbersome. On the open road or on the motorway, particularly from 3,000 rpm to 5,000 rpm, the car just feels strong.
Inside, it's all luxury all the time. The standard Bang & Olufsen audio system offers 1,000 watts of power blasted through 15 speakers. Those rear seats are what we might call snug but what everyone at ASton insists will make you feel "cosseted" (to be treated as a pet, pampered,
coddled; we looked it up). Regardless, a real adult can fit inside and not have to scrunch, sort of like John Glenn in a Mercury space capsule, only lined with leather and featuring fewer buttons. Thanks to some scraping away by engineers, there is even a little more room than when we last rode back there during hot-weather testing in the summer.
Look for Rapides to arrive in U.S. showrooms in April, priced at $199,950. Our test car stickered at $204,940, with cooled seats and a rear-seat entertainment system. Those prices approach double those of some models from the competition. But with only 666 Rapides a year coming to the United States, you will not see yourself coming and going. Then again, if you do, it will likely be pretty fast."
My Take-Aston Martin sure does know how to make beautiful cars. This new Rapide is no exception. They use the best materials and incorporate them in a very aesthetically pleasing
design. Where Aston is lacking is in the engineering department. For example, the new Porsche Panamera Turbo (on the left) costs ofer $50K less than the Aston, but hits 60 mph over one second quicker. Driving is not all about going in a straight line, but I still expect the Porsche to be a better handling car. Nevertheless, the Aston does win in the looks department. I just feel that a driver more oriented to performance would prefer the Panamera. After all, the purpose behind these new sedan/coupe cars is to offer a perfect combination between sportiness and luxury. The Rapide, despite its high sticker price, is not only luxurious and beautiful, but also can still compete in the performance department. The Aston is more of an emotional purchase than a rational purchase. I would still save the money and go with the Panamera Turbo.
Don't forget about the Bentley Continental Flying Spur, either. It is the only other potential competitor that offers a 12-cylinder engine. In a w format, the engine in the Bentley also adds two turbochargers. It may not be as agile as and sleek as the Rapide, but it offers a similarly high level of quality while being a more comfortable and spacious car. In a straight line, it offers similar acceleration and a slightly higher top speed at around 200 mph.
The new trend lately for these major companies is to offer a sleek sedan that bridges the gap between a sports car and a people carrier. The Panamera Turbo and the Aston Martin Rapide may be very expensive, ($135K and $200K respectively), but they offer the best of both worlds. Considering the alternative option of buying a sedan and a sports car, these sedan/coupes are priced pretty reasonably.
The Rapide's Competitors:
- Porsche Panamera
- Maserati Quattroporte
- Mercedes-Benz CLS
- Bentley Continental Flying Spur
- Upcoming Audi A7
- BMW M5
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