Skip advert
Advertisement

Aston Martin Rapide AMR review – 595bhp swansong for Porsche Panamera rival

Aston Martin's Rapide 4-door is bowing out but there's life in the old V12 yet and the AMR upgrades highlight the car's deep well of talents

Evo rating
  • Glorious V12, sharper dynamics, underrated driver’s gem
  • Expensive, not really a four-seater, they’re only making 210

After nearly a decade in production Aston Martin’s Rapide isn’t long for this world, its role of the four-door Aston supersaloon soon to be taken on by the return of Lagonda and a series of ultra-luxury electric saloons and SUVS, which will begin with a limited run of 155 electric-powered Rapide Es. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

Before the volts take over, however, there is one glorious swansong for Aston’s slightly curious four-door, four-seat (in the loosest terms) supersaloon in the guise of the Rapide AMR – a 595bhp, £194,950, 12-cylinder fanfare to days gone. 

> Best sports saloons on sale now

Technical Highlights 

For a car that started production in 2010, and was first shown as a concept four years previous, it would be unexpected to find anything groundbreaking under Marek Reichman’s original design. Essentially the Rapide is a stretched DB9 and is therefore built on Aston Martin’s VH aluminium platform and has the honour of being the last such car to be built using the VH architecture that was first introduced on the original Vanquish in 2002.

Over and above the Rapide S with which it shares much, the Rapide AMR has been through Matt Becker’s workshop and come out the other end as sharp and crisp as possible. A 10mm drop in ride height, combined with a recalibration of the three-way adaptive dampers, account for the chassis upgrades designed to tighten the body control and improve damping and chassis responses.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

Gargantuan 400mm carbon-ceramic discs and six-pot calipers sit behind the pair of front 21-inch alloy wheels, with 360mm discs of the same construction and with four-pots found behind the rear wheels, with each corner featuring a Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyre.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Visually the Rapide’s svelte look has also been worked over. There’s a new carbonfibre bonnet with additional cooling vents for the V12, a front spoiler, rear diffuser and side sills and a lip spoiler for the boot all designed to reduce lift. And the round driving lights in the front PU are similar in design to those fitted to the company’s recent Zagato models.

Engine, performance and 0-60mph

The naturally aspirated 6-litre V12 has been fitted with the larger inlet manifolds and duel tuned-length inlet runners from the last Vanquish S to improve airflow into the engine, with a new quad exhaust system helping to expel the by-product of producing 595bhp and 456lb ft of torque. There’s also a new engine and gearbox ECU remap, the latter for the latest eight-speed Touchtronic III unit.

It all amounts to a top speed of 205mph and a 0 to 60mph time of 4.2sec – 2mph and two-tenths quicker than the Rapide S. 

What’s it like to drive?

Magnificent, and I’m sure to many in the market for such a car, slightly irrelevant due to rear passenger space a 911 owner would scoff at. But seriously, who cares when it is fitted with Aston Martin’s last naturally aspirated V12 engine, which not only wails, screams, shrieks and woffles depending on the angle of your right ankle in relation to the throttle pedal, but also takes you back to a time when exploring every thousand rpm of an engine’s power band was far more exciting than being whacked in the back by a mountain of torque. 

Thankfully the gearbox allows you to manage the V12’s power delivery with none of the vertebrae snapping shenanigans of the Sportshift boxes fitted to Astons in the past with the same motor. And yes, it might drink fuel at a similar rate to a cargo ship burning bunker fuel while sat in the docks, but not a single drop of superunleaded is wasted in the creation of its soundtrack and forward momentum. For an old girl, the Rapide can still put in a turn.

Advertisement - Article continues below
Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

Not only on the straights, either. Because it’s the beneficiary of Aston Martin’s chassis magic that is beginning to dazzle as Matt Becker’s experience and expertise make themselves felt with every new model his team works with – the Rapide AMR behaves closer to the outgoing Vanquish S than it has any right to. On nasty British B-roads that have crests, cambers and crowns that make a Morzine mogul field look like Wimbledon’s centre court, the Rapide AMR doesn’t flinch, flex or run its bell along the surface. 

There’s a linear action to every process that you only really notice is missing in the very latest new cars when you drive a car such as the Rapide, which is from a period before electric power steering systems and overly complicated dynamic driving modes. The steering is quicker than you expect, but it allows you to tuck the Rapide’s nose in early, let the body settle (not that there’s a great deal of roll to manage) and then feed in the throttle as the exit makes an appearance. 

All the while it’s slicing across the countryside it remains remarkably supple, too, with only a hint of aggression to the ride over the last Rapide S we drove. A payoff we’d take for the AMR’s precision and more engaging character. 

Some of the interior creaks a bit, but that’s to be expected of a car this age, but beneath you, as you’re sat in the Alcantara-trimmed seat, the Rapide AMR unties every knot presented to it and rushes headlong to the next challenge unabated.

