Aston Martin Rapide: Luxury ride with power

1.587978-3951716107 — Built for speed and comfort, the Rapide looks great and will get you where you want to go. Image Credit: Supplied

What makes a sports car? Is it the engine? Whether the driven wheels are in front or behind? Is it the badge? Certainly not. But could it be its styling? Is a coupé a sports car? Well, mostly yes, but not every coupé — not today, when BMW claims the X6 is a kind of coupé. Is it the styling? No, because there have been some right abominations; do yourself a favour (or rather, don't) and Google Weber Sportscar. Is it the number of doors? Ah, now we're getting somewhere.

In pictures: Aston Martin Rapide

Think of a sports car. Go on, think of one... I bet it has two doors.

Well Aston Martin is about to change that. Marek Reichman, the guy who overhauled Land Rover's design and gifted the world with every Aston on sale, is behind the styling of the new four-door Rapide. Someone needs to give this man an award. A Nobel should do it. Maybe for world peace, or medicine. The Rapide is certainly gorgeous enough to cure muteness; one look at it and you're guaranteed to exclaim, "Cheese and rice!"

And if you've already taken one look at it and you think it's just a long DB9 with an extra pair of doors, then it's not muteness you need curing, it's blindness.

First of all, the front end gets Rapide lights and Rapide grilles. That's right, grilles, plural. It's divided into two on the four-door Aston. Then there is the typically-Aston side intake, which continues straight down the side of the car and stops halfway down the rear doors.

This makes the whole thing visually shorter, and draws your eye to the centre of the masterpiece, fooling your perception of its 5,019mm length and extended wheelbase. It's 309mm longer than the DB9 and just by the way, 30mm longer than Porsche's Panamera. Reichman also didn't forget to include the ‘S' (or ‘Z' if you're standing on the other side) which begins with the roofline, turns away sharply to create the car's muscular shoulder and then swoops back to finish the S's tail.

OK, I won't pretend that it doesn't really look like a DB9, but that ain't exactly a minger to start with as an influence, anyway. The styling conclusion then, is that it will floor you faster than Chuck Norris once you first see it in the metal.

And that Panamera comparison is no accident. Aston won't say it, but the Rapide's goal is to steal 2,000 Panamera and Maserati Quattroporte sales. Which should be a walkover, because 2,000 units (annual production) ensures exclusivity in the sea of 20,000 Panameras to be built every year. Also, I have to stress that direct comparisons to an S-Class or 7 Series is like mulling over whether you should buy a condo on Palm Jumeirah or an island in the Caribbean. Most of the 2,000 Rapides are already called for, at least in their prospective buyers' minds, because this is the kind of car that you have your heart set on even before the first test drive. And it will only take one test drive to convince you it's the right decision.

As Aston as Aston gets

Currently, 170 Astons are sold in the Middle East annually. The Rapide will bring the tally up to over 300. If the Magna Steyr plant in Austria could handle it, Aston would build more Rapides, but the factory also has to handle AMG SLS bodies, Peugeot RCZs and G-wagens. Anyway, it just means that your Rapide is guaranteed to be the only one in the neighbourhood.

And, please, don't tell me that the 317 litre boot isn't nearly as large as an Audi A8's, or that rear legroom is equivalent to a 3 Series', or that headroom won't accommodate anyone over six foot two (good thing I'm six foot one…). You're not seriously going to drive around with two adults in the back of an Aston, but your kids will be the coolest in the school. Especially when they roll up in the Rapide and step out elegantly through the swan-wing-opening doors.

Anyway, the driver's seat is where you want to be, directly behind the wonderfully weighted steering. It's quicker ratio (15:1, whereas V12 Vantage is 16:1 and DB9 17:1) means the switchbacks and blind turns (some in the middle of tunnels) necessitate only a flick of the wrist. Since Valencia decided to stick it to global warming and bring on the snow and ice, I was wide-eyed and processing at least a billion thoughts a second in an attempt to stay on the black stuff. And despite leaving the TC well alone on the slippery surface, the system never once felt intrusive, just corrective. It never wrestles you back into line, it merely encourages you, takes you by the hand and guides you onto the right track.

