Aston Martin Rapide

2011 Aston Martin Rapide

The premier British supercar manufacturer, Aston Martin, famous for the cars shown in James Bond movies such as the DB5 from Goldfinger, V12 Vanquish from Die Another Day, and the DBS from two Bond movies, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, has just unleashed the brand's first four-door machine. This machine is blessed with the Bond spirits that brings its Porsche Panamera rival into shallow grave, and this is Aston Martin's ultimate masterpiece in the epitome of the premium sedan category. The Rapide was born.

Even this British car manufacturer creates Bond machines, this brand reveals its firsts to bring Aston Martin fans some twists and turns, just like Bond movies filled with some twists and turns, such as the Toyota iQ-based Cygnet compact, and for the Rapide, you can compromise that this premium sedan is the perfect prop for the upcoming Bond movie. (Hope that current Bond actor, Daniel Craig, might have a fistful of fistfights on this one)

Despite the Rapide is a four-door coupe, the spirit of the James Bond machine lives on, thanks to its design DNA that is truly the heart and soul of the brand that made vehicles reserved by Her Majesty's Secret Service. For many years of hard work done by the engineers, especially tested on the Death Valley to Kuwait, the Rapide possesses as rapid-fire performance only a true Bond star might impress on his missions. Powered with the 6.0L V12 engine, the Rapide boasts almost 500PS of power and achieve regulated top speed of 303km/h, with the 5.3 second split time from the 0-100km run. However, the Rapide's top speed could not catch up against the Porsche Panamera Turbo's top speed, (Because the Panamera Turbo can reach 4.2 seconds on the 0-100km/h run) but despite its disadvantage, the Rapide weighs less than the Panamera, thanks to the use of its lightweight materials used in this premium 4-door coupe. A six-speed automatic Touchtronic II transmission is equipped on the Rapide, providing this sports car less impact on its frugal fuel economy.

For the edge-of-your-seat excitement for the big men, the Rapide is armed with the finest rear entertainment system. This system fulfills most of its qualities only executives want to relax on the long and winding road. With Bang & Olufsen premium sound system, the Rapide utilizes realistic sound and quality compared to a live performance. Once more, you can watch your favorite DVD movies such as Transformers, Final Destination, ID4, Saw, 2012, and Titanic, with its rear monitor mounted behind the front seats, with clearer picture than other premium sedans. For added fun, wireless headphones are placed on the Rapide, giving the word "listening time" to the next dimension.

My thoughts about the Rapide:
What really needs for Aston Martin's first four-door coupe is to have Daniel Craig get behind the wheel on enemy territory. For me, what I will put on the Rapide's wish list is the motion seeking missiles, rapid-fire machine guns, smoke screens, nitrous oxides, and every fancy gadget as I saw on other Bond movies. As for the Rapide, the true spirit of the legendary British spy lives on. It is perfect to rescue the dames from the evil masterminds' plot to destroy humanity. Maybe men like us has the James Bond inside of our hearts, and the Aston Martin Rapide truly has the heart and soul of the two-door Bond cars inside.