Beautiful Aston Martin Rapide Prototype Continues to Tease

Aston Martin Rapide Prototype Spy Photo / Copyright by Carpix

Lighter color provides new details

Images of the Aston Martin Rapide continue to surface, and if you just can't get enough, here are a few more. We've got front and rear shots of a barely-disguised silver Rapide in the snow. The light color provides a clear look at the shape of the glass roof, especially from the rear, and for our purposes the snow crusted on the fenders highlights contours that weren't previously obvious, showing just how aggressive the Rapide's wheel placement is.

Latest reports say the Rapide is still set for a Geneva debut in March, with sales starting later in 2009. Though the worldwide car market is down, luxury sedans haven't been as strongly affected, and the fact that both Jaguar and Rolls-Royce actually did well in 2008 bodes well for the equally British Aston Martin Rapide.

Source: none

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AmazingJerry

Is is just the contour of the body or is there a huge dent in the rear door? Look how that black line gets a little wavyd over the rear door! Dent or no dent, it's still stunningly gorgeous.

January 21, 2009 7:13 pm

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1 reply

Bremen_Koenigsegg

The rear arches flare out, which is what causes that waviness.

January 22, 2009 4:29 am

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Wickedated

I may be alone on this- but this car doesnt thrill me at all. The DB9 look has been the same for the past 8 years, adding a set of doors look like a limo stretch job to a sports car (google: ferrari limo). The car is too feminine for a sedan, in my opinion. I wish BMW put out their CS concept, now thats a sedan!

January 21, 2009 7:18 pm

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lucifa

agreed, design-wise this is quite literally a DB9 with another door jammed in the middle. that's fine - the DB9 always was a gorgeous car - but the bmw CS is something original, like the estoque. this, the audi A7 and to a degree the panamera are just carbon copies of their other cars with an extra door, which i find extremely boring.

January 22, 2009 1:30 am

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politz

Love it love it love it. On being too feminine: maybe that's a good thing. I repeat, in my very own opinion, cars have been somewhat overdesigned to edgy, angry, masculine looks. Elegance, it seems, has been lost along the way.

January 21, 2009 7:53 pm

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benz_man

Very true. I never looked from that perspective before.

January 22, 2009 4:48 pm

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BabyMilo

I think it gets more boring everytime i see it.

January 21, 2009 8:12 pm

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desiathate

it looks ok... i think AM needs a refresh of somesort. i mean this still looks beatuful and all but idk it does have the thrills of the CS just likeWickedated... said. still i only have one wish! i just want this to out perform The ugly panamara. i just cant stand to look at that car.... and if it out sells this or even the lambo or the audo or the bmw i will cry. Porsche need to learn that ugly isnt always going to sell.

January 22, 2009 12:57 am

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geo411

Humble opinion: This is classy piece of art. The CS is the brilliant blend between aggressive character and engineering. But this. This is Sexy!

January 22, 2009 1:08 am

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catchmyshadow

let´s not too excited, it looks very good but in reality it is just a stretched DB9. u get 3 upcoming Audi A7s for the money and the A7 will be as good if not better , not as exclusive but also not as overpriced as this.

January 22, 2009 2:04 am

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plasma_cluster

looks like a clumsy sperm whale with an open mouth sweeping the ocean water for plankton. Its going to be slower then the Panamera just like the other Aston Martin's are slower then other Porsches. Isn't this company bankrupt yet? When are they going to sell themselves to another company like rolls and bentley, etc? Soon to stay afloat I imagine

January 22, 2009 2:38 am

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Kalos

i'd like to hear from the Audi fans, how does their A7 hold up to this master piece? ...the fight is as good as lost coz this Aston is hotttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

January 22, 2009 3:38 am

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Kalos

The A7is not a good looking car at all. You'd be insane to compare the Audi to an Aston Martin - not even the R8 can be compared to an Aston Martin no matter how different the two are. The Aston Martin is a 'Rolls Royce' sports car kind of... Astons designs age extremly and it's a proven fact - Audi has yet to prove to the world that their beaver grill will stand the test of time and they might!

January 22, 2009 3:45 am

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plasma_cluster

i guess if aston martin is the rolls royce of sports cars they will be selling themselves to the germans shortly like basically all the other british car firms have been forced to do. america cant bail you out of this one! LOL. this is now.

January 22, 2009 4:30 am

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catchmyshadow

as said, the only thing that stands out is the exclusivity and the price, u can get much better sedans from AUDI, BMW or BENZ for less than half the price.

January 22, 2009 5:30 am

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Windtalker01

I love the DBS!! However, I must say, I prefer BMW CS than Rapide.

January 22, 2009 5:41 am

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DB9 front,V8vantage back,limo in the center

January 22, 2009 6:37 am

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Decypha

I love AM but honestly why did they even bother to try to hide it? When it came to the "big reveal" the only thing we had never seen was the glass roof and extra door...

January 22, 2009 6:49 am

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911fnatic

Stunning. The DB9 is one of the best designs of our time imo.

January 22, 2009 7:12 am

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trailer

I can't get into this, can you guys?

January 22, 2009 10:49 am

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1 reply

lucifa

nah i can't either. and i don't think many adults could get into the back seat ;)

January 22, 2009 10:54 am

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Uptohere

I like AM but there's nothing original about the exterior of this car and therefore I don't consider it a classic. I prefer it to the Panamera but I suspect it will be out-performed. Off topic, I don't see the A7 as a worthy competitor to this car and I'm not convinced it really was designed to be from the beginning (BMW fan boys go crazy). But there is a smidge more intelligence in the A7's design and a stronger business case. If luxury sales hold up as the article suggests there just may be a future for the Rapide.

January 22, 2009 4:13 pm

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alessandro

Surrounded in featured storys by Porsche and Saab uglinesses looks so nice Rapide even better than it actually is.

January 23, 2009 1:47 pm

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alessandro

In addition: From distance of 100 m that car will look like a Laguna. Beautiful car.

January 23, 2009 1:51 pm

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Cayennechick

Hi, we had the DB7 previously and now a new DB9, which is far superiour to it's earlier relative. Asthetically I find the front of this model gorgeous and of course the wheels and rims are stunning ~ but what the hell happened to the arse? Did the entire design department just get bored and go for lunch? Jeez...what a let down! x

January 27, 2009 2:28 am

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