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| The 2014 Aston Martin Rapide S goes for a cool $222,815. |
Some days, it’s impossible to be objective.
These include those all-too-rare days that we hold the key—er, “ECU” (more on that later)—of an Aston Martin, which in any form, is by virtue of just being an Aston Martin one of the most loin-stirringly beautiful automobiles on Earth. Sure, Astons are blatantly elitist, horribly impractical even in four-door Rapide form, and eye-wateringly expensive. But when face-to-face with an automobile this achingly gorgeous, all sensibility is abandoned and one’s inner sybarite becomes the only influence you listen to.
These include those all-too-rare days that we hold the key—er, “ECU” (more on that later)—of an Aston Martin, which in any form, is by virtue of just being an Aston Martin one of the most loin-stirringly beautiful automobiles on Earth. Sure, Astons are blatantly elitist, horribly impractical even in four-door Rapide form, and eye-wateringly expensive. But when face-to-face with an automobile this achingly gorgeous, all sensibility is abandoned and one’s inner sybarite becomes the only influence you listen to.
That said, isn’t such a swirl of emotion exactly what should happen when you drop $222,815 on a car? Of course it is! We won’t take too much space here explaining the Rapide S’ stunning design details or its lip-smacking Volcano Red paint—we’ll let our photos do the talking there —but needless to say, the thing is beautiful everywhere, especially wearing the $7,570 carbon fiber accessory pack that came on our tester.
Take a DB9, add some distance between the front and rear axles, and you pretty much have the Rapide S.
But there’s a lot more you should know about the Rapide S, starting with the understanding that, like every other current Aston Martin, the Rapide S is a sports car first and foremost. This is good and bad. While it has four doors, the Rapide is not a tall “saloon” (British speak for “sedan”) like the limousine-like Bentley Flying Spur or Rolls Royce Ghost.
The Rapide S is essentially an Aston Martin DB9 with more distance between the front and rear wheel axles, allowing just enough room to accommodate two rear doors. As such, this is one of the world’s lowest and flattest four-doors, with exotic car width, and a very low roof. It looks like a DB9 sedan because it is a DB9 sedan.
But there’s a lot more you should know about the Rapide S, starting with the understanding that, like every other current Aston Martin, the Rapide S is a sports car first and foremost. This is good and bad. While it has four doors, the Rapide is not a tall “saloon” (British speak for “sedan”) like the limousine-like Bentley Flying Spur or Rolls Royce Ghost.
The Rapide S is essentially an Aston Martin DB9 with more distance between the front and rear wheel axles, allowing just enough room to accommodate two rear doors. As such, this is one of the world’s lowest and flattest four-doors, with exotic car width, and a very low roof. It looks like a DB9 sedan because it is a DB9 sedan.
Front seats in the Rapide S are comfortable and supportive, although may be a tad too firm.
And like the DB9, the Rapide’s doors—all four of ‘em, in this case—open at about a 15-degree upward angle, allowing them to open just fine even when parked next to a tall curb. This looks super-cool, of course, but note that these doors are small, so if you’re not, watch your head, especially if you’re trying to fold yourself into the two back seats. Both front and rear passengers sit low in the car’s tub, separated in the middle by a wide transmission tunnel that bisects the interior longitudinally at chest height. This doesn’t seem that weird in a two-seater but does seem strange in a four-door. At least all four chairs are very comfortable and supportive, if rather firm.
Our tester’s cabin came swathed in rich black leather, with red accents peeking through perforated in the seats. Like other Astons, craftsmanship is both deliciously organic—slight variations in the stitching shows you that a human being, not a robot, joined the leather panels together—and spectacularly precise, with no sloppiness whatsoever.
And like the DB9, the Rapide’s doors—all four of ‘em, in this case—open at about a 15-degree upward angle, allowing them to open just fine even when parked next to a tall curb. This looks super-cool, of course, but note that these doors are small, so if you’re not, watch your head, especially if you’re trying to fold yourself into the two back seats. Both front and rear passengers sit low in the car’s tub, separated in the middle by a wide transmission tunnel that bisects the interior longitudinally at chest height. This doesn’t seem that weird in a two-seater but does seem strange in a four-door. At least all four chairs are very comfortable and supportive, if rather firm.
Our tester’s cabin came swathed in rich black leather, with red accents peeking through perforated in the seats. Like other Astons, craftsmanship is both deliciously organic—slight variations in the stitching shows you that a human being, not a robot, joined the leather panels together—and spectacularly precise, with no sloppiness whatsoever.
V-12 engine gives the Rapide S a whole lot of power.
And there are plenty of thrilling design elements inside, including a faux suede headliner, a Bang & Olufsen sound system with pop-up tweeters, and $4,545-worth of gleaming carbon fiber trim, which, in contrast to most luxury four-doors, was perfectly in character with the Rapide S’ sporting purpose. And then there’s the aforementioned “Emotion Control Unit,” Aston’s fancy name for the posh, crystal-capped key fob that slots into the center of the dashboard. Insert it, press, hold, and watch the crystal glow red beneath your finger while the V-12 engine roars to life. Just don’t lose the ECU, or you may end up in the ICU when time comes to fork out the $750(!) replacement cost.
