Click above for high-res gallery of the Aston Martin Rapide
One of the first decisions that David Richards and his partners made after buying Aston Martin from Ford last year was to produce the four-door Rapide. The platform architecture of the DB9 was designed to be easily stretched in both length and width, making derivatives like the Rapide and the DBS a possibility without much fuss and expense. There was, however, one annoying little detail to address with the Rapide. Aston Martin's UK manufacturing facilities are already running full-tilt building the DB9, DBS and V8 Vantage.. Aston had to find somewhere else to build the new car, and Magna Steyr stepped into the breach. Magna will set up a new manufacturing facility dedicated to Rapide production at its factory in Graz, Austria. The Aston Martin Rapide Plant will be patterned after the processes at the Gaydon plant in the UK where other Astons are built, and production of some 2,000 Rapides a year will begin late next year in Graz.
[Source: Aston Martin]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Taylor @ Mar 7th 2008 5:01PM
Sexy.
'Nuff said.
andre lavoie @ Mar 7th 2008 5:11PM
Without a doubt this is beautiful car. I just wish they made it a bit more unique from the DB9.
Torrent @ Mar 7th 2008 5:25PM
Nice. In fact, nicer than the XF and prolly nicer than the panamera.
Bruxell @ Mar 7th 2008 5:35PM
At least it's not being produced in India...
jg @ Mar 7th 2008 5:36PM
My pants are tight!
ALEXDB9 @ Mar 7th 2008 5:41PM
I don't care were its made..........as long as its made.
Franz @ Mar 7th 2008 5:51PM
Ditto. God... I love this car.
mk @ Mar 7th 2008 6:14PM
The XF isn't even in the same ballpark, looks, content or price-wise.
This is going to blow the Panamera out of the water, based on the Porsche's spy shots, and it is going to be sexier than the Quattroporte, and one of the few, or sole V12 Sport sedan, aside from perhaps a sport-package 7-series, if such an animal exists. S-class and maybach aren't sport sedans, they are full-luxury coaches.
jg @ Mar 7th 2008 6:22PM
'aside from perhaps a sport-package 7-series,'
Alpina B7
I'd take the Rapide.
Moe @ Mar 8th 2008 9:52AM
The AMG versions definitely are on the sporty side to drive. More so than the 7-series.
ryan @ Mar 7th 2008 7:20PM
Its good to read people praising this car. I'm not sure if it was what I was reading or not but I remember when news of this car first surfaced, people were saying how bad an idea they thought a 4 door aston martin was. Things gorgeous. The styling of the Panamera is goofy in comparison.
Matt @ Mar 8th 2008 4:42AM
Astounding. Makes the Quattroporte look like the ugly blob it is. Porsche must be sh*tting themselves.
AM will sell as many as they can make, and deservedly so.
Philip @ Mar 8th 2008 5:07PM
A British luxury car built in Austria, It just doesn't feel right.
Corey B. @ Mar 13th 2008 7:09AM
Between 1919 & the Great Depression, over 3000 Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts & Phantoms were built not in England but in Springfield, Massachusetts; I know that Rolls Royce is a different marque and 1919 was a long time ago but my point is that it isn't unprecedented that a prestigious British marque uses a factory outside the UK. As long as build quality is strictly enforced then I have no problem with an Austrian-made Aston Martin...
Philip @ Mar 13th 2008 11:48AM
Corey, I didnt know that, its just that Aston Martin is such an English product, I would have said the same about Rolls Royce.
There are many other cars sold in the UK with British names that are made in other parts of Europe, Ford and Vauxhall to name two.