2009 Aston Martin Rapide - First official image
28 Nov, 2008
41 Comments 
After numerous concept images, and news about the production of the car, Aston Martin has finally revealed the first official image of its forthcoming four-door GT, the Rapide.
CAR Magazine reports that this is the genuine article, and that despite a few detail differences, this image reveals that the production version remains mostly faithful to the original concept car.
It loses a few intake vents on the front bumper, and there’s a new crease-line from the front guards back, however even the seats remain the same (if you look very closely!). A glass roof also features.
With a 373kW and 570Nm 6.0-litre V12 at the front (essentially the engine from the DBS), the Rapide’s estimated two tonnes shouldn’t be a problem. ZF’s creamy six-speed auto should also promote smooth travelling.
More images will be coming in the next few months, so stay tuned to see the battle between the Aston Martin Rapide and the Porsche Panamera.
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
My Keyboard is covered in drool. The ultimate limo, way cooler than a Rolls Phantom or Maybach.
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Take note Porsche…..this is how you do a 4-door!!!!
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Rapide > Panamera
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Interesting to see how the xfR shapes up against it, if it (the jag) gets the 5 litre supercharged engine. Same box, too, and they were talking sub 4 second 0 - 100 times (hmmmmm…doubtful for such a heavy car, but…). Different class of car, though. As parochial and biased as I might be, I’m not going to try to convince anyone that a jag is in the aston league, even if it matched on stats.
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November 28th, 2008 at 10:50 am
no battle, AM has already won
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November 28th, 2008 at 11:39 am
wtf? this things is so ugly…
haha, jokes. this is now my new favourite car! its beaitiful ion every single way!
good work ASTON! your new slogan should be “Aston Martin - Producers of the worlds most beautiful Cars”
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November 28th, 2008 at 11:49 am
*Beautiful…
and again, have to say - stunning!
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November 28th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Why anybody would buy a Panamera over this stunning vehicle is well just WHY WOULD YOU!?
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November 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Oh wow!
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November 28th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Niiice…
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November 28th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Agreed - sensational
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
That pic shows nothing! The other pics are the standard ones that have been around for 2 years now.
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Ash you clearly can’t read mate.
The other pics are the concept car. The first image is the PRODUCTION car.
Dear oh dear…
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November 28th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Are the boys at CA going to get to drive one? Give to Anthony if you are. And make sure you do a video for us to watch.
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November 28th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Hey, there’s already a well established Alex here thank you very much! I think the thing about Porsche is that they didn’t set out to make a beautiful car. They really should have because if Aston Martin could show Porsche anything, class leading aerodynamics can look beautiful. This is a beautiful car and I do find it immensely desirable, especially more than a Panamera. The only thing that I’m worried about is that the Aston Martin one 77 looked like it was showing the future for the brand’s design and this is just a little, well, backward. This is a model thats going to be out for the best part of ten years I’d say and I hate to say but I think there is risk of it dating.
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November 28th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Once again the correct way to say S. E. X. phonetically is Aston Martin. Does this mean James Bond can now settle down and have a Family???
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November 28th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
OMG!! It’s a 4 door DB9.
Rapide is much better looking than the Panamera. But it’s a bit harder to compare to Lambo Estoque….
I think I prefer the Lambo.
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November 28th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
It will be interesting to see how much “stretching” the DB9s Coupe Platform effects the cars handling etc and whether or not it will be a positive or negative impact.
Having said that I doubt that 4-Door Coupes like this as well as the Porsche Panamera and the Merc-Benz CLS will age as gracefully as the 2-Door Coupes on which they are essentially based - That is the Vantage/DB9 or the 911.
Give em 5 or so years and they will look as modern as an AU Falcon does ATM.
IMHO these cars are [a designers fantasy] catering for a market that doesn’t/didn’t exist. If you want an luxury performance sedan buy an BMW M5; AMG S63 or an HSV W427 not a coupe that’s been attacked with a gas axe
Stretching an Aston Martin…. What were they thinking?
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November 28th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Wheelnut, I think we should forget the What were they thinking thing. It’s rather crap. I agree about the handling thing but I think the Porsche at least will surprise us after all, it is a Porsche. However, there is definitely a market for these cars because they sell really really quickly. There’s already Passat CCs everywhere.
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November 28th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
“If you want an luxury performance sedan buy an BMW M5; AMG S63 or an HSV W427″
I would wager that someone in the market for the Rapide is NOT remotely considering a W427…
Anyhow, the car: simply stunning. This and the Quattroporte are the best looking and most sexy 4 doors in the world. No ifs or buts!
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November 28th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Alex: The Passat CC; the CC stands for Coupe Cabriolet which means that it has a retractable/convertible [metal] roof just like the Peugeot 307 CC and the Astra Twin Top etc.. This is a Hard top.
Bollinger:
You say that people looking at a prestige car like this wouldn’t even consider a HSV W427..I wouldn’t be too sure as a number of HSV owners used to own BMWs and Merc Benz’s etc..
And If you think the Quattroporte is the best looking 4 Door in the world.. I think you have had a bit too much of yourself [Bollinger] I mean it makes an Camry look half-decent
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November 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Now this my friends is a work if art. The French government would not want to display this Aston Martin in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, France as it would take all the attention away from the Mona Lisa
Serge
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November 28th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Hi Wheelnut, the Passat CC actually means Comfort Coupe, as it is neither convertible nor cabriolet.
