Rapide [First Drives] Aston Martin Rapide - First Drives: Autocar, MT, R&T...

[Merc1]

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CarAdvice - First Drive: Aston Martin Rapide

First Steer Preview: Photos by Nick Dimbleby

Valencia, Spain—Now, I don’t want to exert any undue influence on the forthcoming full review of the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide by Anthony Crawford—for that, you’ll need to revisit this space in a couple of weeks time —but here’s what I am willing to admit: About halfway through my time behind the wheel of this very special saloon, I vowed to quit the automotive journalism business.

Reason being, I figured I had reached the pinnacle of driving experiences—and there was nowhere to go but down. I was powering along the supremely entertaining roads of the Spanish countryside at ungodly speeds, little to no traffic in sight, relishing the performance of a true driver’s car that offers so little in the way of compromise and so very much when it comes to pure performance and sheer style.

Make no mistake: The Rapide isn’t the fastest car on the planet, the most luxurious car on the planet or the most exclusive car on the planet. But it just may be the best all-around car on the planet. At least, that’s where it currently stands on my personal wish list.

So, then and there, I vowed to pack it in and pursue another line of work. Until, that is, my co-driver offered the following perspective: “So, if you have sex with your girlfriend and it’s the best sex you’ve ever had, does that mean you quit having sex?”

Fair point, I thought, no need to hone the CV just yet. Except now I’m losing sleep. Not over sex, mind you, but rather from devising a scheme that will secure me enough money to afford my very own Rapide.

 

[Merc1]

Edmunds - 2011 Aston Martin Rapide First Drive



















Beauty and the Bez

The 2011 Aston Martin Rapide is the most significant car launched by the storied British automaker since Dr. Ulrich Bez took over the reins in July 2000.

It is the company's first four-door sports car — actually its first four-door of any description if you exclude its association with Lagonda. More important, the Rapide is the first Aston Martin aimed at expanding sales to buyers in so-called emerging markets as well as traditional markets such as the U.K. and America. It is also the first Aston Martin to be built outside England. Since production at Gaydon, England, is maxed out at 8,000 vehicles, assembly of the 2,000 Rapides expected to be sold every year has been turned over to Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.

So we arrived in Valencia, Spain, to drive the 2011 Aston Martin Rapide, expecting the usual corporate anxiety surrounding a new model. You know, a long, boring technical presentation followed by a dry and lengthy corporate marketing spiel read from a teleprompter by executives in their best tailored suits. Once we endured this, they would finally turn over the keys.

Fortunately, Aston Martin is not your usual car company.

What Me Worry?

It starts with Aston Martin's Dr. Ulrich Bez, the CEO. Bez began his career at Porsche, moved on to BMW, then went to Korea, then came back to Aston Martin when it was owned by Ford and now is working for a company owned by a private equity group from the Mideast. He sounds like your usual corporate suit, but then you remember that this guy once headed up Porsche's racing department, developed the 911 Turbo, Carrera RS 2.7, 968 and 993 models during his tenure at Porsche and followed that up with the design of the Z1 at BMW. How many other CEOs do you know who have driven his product in the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race?

And it was the well-traveled road warrior Bez who suggested Valencia as the site of the 2011 Aston Martin Rapide's introduction. Bez likes the twisting mountain roads as well as the area's innovative architecture, because he believes that Aston Martin offers a similar blend of leading-edge ideas mixed with Old World tradition.

So we found ourselves not in a stuffy conference room but instead in the basement of a local jewelry maker, where the jewellike ignition keys of the Rapide test cars were kept in safety deposit boxes. With the key now in our hands, we traveled to the parking lot of Valencia's stunning City of Arts and Sciences — a complex of museum, planetarium and opera designed by Santiago Calatrava. Part of the center resembles the bleached skeleton of a gigantic prehistoric whale, while another building resembles an equally gargantuan caricature of Darth Vader's headgear.

The Show Goes On

Marek Reichman, head of Aston Martin design, took over our introduction to the Rapide with a breezy run through the styling, pointing out the new headlamps. The sweeping arc of light flows into a line sculpted along the entire length of the aluminum, magnesium alloy and composite-paneled bodywork and then wraps itself along the top edge of the trunk. Reichman designs his cars to "invite you to touch them" and that are "fun to wash."

