Finally, we can now show you pictures of a completely uncovered Aston Martin Rapide, thanks to photographer Simon Gregg. Gregg submitted the photos to the good folks at CAR Online, who quickly posted the pics online.
Aston Martin Design Director Marek Reichman once said, "We wanted to make the most beautiful four-door sports car in the world." The British automaker seems to have come very close to achieving their goal.
Although the car is not expected to be introduced to the public until September's Frankfurt Motor Show, these photos show a car that will be stiff competition with rival Porsche. The $89,000 to $132,600 Porsche Panamera luxury sports car was recently introduced to the public with a 3.6 liter six cylinder generating 300 hp, a 400 horsepower 4.8 liter V8 engine, and a 500 hp turbocharged V8.
While pricing is unknown for the Rapide, it will come with a 6.0-liter V12 generating 470 horsepower and 600 Nm of torque paired with a responsive Touchtronic gearbox. Performance figures have not been released, but we expect the Rapide to post numbers that are in between the two Porsche Panamera V8 models. Those cars go 0-60 mph in either 4 seconds or 4.8 seconds, depending on which engine is chosen.
For photographer Simon Gregg, the looks of the car have completely exceeded expectations. "This new addition from Aston Martin is most certainly going beat the Porsche Panamera in the style stakes!" he told CAR Online. "It has the same aggresive look of the Vanquish from the rear and even offers the appearance of being a two-door car, rather than a four-door when viewed from certain angles."
Unfortunately, Gregg was not able to get pictures of the interior. He did say that vehicle has four individual seats, thanks to the center console which splits the entire cabin down the middle. "The facia and interior door panels share the styling found in the current DBS and V8 range. Rear access is via a Vantage-style rear hatch, which will make loading up very easy," he said.
Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez previously said, "The Rapide will exist in a class all of its own, a true Aston Martin with the high performance and dynamic excellence that defines the brand, and a luxurious sporting grand tourer without equal."
Looks like he wasn't lying.
Aston Martin Rapide caught undisguised in parking lot
Aston Martin Rapide uncovered spy photo / Simon Gregg
By Zack Newmark
June 10, 2009 3:45 PM
Filed Under: Aston Martin, European, Spy Photos
Comments
politz
June 10, 2009 3:55 PM
OH MY GOD. i know some might say it looks like any other aston with an extra set of doors, but... that's just awesome. clean, elegant, current, fresh. i mean, now THAT is sex on wheels.
i want one, in white, on my driveway.
opelbauer
June 10, 2009 4:42 PM
It looks much more elegant than the Panamera however normally i'm a German car fan ! ! ! :)
alamak
June 10, 2009 5:13 PM
yeah, great job Aston......this car looks very good....unlike the Porsche PAINamera...that is one ugly Porsche, a pain in the eye everytime I look at one....I'll have one Rapide in white as well :)
Imasa
June 10, 2009 5:16 PM
I hate to disagree but I don't think this car looks good. It's a stretched Vanquish. I don't see the point. If you have money for this, you can afford a Vanquish and an SL. Each one fulfills its own purpose.
scratchy996
June 10, 2009 10:50 PM
this was a nice design a few years ago , but it looks dated now.i don't like how the Panamera looks , but at least it is original.
lucifa
June 10, 2009 5:22 PM
6.0L V12 developing 470bhp and 600Nm -- lol, epic fail. That and the fact that it's not exactly a creative or new design aside, it does look as good as the other Astons, but from the photos it looks like it has real presence, which is probably even better up close. Poser's Panamera, but can't wait to see it on the streets.
daviepops
June 10, 2009 5:33 PM
Mission accomplished AM ... this is far and away the class leader for style and elegance ... and I'm enjoying the interesting (if accidental) juxtaposition of the world's most beautiful four door EVER and the worst looking four door EVER right there over the bonnet.
Mike.F1
June 10, 2009 5:46 PM
Much, much better than the Panamera... but the rear door shadowline could be more fluid with the C-Pillar
Triple_X
June 10, 2009 6:07 PM
Love it! Want one!
But why do you guys want it in white ?! No way for me.
daviepops
June 11, 2009 11:49 AM
Put me down as a NOT white buyer ... I bought a white car once, and hated it within a month of taking delivery, for the complete and utter blandness of the white colour
blay
June 10, 2009 6:14 PM
Sorry but i gotta agree with some of the other people in this thread. This aston just looks... terrible. :(
i hope ferrari doesn't do something like this. "I know! Lets just stretch out our 599GTB and whack two extra doors on!"
Decypha
June 10, 2009 6:25 PM
the headlights are a bit exaggerated, the rear-end is a too much V8 Vantage, but I do love the rims (wine's a little heavy) but I do love it. Would I buy one? Heck yeah! but I love Aston Martin all the same so it would take a few turds to turn me off the marque.
***(i'm probably going to regret this tomorrow morning)
Edited by user on June 10, 2009 at 6:28 PM
jalmonte91
June 10, 2009 6:32 PM
Let me get a white Panamera with brick leather please.
This aston looks horrible, all they did was add 2 doors, if thats all they wanted to do, thet should have just added them the way mazda rx-8 did, cuz these conventional rear doors make the car look horrible.
catchmyshadow
June 10, 2009 7:58 PM
the rear looks better than the panamera´s, but let´s face it, it lacks individuality and personality. it simply looks like a stretched DB9. instead of calling it rapide they should have called it DB9-S (for stretched)
DetroitSammy
June 10, 2009 8:23 PM
Looked much better on the promos. Maybe it's looking better than the Panamera, but the Pana's ugliness makes itself much more interessting than this boring mule.