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November 28th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I absolutely love it! It is probably the most beautiful 4 door car in the world! Its funny though, seeing the comments people have left. Its nice to see most of us see the true beauty that is showcased here, but it seems like some people are just looking for excuses to not like the car. Sure, it most likely won’t perform like it’s coupé counterparts, but on the other hand, its absolutely beautiful in every way…
I don’t see this car aging anytime soon (although Wheelnut, I still don’t think the current Merc CLS looks aged)
Steve
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November 28th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Really Golfie - if anyone on this site would know about Volkswagen I guess it would have to be you - thanks for that!
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November 28th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
My two cents’ worth: yes, it’s beautiful, even with the gumby production mirrors.
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November 28th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Way to go Aston. These will sell like hot cakes, seems folk are getting tired of being brushed when they drive a Porsche here so are turning to Aston. They seem to be popping up everywhere. I wouldn’t worry about the handling wheelnut I’m sure Aston would not release a soggy lump!
Saw my first Passat Coupe yesterday - over rated IMO.
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November 28th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
The best part about this,besides the stunning looks, is that Ford has shares in this company.
No Chev Corvette even comes close to the same leauge as any of the Aston Martin range.
Each ya heart-out Super?Chev
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November 28th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Woops ment to say EAT ya heart Mr. push-rod O.H.V
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November 28th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Sigh…………..Its an ASTON,NUFF said !
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November 28th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I can see why people think its just a stretched DB9, but if you look carefully enough, it much more resembles the Vantage in the first image if anything.
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November 28th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Did nobody read my comment before? This is still the concept! Stop getting excited.
Wheelnut, like Golfschwein said the CC in Passat CC stands for “Comfort Coupe” not coupe cabriolet. I suggest you research before you make yourself heard in the future. If you had any clue you would know that Volkswagen have not made a folding hardtop version of the Passat.
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November 29th, 2008 at 3:12 am
Alex - have you not read the article. Its the production version image and not the concept.
from above “CAR Magazine reports that this is the genuine article, and that despite a few detail differences, this image reveals that the production version remains mostly faithful to the original concept car.”
I’d guess that Wheelnut made a honest mistake possibly thinking of the EOS. No big deal.
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November 29th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Yes Cupid I did read the article and the article is wrong. The second and third pictures are pictures of the 2006 concept sown at Detroit. If you enlarge the bottom picture it’s wearing Detroit license plates! It’s obviously not CA’s fault and I don’t know about the first picture but the other two (including a whole gallery of others) has been around, well, since 2006. These pictures are IDENTICAL to the ones released in 2006 and I don’t mean a couple of changes here and there, I mean identical.
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November 29th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
I’m sure this comment will be deleted again (for some reason) but here is the link to a full gallery of the 2006 CONCEPT including the last two pictures on this page. The gallery has been up for a long time.
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November 29th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
To anybody who cares, I have posted the link but I don’t know if CA will keep it up. They obviously have their rules but I don’t see how I’m doing anything wrong here…
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December 1st, 2008 at 8:04 am
Wheelnut: Come now, there’s a massive difference between ppl that owned mercs and beemers switching to a HSV and those considering an Aston vs a HSV! Yes statistically there’s a chance that some fella is going to compare the two but then again there’s also the tiny possibility that said individual is bonkers. And BTW, your taste is ‘interesting’ to say the least: the maser being compared to a camry?! I rest my case…
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December 1st, 2008 at 11:10 am
There isnt that much difference between a person who swithces from BMW > HSV and those considering an HSV v ? because inorder for a BMW or Merc driver to actually switch first they must be considering an HSV as well as a BMW or Merc.. mustn’t they?
In relation to the Maserati… the Maserati is ugly and to show how ugly it is I compared it to another car that is equally as ugly that being the Camry… it doesn’t necessarily have to be a luxury car does it?… what would you have preferred… a Fugly Alfa Romeo?
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December 1st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Wheelnut, I think you are disproving any credibility that you might have had left after previous crap that you’ve written. The Maserati is certainly not ugly and that’s what most of the majority of the world’s motoring journalists think and the people who comment on the reviews. And I certainly hope your crack about a “fugly Alfa Romeo” was a joke. Alfa Romeo make some of the most beautiful cars on sale today, as do Maserati.
And anybody comparing an M5, RS6, AMG, Aston Martin, Maserati or anything in that league to a HSV has no taste or style and is just proving themselves so by challenging my comment.
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December 1st, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Alex - I like [the look of] the Maserati Coupe - particularly like its V8 engine..as I do the new Alfa Romeo V6 Brera.. But you would have to admit that from time to time all car manufacturers; even the Italians design and build a car that makes you say WTF! an example of which is the new Maserati Quattroporte Sedan..
How am I at risk of losing any credibility that I have given that beauty is a purely subjective issue that is open to opinion.
If I was talking about the various features dimensions and specifications or lap times etc of a particular model car… different thing - as all that info is actual hard evidence and easily available from brochures or magazines etc
But as far as I am aware there is no internationally recognised [or scientific] way of proving whether or not
a car is good looking or it is ugly… Is there?
as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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December 1st, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I was talking about the Quattroporte Wheelnut. Almost every review I have ever read for it, including the one on this website, said that it was beautiful and this is the first website I have ever read where lots of people called it ugly. I have read so many reviews for the Quattroporte as a was seriously considering buying one a few years ago and the majority (by quite a lot) say that it is a beautiful car.
I wander what you think is ugly about it? It has lovely curves and creases, it’s muscular looking so it really does look like a mans car, the lights are a lovely shape, it sleek, classy, sporty, understated. It’s just a lovely looking car. Obviously I can’t change your mind though so we may as well drop it.
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