The classic Aston Martin side strake is extended toward the leading edge of the rear door and the door sills extend closer to the ground. When combined with 20-inch wheels, the overall effect is a low-slung stance that takes your eye away from the extra set of doors, enhancing the Rapide's coupelike appearance despite the fact that it sits on a wheelbase that's 12.2 inches longer than the Aston Martin DB9.

More visual deception comes in the form of the side window glass that Ian Minards, product development director, describes as a "sheet of glass along the side of the car." There's no interruption in the surface, because the B-pillar resides completely behind the pillarless glass. Aston Martin describes these as "swan-wing doors," as they swing up and out to ease entry and exit.

The Rapide chassis is based on Aston Martin's customary VH architecture of extruded bonded aluminum, but it is all-new from the bulkhead rearward according to Minards. "It's not simply a stretched DB9," he says. A new rear subframe houses a new fuel tank and is the foundation for the folding rear seats and relatively roomy storage area of 10.6 cubic feet behind them.

While Minards is presenting the technical rundown, Bez has gotten into the driver seat and turned up the standard 1,000-watt, 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. He just can't help himself. "Let them touch the car," he says excitedly, acting more like a kid with a new toy than a nervous CEO.

Beauty Is as Beauty Does

Our first ride in the Rapide is not in the driver seat but in one of the cozy rear bucket seats. Getting in and out is a bit of a squeeze for anyone over 6-foot-even, but once inside there is sufficient legroom, though 30.1 inches doesn't sound like a lot. It is not claustrophobic since there are 36.8 inches of rear headroom, but other than the surrounding materials and individual temperature control, it's more like economy class than business class.

We liked being up front in the driver seat much better. With the 470-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 (well, 5.9 liters, but who's counting) V12 mounted aft of the front axle and a rear-mounted, six-speed automatic transaxle, the weight distribution is 51 percent front/49 percent rear, so the Rapide behaves more like a sports car than a 4,299-pound four-door on a wheelbase of 117.7 inches. Thanks to responsive steering that gives excellent feedback, the Rapide drives as if it's much smaller than it is. Certainly you'd never guess that it measures 197.6 inches overall.

With two-stage adaptive damping and a Sport mode that provides more aggressive throttle response and gearchanges, the Rapide is as good on twisty mountain roads as it is on high-speed motorways. The longer wheelbase not only makes for a better ride, but also encourages attacks on corners in a boy racer style that would have the Aston Martin DBS nervously wagging its tail.

Aston is looking into an eight-speed transmission, but the Rapide's ZF-built transaxle deftly doled out the V12's 443 pound-feet of torque whether in full automatic or via the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel.

The engine noise is muted, as you would expect in a luxury four-seater, but still sounds satisfyingly sporty when your foot is planted. Aston quotes zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds and that feels about right.

The Four-Door Sports Car

The 2011 Aston Martin Rapide is as fun to be seen in as it is to drive. You have to look hard to notice the extra doors, while its gorgeous proportions drew waves and raves from little boys of all ages throughout our drive in Spain.

In comparison, the Mercedes-Benz CLS is not as sporty and its styling impact diminishes daily. The Maserati Quattroporte is a beauty, but lacks the performance. The Porsche Panamera offers more hard-edged performance, but, well, just look at it.

With a base price of $199,950 and only roughly 500 cars expected annually for U.S. delivery, the 2011 Aston Martin Rapide is obviously not for everyone. But it is significant for Aston Martin because it is the best-looking and all-around best-driving car it offers.

Dr. Ulrich Bez has taken Aston Martin from a good idea to a serious, performance-minded player on the boutique car scene. With the interest that is bound to be aroused by the Rapide, perhaps Aston Martin can become a serious money-making machine, too.


2011 Aston Martin Rapide First Drive



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[Merc1]

AutoExpress - Aston Martin Rapide More pics...




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[martinbo]

Sickest, loveliest, most gorgeously beautiful 4-door super-GT coupe ever. It's just pure love for me.

Along with its donor sibling the DB9, the Rapide exhibits such pure and clean lines that it's almost impossible for it to be a 4 door, 4 seater car. If people cynically should argue a lack of creativity due to a copy and paste exercise then they should at least give credit to the level of execution and cohesion achieved. A better job could not have been done.

 

[Merc1]

I was one of those people, but man look at the car now. Still though if were a rich man I'd wait for the hotter DBS/S or whatever they're going to call it version. This car is going to be a stunner on the road.


M

 

[Centurion]

As outragiously priced as it might be, it's residual value will be higher than that of the S65 aka the king or depreciation -- which loses an embarrassing 40% of it's value after 18 months.