N20_Purge
June 10, 2009 8:25 PM
Awesome car! Visually, beats anything else on the market. Now, what is the point of other 4-door large coupes?
radmeister
June 10, 2009 8:46 PM
I donno, at first this car was more appealing than the panamera, but now i have to admit i prefer the porsche hands down. This looks kind of cheap, not just that but it really is a stretched DB9...Thats all it is.
jslcarfan
June 10, 2009 8:49 PM
I think the panamera looks good, though i must admit this looks better. but the panamera with turbo and sport chrono plus is .2 faster to 60 then this v12 and probably handles better too
GRAVE
June 10, 2009 10:15 PM
Looks normal, not so beautiful to say WOW whan i see one.
Even the CLS63 AMG is in lower level than this but it's way better looking and even more powerfull and cheaper as well
wjaprep
June 10, 2009 10:20 PM
yawn, another amazingly sexy almost flawless Aston Martin, whts new? its not like Aston Martin makes ugly cars... but srssly, this looks amazing, and u cnt even compare this to the Porsche sedan mistake thing.
911fnatic
June 10, 2009 10:25 PM
This vs Panamera, no contest. Beautiful. Top Gear will probably do just that, hopefully.
Edited by user on June 10, 2009 at 10:26 PM
ovo911
June 10, 2009 10:32 PM
Those headlights are horrible. I would buy the Panamera insted. it´s much better looking in real life than in pictures.
Wickedated
June 10, 2009 10:33 PM
HATE it. It's a vantage with 2 extra doors. Looks too slim and feminine. I'll take a Quattroporte any day.
pousa13
June 10, 2009 10:58 PM
amazing! what a beauty! @prosche - this is how a four door coupe has to look like!
Get_real
June 11, 2009 12:28 AM
Strange, the Panamera is sort of growing on me. This is going in the opposite direction. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely not ugly, but I don't know... It doesn't do anything for me. The wheels are ugly by the way.
BabyMilo
June 11, 2009 12:38 AM
Everytime I see it, it get boringer and boringer. It just doesnt excite me anymore, shame really
carbonsigma
June 11, 2009 1:45 AM
Thank you!
I got bored waiting for this pos to come out many moons ago.
It's boring. Give me a Panamera.
kimbo
June 11, 2009 1:17 AM
I hate what AM did. DB9 front, 2 pairs f doors and a rear from Vantage. Doesn't look terible but it lacks it's own identity. And I can't look at te rearend, Vantage looks so stupid over there!
500lbman
June 11, 2009 3:58 AM
I think the wheels are screwing up the styling of the car. They are not complimentary of the car at all.
Aesthetics
June 11, 2009 5:18 AM
it is pretty obvious that those are not the final headlights but mere covers to test the headlight system.
anyway, i use to think the rapide was merely a stretched vantage or db series that did not look good because of its lack of originality.....thank you aston for making me mince my thoughts, still think it is a stretched coupe which it is suppose to be, awesome job.
reyngel
June 11, 2009 5:45 AM
Everything about it looks great.
...except for the wheels. They look like a total afterthought.
ShinyG
June 11, 2009 11:44 AM
Considering this car is a DB9 with an extra pair of doors, I wouldn't call it "fresh"! It is elegant, well proportioned, but it's not "fresh". It's the most boring AM of the current generation, that's my opinion. The stance is dreadful with that SUV-like rear ground clearance and the wheels are so unimaginative! I wish this is not the production model!
mc959
June 11, 2009 12:47 PM
Ok qua exterior style no contest= Aston wins qua Performance no doubt about it Porsche wins I'm sure the Panamera(Turbo)will put the Rapide 30 sec behind on the ring.
And if i had to buy one, i prefer too have the fast one over the pretty one(speaking about cars!!!), but that's just me. Also i'm sure the Porsche will be unbeatable qua interior design and finishing touch. Where the Aston will have once more the same interior as the V8 vantage and DB9 with 2 more seats.
Edited by user on June 11, 2009 at 12:50 PM
RomeDawg
June 11, 2009 2:44 PM
The bonnet looks too long and the headlights almost go accross the wheel arches. The rear lights look stupid and all in all it looks like AM took a DB9 and added 2 more doors. The engine on this is very much outdated - didn't AM say they would cooperate with AMG to develop engines in the future? what ever happened to that?
I have to say the Panamera has grown on me. I'd rather have one of those over the Rapide. The CLS and Quattroporte are also a good alternative.
Ergo: Rapide, No Thanks!
Prince_Ash
June 11, 2009 3:12 PM
i honestly still really like the Aston Martin DBS, but i also say this one looks nice too. its not ugly but not eye widening either.
alessandro
June 11, 2009 8:42 PM
I think this Rapide is a cozy and roomy family car where daddy, just a little-a-bit... you now - a critical TopGear watcher. What goes to the build quality then never knows.
dezibel
June 12, 2009 3:51 AM
I always liked the DB9. But now it looks so damn dated... I was looking forward to the Rapide, but now it's just a boring car with some fugly headlights.
super_car_muscle_man
June 13, 2009 5:23 PM
i totally agree. its so boring. dont get me wrong, aston martin is a beautiful car but the db7, dbs and this look too similar. where's the imagination? atleast the panemera looks totally different and keeping in line with porsche design. panemera might not be to a lot of peoples taste but, i think it looks good and will be a grower. this however, already looks old.
theoldman
August 6, 2009 7:27 AM
ShinyG you're sort of right: Aston Martin needs to make some of their models look different from the DB9 (hopefully this will be fixed when replacement for DB9 comes out)which is why i'd prefer the Jaguar XJ to this.
However, this does look drop-dead gorgeous: maybe not as good looking as the new jaguar xj, but still way better looking than the panamera
theoldman
August 6, 2009 7:47 AM
and i do mean that: this is way way WAY better looking than the panamera
but not as good looking as 2010 jaguar xj
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Edited by user on June 10, 2009 at 3:55 PM