The engine is still the masterful 470bhp 6.0-litre V12 that, provided you stretch it to the 6,000rpm peak, makes a satisfying noise. 600Nm of torque ensure smooth (and quiet, compared to the resonance that the exhausts emit at full chat) progress in town, while the six-speed transaxle selects cogs with as much smoothness as anything BMW, for example, can do. But switch to sport mode (full power at half throttle), tighten up the dampers and start playing with the magnesium column-mounted shift paddles and the Rapide reacts like a dog locked on the tennis ball in your hand. Wherever you point it, it squats and shoots through the nicely cambered Valencian turns, requiring only a patient right foot upon corner exit.

Get a bit too anxious mid-turn, and the tail, about three metres behind you, will swing out wide asking for jet-fighter-pilot reflexes. Proper sports car stuff.

Now, I've decided I'll get back to the rear seats, since they are really a major feature in this Aston. I admit, they're no good if you're claustrophobic, but otherwise the feeling is cocooning and embracing. The seat shoulders embrace you, the tall centre console too, as well as the sloping roof. The cabin engineering, trim detailing and supple leather and metal (everything that looks metal, is metal) provide a safe feeling that everything surrounding you is quality stuff. Aston has sure upped its game since the first generation V8 Vantage, which was shoddy at best.

The beauty and brawn of the Rapide is very convincing, even if Aston wants 856,518 of your dirhams for one. And the reason it sits alone in the four-door game is because it's going to be rare and sportier than the rest. Yet, there are a couple of issues.

The sat-nav still comes out of a Volvo, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say it came out of 1973. It is painfully slow to react after initially turning it on. You'd have reached your destination already before the thing powers up. Then there is the misfortune of having to input information, which is as intuitive as assembling Sputnik 1. Honestly, you will try it once, and then immediately go to the nearest Sharaf DG (if you can find it on the sat-nav) to buy a Garmin.

I thought long and hard about more faults because, being a journalist, I have to at least try and be objective. Um, so I guess the dash is too deep and the glove box slopes too far down, compromising knee room. The Panamera leaves miles of space to enjoy, with the dash staying narrow and upright. The Rapide's A-pillar also gets in the way when you're looking far ahead during spirited driving on twisty roads.

Granted, this is a curse of most modern cars, but I didn't find myself struggling for a view out in the big Porsche. Also, the rear window is the size of a porthole and there is only one cupholder in the front; minor stuff, really.

The biggest problem is that I can't afford one. Aston Martin won't sell me one at a discount either. Aston Martin won't even loan me one for a couple of months. Aston Martin won't hire me as a Rapide development driver. Aston Martin has filed a restraining order against me... You get the picture. There really are very few bits and pieces to moan about in the Rapide.

And if you still don't get what this car is about, there is the issue of price — despite the exclusivity, Dh856,518 is a lot of money and it's enough to get you that Panamera Turbo with Dh234,918 left over. It's also enough to buy you a 7 Series, twice, an S-Class or the euphonious masterpiece that is the Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S (which actually trumps the Rapide on aural talents).

Verdict

Yes, but none of those models are sports cars with four-doors. They're merely sporty four-door cars. Even the excellent Quattroporte, which does a brilliant job of emulating a sports car, pitches into the turns whereas the Rapide is absolutely anchored. It's also fast enough; 0-100kph takes 5.0 seconds and if you're worried about reliability stay tuned to this May's 24-hours of Nürburgring because Aston is actually entering a Group N-style Rapide into the race. Do you know of an S-Class racing somewhere, or even a Panamera? Enough said. Racing is for sports cars, not luxury limos. That tells you everything you need to know about the Rapide.

Specs & rating