 

[ree]

The world's best-looking four-door sedan beckoned us from Miami. Enticed, we boarded a jet and paid the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide a visit. Our task was to shuttle Aston Martin's first four-sedan up the coast to Palm Beach – someone had to do it. Of course, we took the circuitous route and spent the day blissfully putting her through the paces as we leisurely motored our way north.

Why did the British automaker design a sedan – and what is hiding under its skin? What is it like to drive? How are those rear-seat accommodations? Most importantly, how does the Rapide measure up to the Porsche Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte? The answers and more after the jump...

The Aston Martin Rapide is a sports car first, a sedan second.

Those exact words may have never been spoken or alleged while the Rapide was under development. Nevertheless, that mantra subconsciously repeated itself countless times during our day with the British manufacturer's first four-door vehicle since the angular William Towns-designed Lagonda left the world stage.

Even to the uninitiated openly-gazing public, the Rapide is purely an Aston Martin. The family resemblance – to the DB9, DBS and Vantage – is unquestioned thanks to Aston's world-renowned and incredibly sexy, sleek silhouette. The designers have done such a noble job hiding the extra 12 inches of length and two inches of height that only on second glance do most realize that this isn't another coupe. Regardless, in a compliment to the designer, most will still believe the Rapide is a stretched variant of the DB9. In truth, all of the body panels on the sedan are new – none of the sheetmetal is shared.

With that in mind, it is no surprise to find that under the skin, Aston Martin has utilized its V/H platform – shared with the DB9, DBS and Vantage – to construct the Rapide. Using technology borrowed from the aerospace industry, the British automaker employs adhesives to bond – not weld – aluminum components together. The front quarter panels are composite, while the doors and roof are aluminum. The rear quarter panels are steel. The end result is a chassis that is very light and extraordinarily stiff. The curb weight of the Rapide is 4,387 pounds – about 500 pounds heavier than the DB9 coupe. Thanks to the engine being set low and back in the front of the platform and a rear-mounted transaxle, the Rapide's weight balance is a nicely proportioned 49 percent front, 51 percent rear.

Under the long hood of the Rapide is a hand-assembled all-alloy 48-valve V12. Displacing 6.0-liters, the normally-aspirated engine is rated at 470 horsepower (at 6,000 rpm) and 443 lb-ft of torque (at 5,000 rpm). Power is sent rearward through a carbon-fiber propeller shaft within an alloy tube to the mid-mounted gearbox. The transmission is Aston Martin's "Touchtronic 2" with electronic shift-by-wire control (that's an overly eloquent way of saying it is a traditional six-speed slushbox with a torque converter and overrides for manual control). A standard limited-slip differential ensures power is sent consistently to each rear wheel. While the four-door shares a powertrain with the DBS, it has been customized for the Rapide, including its own unique final drive ratio of 3.46:1.

The Rapide's suspension is comprised of independent double-wishbones on all four corners. A standard Adaptive Damping System (ADS) automatically adjusts the suspension settings based on road conditions and driver inputs. If needed, a "Sport" button in the cabin allows the driver to instantly set all dampers to their firmest positions – and damage your kidneys. Debuting on the Rapide is Aston Martin's first-ever dual cast brake system with rotors rendered in iron and aluminum. Weighing nearly 20 percent less than traditional all-iron rotors, the lightweight brakes reduce unsprung mass to improve performance, and they reduce brake corrosion as an added benefit. Six-piston calipers hide inside 20-inch alloy wheels up front (wearing 245/40R20 tires) while four-piston calipers, and a dedicated single-piston parking brake caliper, reside in the rear 20-inch wheels (wrapped in wider 295/35R20 rubber). The standard tire fitment is the Bridgestone Potenza S001.

Most of this reads much like a DB9 or DBS review – until now.

The Rapide's two rear seats – le raison d'être – are accessed via the two rear "swan doors" that swing 70 degrees wide (the same angle as the front doors) and rise rather dramatically upward a full 12 degrees. The twin rear passenger hatches are rather short and stubby, but they allow excellent access to the individual bucket seats on each side of the rear cabin. An immense center console swathed in more leather houses dual cup holders, lighting, seat and cabin climate controls for the rear occupants. A twin-screen entertainment system offers DVD video and wireless headsets for those who somehow find boredom in the back seat of an Aston Martin.

