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By EWAN KENNEDY
15 March 2010
I
first saw the Aston Martin Rapide at its world launch at the
Frankfurt Motor Show late last year. The new four-door Aston
created a huge amount of interest among the hundreds of
journalists who deliberately arrived at the Aston Martin stand
well ahead of time to secure a good vantage point.
Two weeks ago the Rapide made another major appearance, this time
at the most elegant and stylish of all motor shows, that in
Geneva. Again I managed to be present and was stunned by the way
people just wanted to stare at the latest example of this British
sporting marque.
This week the eagerly awaited Rapide finally arrived in Australia.
As befits the marque made famous by none other than that most
elegant of men, James Bond, the Aston visited Australia city by
city on a whirlwind tour.
As befits south-east Queensland, the glittering home of the rich
and famous (and others, such as me!), the Rapide made not one, but
two appearances – in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast. My third
unveiling to the Rapide differed from those in Europe in that it
rapidly became a major social event with a glittering audience
that simply loved the car!
This British thoroughbred is the sort of machine that has people
drooling in admiration, even from those who don’t understand
automotive things but are finely tuned to the images created by
the best in brands.
Rapide's styling is unmistakably Aston Martin; the distinctive
double-deck grille carries on a tradition of decades, the roofline
is very coupe in its sleekness and tail treatment has cues to the
cars heritage, such as the slope of the window and the shape of
the lights.
This car really does bring out the old cliché – it looks as
though it's doing 100 miles an hour even when it's standing still.
Contrarily, it's only when the Rapide is standing still that you
get to admire its most unusual styling feature, the doors kick up
in a fascinating fashion that the designers describe as looking
like swan wings – we love it! The doors aren’t just there for
show, the also have a practical use in that they clear kerbs when
you open them.
Though it has four doors, Aston Martin Rapide is not a sedan.
Rather it's a sports car with better than average access to the
rear compartment. The twin rear seats are small and really only
suited to children, or perhaps to adults for short emergency
trips. A surprise feature of the back compartment is the tall
centre console that comes almost to shoulder height for many
people. It feels almost claustrophobic, but is there to provide
strength by way of a large central spine.
Boot space is better than average for a sports car, the back seat
travellers have good access to it, and the seats themselves fold
down to create more luggage room. We foresee the latter
arrangement as being by far the most common use to which the area
behind the front occupants will be put.
That front seat area is a pure joy to behold. Sporting and elegant
in the Aston Martin manner it's built to a high quality using
nothing but the best materials.
But enough of seats, let's talk about serious matters – the
things that make this big sports machine go, stop and handle.
Under that long, sleek bonnet there's V12 engine displacing 6.0
litres and putting out a glorious 470 horsepower (or 350 kilowatts
in non-sports terms), and torque of an impressive 600 Newton
metres.
This hand-built engine is as good looking as the rest of the car
and sends its grunt to the back wheels by way of a rear transaxle
jointly developed by Aston Martin and ZF, and tagged as the
Touchtronic. This six-speed unit has paddles, made from magnesium,
behind the steering wheel to give the sporting driver plenty of
control.
Would you like to be one of the first people in Australia to own
an Aston Martin Rapides? Then you have a problem or two. Firstly,
it's going to cost you close to $400,000 to put on the road.
Secondly, you're too late, because every car is spoken for until
the end of the year. Though a little bird tells us the local
importer may be able to squeeze one or two more out of the factory
if there's enough serious interest from downunder.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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