For some, the infotainment system (woeful), the acid green stripes and interior trim and calipers (all optional), and rear space that won’t endear them to any friends or colleagues they shoehorn back there will be enough to send them in the direction of a Porsche Panamera, Mercedes-AMG S63 or wait until Bentley’s new Flying Spur puts in an appearance. Which is understandable as the Rapide has always been an eclectic choice, but now it’s been treated to some AMR magic it’s a choice that hopefully those in the position to make such a decision will take the opportunity to own one of the 210 Rapide AMRs to be built before the opportunity is lost for good.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

More on Rapide hatchback

Aston Martin Rapide E specs revealed
Aston Martin Rapide E
News

Aston Martin Rapide E specs revealed

Aston Martin’s first all electric car will launch in 2019 and only 155 examples of the Rapide E will be built
12 Sep 2018
Aston Martin Rapide AMR
Aston Martin Rapide AMR studio - front quarter
News

Aston Martin Rapide AMR

Following the 2017 Geneva concept, Aston Martin’s svelte Rapide has also been given the AMR treatment
13 Jun 2018
Aston Martin Rapide AMR spied at the Ring
Aston Martin Rapide AMR spy - front
News

Aston Martin Rapide AMR spied at the Ring

Aston’s new hardcore sub-brand AMR is applying its finishing touches to Aston’s sleek four-door
13 Apr 2018
Skip advert
Advertisement
All-electric Aston Martin Rapide due in 2017
News

All-electric Aston Martin Rapide due in 2017

Zero-emission grand tourer could produce as much as 1000bhp
21 Oct 2015
Aston Martin Lagonda images
Aston Martin Lagonda
News

Aston Martin Lagonda images

Aston Martin reveals details and images of its Middle East-bound Lagonda luxury saloon
1 Oct 2014
Gold Aston Martin DB5
Gold Aston Martin DB5 up for auction
News

Gold Aston Martin DB5

A specially built gold-plated replica of the Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 has gone on sale, via an online Christies auction. Details here
9 Sep 2014
Aston attacks the Ring
Aston Martin Rapide Hybrid Hydrogen N24 racer
News

Aston attacks the Ring

Aston Martin's three-pronged attack on the 2013 Nurburgring 24 hours includes a hydrogen Rapide and an evo road tester
16 May 2013
Aston Martin deal finalised
Aston Martin Rapide S hydrogen racer
News

Aston Martin deal finalised

A deal giving Aston Martin £150m of investment has been completed and Rapide S Hydrogen racer completes its first lap of the Ring.
2 May 2013
Hydrogen Aston Rapide racer
Aston Martin Rapide S Hybrid Hydrogen racing car
News

Hydrogen Aston Rapide racer

The Hybrid Hydrogen Aston Martin Rapide S aims to break some records at the Nurburgring 24-hour race
12 Apr 2013
Skip advert
Advertisement
Aston Martin Rapide S video
Aston Martin Rapide S silver side profile
News

Aston Martin Rapide S video

Aston Martin releases a video showing the Rapide S sports saloon in action
25 Mar 2013
2013 Aston Martin Rapide S review and pictures
2013 Aston Martin Rapide S
Reviews

2013 Aston Martin Rapide S review and pictures

We review the rejuvenated Aston Martin Rapide, with new looks and an extra 50bhp from its V12
20 Mar 2013
Skip advert
Advertisement
Aston Rapide Jet 2+2 pictures
Aston Martin Rapide shooting brake Geneva motor show pictures
News

Aston Rapide Jet 2+2 pictures

Like the sound of an Aston Martin Rapide shooting brake? Meet the Bertone Jet 2+2
7 Mar 2013
Aston Martin Rapide S
New Aston Martin Rapide S
News

Aston Martin Rapide S

Aston Martin replaces the Rapide sports saloon with new, 550bhp Rapide S. Full details and pictures here
23 Jan 2013
Aston Rapide video review
Aston Martin Rapide video review
Videos

Aston Rapide video review

Harry Metcalfe's latest video diary centres around a week in the Aston Martin Rapide supersaloon
16 Jan 2013
Aston Rapide Luxe revealed
Aston Martin Rapide Luxe
News

Aston Rapide Luxe revealed

Aston Martin reveals a more luxurious Rapide sports saloon called, appropriately enough, the Luxe
16 Nov 2010
Skip advert
Advertisement
Aston Martin Rapide v rivals
Aston Martin Rapide v Porsche Panamera Turbo v Maserati Quattroporte GT S v Bentley Flying Spur Speed
Group tests

Aston Martin Rapide v rivals

Aston Martin's 470bhp, V12-engined, four-seat Rapide is here. We test it back-to-back with its closest supersaloon rivals from Maserati, Bentley and P…
26 Aug 2010
Rapide races at the Ring
Aston Martin Rapide
News

Rapide races at the Ring

Aston Martin's Rapide super saloon will compete at the Nurburgring 24 hour race
6 Apr 2010
evo Issue 141
evo Issue 141
News

evo Issue 141

Aston Martin Rapide v Porsche v Bentley v Maserati, Lexus LFA exclusive test, Cosworth and AMG saloons, BMW M5 megatest and evo's A to Z of the future
5 Feb 2010
Aston Martin Rapide road test
Aston Martin Rapide front action
Reviews

Aston Martin Rapide road test

Aston Martin's four door DB9. How does the 470bhp Rapide V12 supersaloon stack up?
5 Feb 2010
Aston Rapide
Aston Martin Rapide
News

Aston Rapide

Aston Martin's Rapide supersaloon goes on sale. You better have been saving up, though
4 Dec 2009
New Aston Rapide
Aston Martin Rapide supersaloon
News

New Aston Rapide

Aston Martin pulls the wraps off its new Rapide supercar, with DB9's V12 power
15 Sep 2009
Skip advert
Advertisement
Aston Martin Rapide
Aston Martin Rapide
News

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston’s Rapide is almost ready. Stephen Dobie joins the engineering team for final testing in scorching Kuwait
17 Aug 2009
Rapide's interior
Aston Martin Rapide supersaloon
News

Rapide's interior

First shot of the Aston Martin Rapide supersaloon's interior leaks onto the web
11 Aug 2009