Summary
REAR seat backs that fold flat at the touch of a button; ISOFIX child seat mountings; a 750-litre boot capacity. We're talking about an ordinary family car, right? Wrong. Or at least, it's wrong unless your idea of an ordinary family car has a 6.0-litre, V12 engine and a Pounds 150,000 price tag. The Aston Martin Rapide is a long, long way from ordinary - but will the iconic British brand's take on the four-door sports car prove a hit or a miss with the demanding clientele who have the cash to buy it? Being an Aston Martin, the Rapide was going to have to go like stink, handle like no other four- door car and, perhaps most importantly, sound to its drivers like they're trapped in a mahogany wardrobe with a thunderstorm. Supplying the famous Aston soundtrack is the famous Aston V12 unit that is mounted at the front but edged as far rearward as it would go in the interests of weight distribution - a near perfect 51:49 if you're interested.
The figures confirm that this is a four-door of the sporting variety. There's 600Nm of torque at 5,000rpm and 470bhp at 6,000, which should be plenty. Give the throttle a prolonged stomping and the car will see 188mph before too long. With some nimble use of the magnesium alloy paddle shifters that control the six-speed Touchtronic 2 automatic gearbox, 60mph can come up after just 5.1s.See the full content of this document
Extract
Aston's Sensible Alternative
The Rapide is rear wheel drive in the best traditions of the brand, an...
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