The Aston Martin Rapide is a four-door, high-performance sport saloon, which British luxury marque Aston Martin plans to introduce in early 2010 to compete with the Maserati Quattroporte and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, along with the upcoming Audi A7, Porsche Panamera, and Lamborghini Estoque. It was first presented as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in 2006. The Rapide name is a reference to the Lagonda Rapide, a saloon car produced by Lagonda, now part of Aston Martin. The car is based on an Aston Martin DB9. The estimated price for the Rapide is around $260,000 US Dollars, although it is too soon to predict its price on the US market, the Rapide should be in full production in the US by Late 2010-early 2011.
Aston Martin has announced that the Rapide will be built at a dedicated plant at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria. Production will start in 2010 and the factory plans to build 2,000 per year. The production version will feature a full-length glass roof and LED light bars on the rear end, two firsts for Aston Martin.
It has been confirmed that the production version will be displayed at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.
A production version of the Rapide has been spotted on several occasions in Kuwait in July and August 2009, where it is undergoing weather and performance testing.
Aston Martin has announced that the Rapide will be built at a dedicated plant at the Magna Steyr facility in Graz, Austria. Production will start in 2010 and the factory plans to build 2,000 per year. The production version will feature a full-length glass roof and LED light bars on the rear end, two firsts for Aston Martin.
It has been confirmed that the production version will be displayed at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show.
A production version of the Rapide has been spotted on several occasions in Kuwait in July and August 2009, where it is undergoing weather and performance testing.
