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Aston 4dr concept

Aston Martin is unveiling a four-door concept (image) at the Detroit motor show. Named the Rapide and based on the DB9, it looks set to join the rest of Aston's line-up sometime next year and will be its first four-door since the Lagonda of the 1980s.

03rd January 2006

Aston Martin Rapide is first four-door from the company since the Lagonda of the 1980s. A concept for now, it should reach production

The Rapide was merely a set of design sketches last summer but thanks to the flexibility of Aston Martin's VH (Vertical/Horizontal) architecture, it has been able to turn the drawings into this fully functioning prototype very swiftly. At five metres long, the Rapide is 300mm longer than a DB9 and weighs an extra 140kg but its designers have managed to retain the elegant proportions of the two-door donor. As Dr Ulrich Bez, boss of Aston Martin says, 'The proportions must be perfect; if we couldn't achieve this then we wouldn't have made the car.'

Powered by a 480bhp version of the DB9's V12 and transmitting it to the road through a ZF Touchtronic gearbox, the Rapide is said to have performance equivalent to its smaller 2+2 sibling, but with gearing to suit its longer wheelbase and more refined ride. The new car also has a couple of firsts in an Aston Martin; carbon brakes and callipers are used for the first time, and the roof is a transparent polycarbonate affair intended to bring a greater sense of space for the rear passengers.

The now trademark 'Swan' doors, which swoop upwards at an angle of 12 degrees, feature on the new Aston, as does a rear hatchback as seen on the V8 Vantage. In a surprising show of versatility the rear seats can be individually folded down although the overwhelming ambience is one of refined luxury. The interior is swathed in 'chagrin' hide and there is a chiller cabinet in the boot perfectly shaped to hold a single magnum of champagne and four glasses. Each passenger also gets individual climate and entertainment controls.

Aston isn't giving a date for launch yet, but the company is stressing how quickly it's able to move from prototype to production. Rivals will include Porsche's upcoming Panamera.