Aston Martin boss Ulrich Bez has confirmed that the company will build the Porsche-rivalling Rapide, the four-door concept unveiled at the Detroit motor show earlier this year.
Bez said that the company was not yet accepting orders but that "the car will be built". He pointed out that the Rapide will reach the market before Porsche's four-door Panamera, which leaves Aston Martin a mere 2.5 years in which to develop the machine.
Specification
The car will boast four seats and doors and be based on a stretched version of the VH aluminium monocoque platform used by the DB9 and V8 Vantage.
The 1,900Kg Rapide's engine, also found in the DB9, will be uprated from the earlier car's standard 450bhp to 480bhp. The quad-cam V12 will sit in the nose and drive the rear wheels through a rear-mounted, paddle-shift controlled auto 'box.
The car looks to be some five metres long, about 300mm longer than the DB9, and about 40mm higher and wider than the DB9. According to Autocar, the car's creator, designer Marek Reichman, rear access and packaging have given ground to the need to create a shape that's low and sleek.
Just when you thought that Aston would be settling back and counting the pennies from pent-up demand from the DB9 and V8 Vantage, instead it's proved the versatility of the VH platform, and the speed with which it allows the Ford subsidiary to produce new models.
The Rapide is likely to cost some £160,000 and be produced at a rate of some 500 a year -- about 10 per cent of Aston's planned total production volumes.
Related stories