Speaking of the V-12, Aston is really good at them, and the one they squeeze under the long hood of the Rapide S produces a massive 550-horsepower and 457 lb.-ft. of torque, all sent to the rear wheels via a quick-shifting six-speed automatic. It’s pretty demure at startup. But press the discreet “sport” button on the lower center console, which sharpens gas pedal response, raises shift points into the engine’s sweet spot and shortens shift times—or shift manually using the fixed carbon fiber shift paddles—and you’ll unleash a beast of a performance car that you’d never guess is contained by that dapper exterior. Aston Martin claims that 60 mph arrives in about five seconds, which seems conservative based on the way the skin on your face stretches back over your ears under full throttle, especially once the needle crosses 4000 revs.
And there are plenty of thrilling design elements inside, including a faux suede headliner, a Bang & Olufsen sound system with pop-up tweeters, and $4,545-worth of gleaming carbon fiber trim, which, in contrast to most luxury four-doors, was perfectly in character with the Rapide S’ sporting purpose. And then there’s the aforementioned “Emotion Control Unit,” Aston’s fancy name for the posh, crystal-capped key fob that slots into the center of the dashboard. Insert it, press, hold, and watch the crystal glow red beneath your finger while the V-12 engine roars to life. Just don’t lose the ECU, or you may end up in the ICU when time comes to fork out the $750(!) replacement cost.
Speaking of the V-12, Aston is really good at them, and the one they squeeze under the long hood of the Rapide S produces a massive 550-horsepower and 457 lb.-ft. of torque, all sent to the rear wheels via a quick-shifting six-speed automatic. It’s pretty demure at startup. But press the discreet “sport” button on the lower center console, which sharpens gas pedal response, raises shift points into the engine’s sweet spot and shortens shift times—or shift manually using the fixed carbon fiber shift paddles—and you’ll unleash a beast of a performance car that you’d never guess is contained by that dapper exterior. Aston Martin claims that 60 mph arrives in about five seconds, which seems conservative based on the way the skin on your face stretches back over your ears under full throttle, especially once the needle crosses 4000 revs.
The doors open at a 15-degree angle, giving some added help if parked along a high curb.
Now, without the ability to control it, all that power would be wasted. This is why Aston buttoned down the Rapide S’ suspension to feel as firm as the DB9 and tuned the steering to fingertip-tickling perfection. Body roll just doesn’t happen. And hiding behind those splendid diamond-turned wheels (a $4,920 option) are massive brakes that never showed a hint of fade, no matter how much abuse we subjected them to during our time with it. The ride is firm—remember, this ain’t no limo—but from a performance standpoint, the Rapide S is perfection.
But alas, in many other respects, the Rapide S is quite some distance from perfection.
Now, without the ability to control it, all that power would be wasted. This is why Aston buttoned down the Rapide S’ suspension to feel as firm as the DB9 and tuned the steering to fingertip-tickling perfection. Body roll just doesn’t happen. And hiding behind those splendid diamond-turned wheels (a $4,920 option) are massive brakes that never showed a hint of fade, no matter how much abuse we subjected them to during our time with it. The ride is firm—remember, this ain’t no limo—but from a performance standpoint, the Rapide S is perfection.
But alas, in many other respects, the Rapide S is quite some distance from perfection.
A replacement for this crystal-capped key fob that glows when inserted into the dashboard goes for $750.
Outward vision is terrible. The cargo area is modest (though its hatchback access is appreciated). The Garmin-based navigation system is downright embarrassing. The steering wheel hub is one of the industry’s ugliest, a flagrant oversight considering all the gorgeousness elsewhere in the car. And the dashboard is an ergonomic disaster zone, with tiny buttons controlling the audio system, reading lamps, door locks, and more, all sprinkled haphazardly up and down the center console, with tiny script not making things any more discernable.
A sunroof would be a nice option, but the roof is too low to support it, and while it’s nice that Aston offers a dual screen rear-seat entertainment system (for $3,785!), you’re not going to want to put anyone you love in those snug seats for long enough to enjoy a flick.
Outward vision is terrible. The cargo area is modest (though its hatchback access is appreciated). The Garmin-based navigation system is downright embarrassing. The steering wheel hub is one of the industry’s ugliest, a flagrant oversight considering all the gorgeousness elsewhere in the car. And the dashboard is an ergonomic disaster zone, with tiny buttons controlling the audio system, reading lamps, door locks, and more, all sprinkled haphazardly up and down the center console, with tiny script not making things any more discernable.
A sunroof would be a nice option, but the roof is too low to support it, and while it’s nice that Aston offers a dual screen rear-seat entertainment system (for $3,785!), you’re not going to want to put anyone you love in those snug seats for long enough to enjoy a flick.
Adding the 20-inch muti-spoke wheels with diamond turned finish wwill set you back another $4,920.
Despite those occasionally maddening flaws, the Rapide S is an exotic sedan that owners will probably find themselves driving every day, even if they have several other sexy steeds in the stable. It’s a luxurious, mouthwateringly beautiful sculpture of a car with an occasional practical side, and an uncanny ability to imprint a grin on the driver’s face the entire time he or she spends behind the wheel. It is that last quality that separates it from similarly swift Bentleys and Rolls Royces.
Despite those occasionally maddening flaws, the Rapide S is an exotic sedan that owners will probably find themselves driving every day, even if they have several other sexy steeds in the stable. It’s a luxurious, mouthwateringly beautiful sculpture of a car with an occasional practical side, and an uncanny ability to imprint a grin on the driver’s face the entire time he or she spends behind the wheel. It is that last quality that separates it from similarly swift Bentleys and Rolls Royces.
Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/
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