Aston Martin Rapide: The granddaddy of grand tourers

By Rory Reid on 15 April 2009, 2:41pm

Aston Martin unveiled its first four-door sports car today, joining Porsche and Lamborghini in a market segment designed to enable drivers to terrify as many passengers as possible.

The Rapide had previously been unveiled in 2006 in concept form, but according to Aston Martin, it's now in the final stages of its development programme and will make a full public debut in late 2009. The final-release model is on course for delivery in early 2010.

Like the Porsche Panamera and Lamborghini Estoque, the Rapide is a grand tourer -- a car that puts as much emphasis on long-distance driving comfort as it does on performance. It should appeal to the sort of person who wants to get somewhere very far away, very quickly, while looking very stylish in the process.

It'll be powered by a version of Aston Martin's 6-litre V12 engine, which chucks out 470bhp and 600Nm of torque. No performance figures have been released, but let's keep in mind that a similar 6-litre V12 helps the Aston Martin Vantage do 0-60mph in around 4 seconds and goes up to 190mph.