Aston Martin Rapide S

It's been awhile since Aston Martin launched their first-ever four-door premium saloon car, the Rapide, and even though it's not quite as aggressive as either the DB9 or the DBS, it's still worth it for a four-door saloon car that is quintessentially British, despite the fact that it's been made by the Austrians. Really? Austrians? Says here it's made in Graz, Austria, so this isn't quite British at all but happily though, there's a brand new version that is even more British than before...

2014 Aston Martin Rapide S

The brand new Aston Martin Rapide S looks pretty much the same as the old model but take note that everything's changed for the new model aside from the new front grille that looks unorthodox for the Rapide S. I don't know why but I think that new front view kinda spoils the beauty of this car. The new front grille kinda looks like...and I'm not joking...like a Hyundai because come to think of it, it looks more hexagonal shaped like any other current Hyundais and it seems that some of the designers had gone a bit succumbed to hallyu or the Korean wave.

Although with the stupid Hyundai-esque grille that spoils the new Rapide S' looks, there's some good news that this car is no longer made in Austria because it's now made to the home of the Aston Martins and in the same factory where they made the new Vanquish. Wanna guess where?

What I have here is an ATLAS and what I'm gonna do is flip the pages, and then when I see Europe, I head to United Kingdom, and one part of United Kingdom is Warwickshire, and one part of Warwickshire is a small village called Gaydon. That's right, it's now built in Aston Martin's Gaydon plant in Warwickshire, England and this is a great call because it's no longer been made by the Germans because if it does, it feels like a British was revealed to be a traitor and he came from its German opponents. We're talking about Anglo-German wars back there and if this was happened again, I don't really know what's going on in a great island we called Great Britain.

2014 Aston Martin Rapide S

Anyway, enough about WWII jokes because anything more than that and it's game over for us. Let's move on to the way it drives and how it feels to be as a driver's car. Anyway, while this is an updated model, there's something else about its dynamics and let's start at the engine. Like any V12-powered Astons of today such as the DB9 and the Vanquish, the Rapide S still has the same 6.0L V12 engine but now, it's boosted from 477HP to 558HP of power output while torque output is now 457lb-ft of torque. 558HP of power... That's about 35HP more than the new Maserati Quattroporte GTS' 3.8 V8 and of course, it still has the same 6-speed flappy paddle gearbox which is just right rather than the overloaded 8-speed gearbox from the new Maserati Quattroporte. It's also 38HP more than the Porsche Panamera Turbo but let's not forget that in the straights, the Panamera Turbo can easily smoke both the Rapide S and the New Quattroporte by a margin and on the track, ditto.

In terms of top speed, the Rapide S was now improved from the old model's 188 mph to 190 mph, which is quicker than the old model but as a warning, it's 1mph short than the Maserati Quattroporte GTS and annoyingly, matches the same top speed as the facelifted Porsche Panamera Turbo which comes with a double-clutch transmission which is unpronounceable in German. What was that called? Dopple? Dopplekupling...um...doppelkupplungsgetriebe? Oh yeah! Doppelkupplungsgetriebe! Anyway, Rapide S, like any other Astons, doesn't had that because it sticks to its TOUCHTRONIC 2 6-speed flappy paddles.

2014 Aston Martin Rapide S interior

What's annoying about the Rapide S is its weight gain and because it spends too much dinner parties, it now weighs 1990kg, 40kg more than the old Rapide, but despite the added weight, it's still as vicious to drive as the late punk rock icon Sid Vicious, who was from Sex Pistols. With the right weight distribution, low centre of gravity, double wishbone suspensions, and with lower polar moment of inertia, it still works just as fine and for the real fun, you might spend the whole hours performing burnouts on an open space. This is exactly what it feels like when Sid Vicious died from overdose at his young age and if those tires got blown, you know what this is, don't you? He he he...

2014 Aston Martin Rapide S interior

And like any other Aston Martins, it's quiet and comfortable and the new Rapide S really drives beautifully, making it one of the most epic 4-door grand tourers made for everyday uses. You can use it while going for a dinner party, going to the shops, on a date, or you just wanna do anything for business and leisure. After all, because with all of the tweaked stuff for the new model, the Rapide S from Aston Martin is definitely one of the best four-door supercars ever made, probably because of its promising theory that it can provide the comfort of a luxury car with the dynamism of an exotic. Still, if you're a selfie, you just really wish you want to drive one of those...

Photo: Aston Martin

Welcome Back: 2010 Aston Martin Rapide

The Swan of the Amalfi coast

While waiting for the Maserati Quattroporte GTS (save it for the April Alpinestars Pack) and the Porsche Panamera Turbo (save it for the Porsche Expansion Pack, I hope...) to arrive on Forza Motorsport 4 soon, why not enjoying the only 4-door supercar offered on this game, which is the Aston Martin Rapide?

Although it's faster than the Maserati Quattroporte GTS but it's not as faster as the Porsche Panamera Turbo, the Rapide is definitely the super saloon in the middle of the power range came in the middle of the Top Gear 4-door Supercars episode where they drove these at the streets of London, thrashing through a business park in Hampshire (with Stig), and how does these super saloon act as proper bridal cars for the wedding.

Like most Aston Martins, the Rapide still has buttons that can be hard to see on the sunshine but this comes with Bang & Olufsen premium sound system and two rear monitors. This premium sedan is always classy when driving it on Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris. Because there is no such thing as an Aston Martin for sale in the Philippines, you don't expect bringing the Rapide on the streets of EDSA because you might attract more policemen and ask you to get out of the car because it's smuggled.

It's all about true power shared for everyone in Aston Martin's 4-door supercar and in Forza Motorsport 4, this applies the same principle as well.

True Power Should Be Shared

Aston Martin Rapide '11

Aston Martin's first premium sedan, the Rapide, is quite possibly the best premium saloon built for those who are sensing lap of luxury. Because of the success, the Rapide starred on the special three-part web movie titled "True Power Should Be Shared" made possible by Aston Martin. Trust me, I saw it. It was quite a thriller for this Aston Martin Rapide web movie.

Best web special for the Aston Martin premium saloon, the Rapide. A soon-to-be-Bond-car without the famous James Bond himself performed how thrilling and fun-to-drive it is before you whisk your way back at the beginning! How's that? Impressed?

Luxe

Aston Martin Rapide Luxe

A more luxurious grade for the Aston Martin's flagship sedan, the Rapide, called the Rapide Luxe... geez, this trim sounds classy.

Scoop:

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1051522_aston-martin-releases-more-bespoke-rapide-luxe

If this Rapide Luxe is out soon, I bet someone will hop on on the more flagship variant, especially James Bond! ^_^

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.