Thanks to those same rear seats, the luggage capacity of the Rapide isn't all that bad. Lift the manually-operated tailgate and access to the trunk is painless. A system of collapsible carpet-lined panels folds up and down to isolate cargo from passengers, if needed. We toted a roll-on bag, a computer bag and a camera backpack with space to spare. When more room is desired, the rear seats bow elegantly forward at the touch of a button to lie nearly flat. The space is generous, but don't think the Rapide is going to haul ripped bags of potting soil in this "cargo configuration" as there are yards of expensive leather left vulnerable and exposed. However, the Rapide will effortlessly bring home that priceless oversized framed Monet you purchased with pocket change at auction.

Our test car wore a deep skin of Quantum Silver paint over Obsidian Black leather with contrasting red stitching. The wheels were finished in graphite, which really completed the package. As this was an early production model there was no window sticker in the glove box. However, Aston Martin has released pricing on the Rapide. The base MSRP of cars bound to the States is $199,950. Since our vehicle had several options (graphite wheels, Rapide logo in headrests, rear seat entertainment, etc...) it was likely touching $210,000.

Pressing on the leading edge of the Rapide's flush-mounted exterior door handle exposes the lever to the rest of your hand. Pull, and the door opens – it's the same manner of gaining entry into a private jet. With the door swinging wide and high, climbing into the cabin isn't difficult. Our six-foot two-inch frame fits comfortably and with plenty of room to spare (we actually moved the seat forward a bit). The steering wheel adjusts manually with a lever underneath, while the various seat controls are mounted on each side of the center console. It takes less than a minute to get settled in the driver's bucket seat and the gorgeous scent of tanned leather is very strong.……

First Drive: 2010 Aston Martin Rapide is always ready for its close-up — Autoblog

 

[ree]

Jeremy Clarkson on the Aston Martin Rapide:



You may be aware that in various right-on cities around the world, residents are allowed to help themselves to a bicycle from a local hub and then, when they’ve completed their journey, simply leave it at another hub for someone else.

This idea was first tried in the 1960s — in Amsterdam, of course — but, naturally, it didn’t work very well. Within a month most of the bicycles had been stolen or lobbed into a canal.

In 1993 the city of Cambridge released 300 bicycles onto the streets and within days they’d all gone. Fifteen years later the Canadians thought they’d give it a bash. They lost 95% of the stock within a week.

Unfortunately, because communists — especially communists who are stoned — exist in a world untroubled by the concept of “reality”, many other city councils and eco-groups continued to plug away with the idea until someone had a brainwave. People would be made to pay a small deposit to use the bike, as you do with airport trolleys in various Third World countries. However, this did little to deter theft as you were in effect buying a bicycle for 10p.

Now, there are much more sophisticated schemes, with members offering up smart cards to scanners and being told they are responsible for the bike until it’s returned. This sounds workable, but think for a moment: who wants to join a club where the only benefit is a crappy bicycle?

Sharing, then, works well at children’s birthday parties and, I suppose, in the world of prostitution, but vehicles? No. Which is why I was so surprised to find that Aston Martin has adopted a similar scheme. The idea is simple. You buy one of its cars, which then entitles you to use any Aston Martin that you find on the street.

Let me explain. I came home the other day in the beautiful new Rapide and, like a good boy, hit the plipper to lock it up. But what the plipper actually did was unlock my wife’s Vantage, which was parked nearby. Now, of course, there are only so many frequencies that these remote central locking devices can use, so the fact that one would operate two cars is worrying but not that remarkable.

What was remarkable is that the same key would actually start both cars. This means that, theoretically, you could buy a second-hand Vantage and simply use its key to drive whatever Aston took your fancy.

Obviously, you’d take the Rapide if you had four people to transport, since this, according to its maker, is the first four-seater Aston. That’s not strictly true, of course. The old V8s were four-seaters and so are the DB9 and the DBS. But this, unless you count the old Lagonda, is certainly the first Aston into which four adults can actually fit. And it’s definitely the first Aston to be built in Austria but we’ll gloss over that.

Getting in the back is tricky unless you are made from Plasticine — the rear doors are quite small — and, realistically, you are never going to be comfortable back there if you are much over 5ft 10in. But it is a snuggy place for shortarses to sit, cocooned by the huge leather-trimmed transmission tunnel and various bits of ultra-cool brushed aluminium. It’s like being in Terence Conran’s head.

Only, Terence Conran’s head isn’t a hatchback, and the Rapide is. So you can fold down the back seats, which gives you a boot big enough for a ski holiday.

