AstonMartinRapide

Aston Martin Rapide Priced at £139,950 in the U.K.

Aston Martin Rapide – Click above for high-res image gallery

Aston Martin has finally hung a price tag on its first ever four door, the Rapide, in its home market of the U.K., and it doesn't come cheap. Starting at £139,950 (about $233,000, though that's not necessarily an indication of actual U.S. pricing), the Rapide costs nearly twice what Porsche asks for its base Panamera and over £40K more than even the impossibly quick Panamera Turbo. Though the cars weren't exactly designed as competitors, there's little doubt that the two four-passenger sloping-roof models will be compared by interested parties.

For that whopper of a price tag, buyers will be getting a largely handmade and finely-crafted automobile powered by a 470-horsepower V12 engine – for what it's worth, that's 30 horses less than the Panamera Turbo – and wrapped in typically attractive sheetmetal. We're not going to say it isn't worth its hefty sticker price, but you can bet we'd strap ourselves behind both four-door behemoths before signing any checks. Expect initial Rapide deliveries to begin in the spring of 2010.

Gallery: Aston Martin Rapide

[Source: Autocar]

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Aston Martin Rapide in Pictures

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Few automobiles on the road today are as breathtaking as an Aston Martin. But while the resurgent British automaker is known mostly for its two-door sportscars, the company's history isn't without its share of four-door models as well.

Aston introduced its return to the lucrative segment last month at the Frankfurt auto show, and has now followed up with a wide selection of photography, showing the new Rapide in all its glory and from every angle. We've placed all the images in the high-resolution gallery below for your browsing pleasure, so have a look and enjoy.

Gallery: Aston Martin Rapide

Tags: aston, aston martin, aston martin rapide, aston rapide, AstonMartin, AstonMartinRapide, AstonRapide, lagonda, rapide

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show: Aston Martin Rapide

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

An Aston Martin is a beautiful thing. Several Aston Martins, however, start to look the same. At least, that's the objection that critics levy. They're all two-door GTs with the engine up front and the driving wheels in the back, with subtly different by largely the same styling. And while the new Rapide may share familiar design cues with the likes of the Vantage and DB9, it introduces a new body style into the Aston catalogue for the first time in decades.

The four-door coupe originally debuted in concept form way back at the 2006 Detroit auto show, and is only now ready to start production. Along the way a couple of small changes have been made, but by and large it's the same car that wowed the industry three years ago. Think of it as a DB9 with a couple extra doors and you're half way there. Check out the images in the gallery below to go the extra distance.

Gallery: Frankfurt 2009: Aston Martin Rapide