Cruising along in a sharky supercar with one of the most desirable badges money can buy, a somewhat squashed Ben Olivergives the lowdown on Aston's new Rapide
THE SULTAN OF Brunei is Aston Martin's best-ever customer. During the 1990s he put around 300 Aston Martins into his collection of at least 3,000 cars. Given that Aston only made 46 cars in 1992, there's a good chance that without the Sultan back then, there would be no Aston Martin today.
And its new Rapide is exactly the kind of car he likes. He and his brother Jefri commissioned Aston to build bespoke saloon and even estate versions of the old V8 Vantage, because he understood that a four-door, four-seat supercar is a spectacularly cool thing to have. Now that Aston finds itself in difficulty again, it has turned to the Sultan for inspiration.
The new Rapide won't be anything like as rare as those Brunei specials, even though Aston's sales have almost halved from its pre-meltdown peak of 7,300 in 2007 to just over 4,000 in 2009. In better times, Aston hopes to sell 2,000 Rapides in a year, outstripping the DB9 on which it's based and second only to the Vantage. This is no low-volume collector-special: it's a critical new model for the firm.
The Rapide and DB9 are most similar forward of the windscreen. There's an aggressive new double-deck eggcrate grille, but the engine behind it is largely unchanged; a six-litre V12 made by Ford in Cologne, making 350kW (470bhp) at 6,000rpm and 600Nm (443lb ft) at 5,000rpm.
The Rapide is 300mm longer than the DB9 and 59mm wider. Aston's design director Marek Reichman insisted on the same single side-glass opening as the DB9, so although there is a pillar between front and rear doors, the Rapide has the only current- production glass-to-glass closure over the top of it.
The cabin is largely unchanged and still gorgeous after six years. The biggest change is that the Rapide's construction is entirely outsourced to Austrian firm Magna Steyr. But don't worry; those Teutons haven't gone and made it all perfect. It's still obviously hand-made, with fabulous materials and detailing, but some reassuring rattles too.
But it's the rear cabin that's really interesting. The tiny doors open up and out with the same swan-wing effect as the fronts. The individual rear buckets look wild but lack any kind of adjustment. You have to lower yourself in with the same foot-bum-foot sequence required by other extreme sports cars. Once there you're locked in place like an astronaut at lift-off, and getting out is even more inelegant.
But there's plenty to keep you entertained. Aston has somehow managed to crowbar in an (optional) rear-seat entertainment system with a seven-inch screen in each seatback, as well as double cupholders and separate air-con controls for each rear passenger. There's even a decent boot; with the flip-down divider in place you can hide 300 litres of stuff. If you fold both the divider and the rear seats down you can get nearly 900 litres in.
But is it comfortable? At six foot tall and sitting behind a driver's seat set for me, frankly, no; my knees and head were in full contact with the seatback and headlining. But when your car looks this good, do you really care?
So how does it drive? At the risk of sounding spoilt, the Rapide doesn't feel that rapide; having an aristocratic V12 out front doesn't automatically confer any accelerative advantage. The Aston will hit 100km/h in 5.3 seconds; Porsche's Panamera Turbo saloon is the closest this car has to a rival and is more than a second quicker. Of course it's still a fast car; its extra weight means it's just not as fast as the shape and the price might lead you to expect.
And the soundtrack isn't as hardcore as the other Astons. The blip on start-up and the high, hard howl under load are lacking. There's still a great mechanical thrash from out front, but it's a little anti-climactic if you've driven the rest of the range.
However, for such a big car the Aston stays level and composed and you can make use of the feel and accuracy of the steering.
The Panamera will give the Rapide lessons on performance, handling and usability despite being 30 per cent cheaper. But if you're going to spend an eye- watering amount of money either way, would you rather end up with a stretched 911 with questionable looks, or a sharky four-door supercar with one of the most desirable badges you can buy?
Regardless of any dynamic shortcomings, enough buyers will opt for the latter to make the Rapide the success Aston needs it to be. The Sultan would understand.
FACTFILE
Engine:5935cc, V12
Power:470bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque:600Nm @ 5,000rpm
Transmission:Six-speed automatic
0-100km/h:5.3 seconds
Top speed:303km/h (188mph)
Fuel:15L/100km (18mpg) - est
CO2:375g/km (estimated)
Tax:€2,100 a year, band G
Price:€162,000 plus taxes