That brings me on to the big question. Because this is now a big(gish) four-seater hatchback — like, say, the old Fiat Croma — does it mean that some of the Aston magic has gone when you go for a drive?

The simple answer is yes. And no. Drive it normally, on normal, ice-ravaged roads, and it feels too firm. Too communicative. You feel every ripple and pimple on the road surface, not so much through your backside but through the steering system. The wheel shimmies and tingles all the time. It could be used easily as a sex toy.

This is annoying, unless you’re a girl and you’re sitting on it, but there is a cure. You just speed up a bit. When you do that, the car starts to float. It feels light, like a lemon sorbet, and you start to feel the benefit of that ultra-communicative steering system. This is a car that covers ground very, very quickly and with very little fuss.

And yet ... it doesn’t feel as if it wants to. It has a push-button six-speed auto that is strangely reluctant to change down. For better results you need to use the paddles on the back of the wheel. Then it goes like a fleeing burglar.

But even if you do use the paddles, you are still strangely detached from the power of that 5.9-litre V12. The same engine is used in the DBS — the best car in the world right now — and the V12 Vantage. But there’s none of the fury that you get from those cars. None of the savagery.

It feels, then, as though the Rapide has been tuned for comfortable, quiet long-distance cruising, which is absolutely fine and probably right for an elegant four-seater such as this. But then that raises the question: why is the steering so direct and shouty? I’m not looking here for a Lincoln Town Car. But neither do I want what we’ve been given: a full race-spec 911 GT3.

There’s more. When you first drop into any Aston, it is like dropping into designer heaven. Everything looks absolutely beautiful. But, as is the way with a great deal of stuff designed by men in black polo-neck sweaters for men in black polo-neck sweaters, it is a bit tricky to use.

The seats, for example, can provide warmth or a gentle cooling breeze. That’s two seats with two functions each, and that means four buttons. But four buttons would be ugly, so instead you get one, which is beautiful but awfully complicated. So’s the Volvo sat nav system, and so’s the stereo.

Yes, there are Bang & Olufsen turrets that rise from the dash when you turn it on — magnificent — and the acoustic signature changes when the rear seatbelts are used so the whole car fills with sound rather than just the front. But you try switching from Radio 2 to Radio 4. You need eight fingers like cocktail sticks, four thumbs, your reading glasses and about 10 minutes.

It’s funny. In a normal, two-seater Aston we tend to ignore these things. Because we are buying a small-volume, bespoke car from a small manufacturer, we expect things to be a bit topsy-turvy, in the same way we expect a small-volume watch to be less reliable and harder to use than a Casio.

And yet in a four-seater Aston they seem to rear out of the ether like an eclipse. A four-seater car is built to be practical and sensible; that’s its raison d’être. So the silly things, such as the fact that the gap between the throttle and brake pedal is too small, become as irritating as a bit of turd in a trifle.

Things are just as bad in the Maserati Quattroporte I reviewed a few weeks ago. And they’re even worse in the Porsche Panamera, which is more logical but so hideous to behold that you’d never want to drive past a shop window in case you caught sight of its reflection.

Still, the Aston does have one ace up its sleeve. You may well find when you come out of the office one night that someone else has gone home in it, leaving you with their DB9 or whatever. I think, on balance, you’d be grateful.

— Aston Martin has subsequently explained that the same key will open more than one of its demonstrator cars (to allow journalists to jump in and out of different cars at press events). Hmmm. That sounds sensible, but it still doesn’t explain why my key opened my wife’s car. Let’s hope Aston Martin remembers to modify the keys before demonstrators are sold. If you buy an Aston ex-demonstrator, please don’t take my wife’s runaround — especially if she’s in it.

THE CLARKSOMETER

Clarkson’s verdict

Our favourite sports car has got plump and put on lederhosen

Aston Martin Rapide

Engine 5935cc, V12
Power 470bhp @ 6000rpm
Torque 443 lb ft @ 5000rpm
Tranmission Six-speed auto
Acceleration 0-60mph: 5.1sec
Top Speed188mph
Fuel/CO2 19mpg / 355g/km
Road Tax Band M (£405 a year)
Price £139,950
Release Date Out now

Jeremy Clarkson Aston Martin Rapide review | Driving - Times Online

 

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[Merc1]

The Panamera Turbo will stomp a mutthole in those performance numbers, but the Aston-Martin is the better looking car by a mile. No contest.


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