Showing posts with label aston martin rapide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aston martin rapide. Show all posts

Saturday, 8 June 2013

Aston Martin Rapide wagon headed for production?



Back in March at the Geneva Motor Show, we had all manner of shiny new baubles trying to distract us from the Bertone Jet 2+2, a one-off from the Italian design house that basically amounted to an Aston Martin Rapide wagon. Yet we still couldn't take our eyes off the car and mutter a few "what ifs." The showcar was conceived as a single vehicle at the behest of one of Bertone's well-heeled customers, but what if the one-off wasn't so one-off? Could an estate conversion like this mount a successful small production run?




According to Autocar, the answer is a riff on "Definitely. Maybe." The British magazine says that Aston Martin and Bertone want to do the deed and are investigating a "small-scale production run," but how small remains anyone's guess. Autocar hypothesizes that if fewer than 10 cars are made, they will be built in Turin near Bertone's headquarters. If the run is larger, however, production would likely be at Aston's home facilities in Gaydon. Of course, there are legal hoops to jump through, naming concerns, and all other manner of nettles to negotiate before the Jet 2+2 can transition into production reality.


So... how much for this still-theoretical, limited-edition couture-n'-kiddie-hauler? Your guess is as good as ours, but the donor Rapide starts above $200,000, and one has to assume that such limited volume would confer a much higher price on the Jet's flanks. Whether that means that it could be costlier than the nearly $300,000 Vanquish remains to be seen.
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Thursday, 2 May 2013

Aston Martin Rapide S becomes first hydrogen car to lap Nürburgring



An Aston Martin has completed what's believed to be the first hydrogen-powered lap around the famous Nürburgring as the automaker prepares to enter its H2-powered hybrid in next month's 24-hour race at the German racetrack.

The Aston Martin Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S made a four-hour run around the track, with Aston Martin chief executive officer Dr. Ulrich Bez at the wheel, no less. The car is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 engine that can run on gasoline, hydrogen or a combination of both. The test drive was in preparation of Aston Martin entering the car in Nürburgring's 24-hour enduro on May 19.

Aston Martin is making a big deal about its hydrogen racer being "the first zero CO2 emissions sports car to complete a race pace lap at the Nürburgring 24-hour race." That may be true, but zero-emission sports carshave tackled the Nürburgring track many times before, just not under hydrogen power. It's the 24-hour part that's admittedly tricky for electric cars.

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