Unquestionably elegant, the Rapide also possesses the power to match it.
It has a V12 under the bonnet: even more exciting, it has an improved V12 in ‘S’ guise, nicked from the Vanquish and now producing 558bhp. It makes a truly wondrous noise and goes hard too.
The Rapide’s additional length does wonders for the ride comfort, while the steering is quick and clear. It’s very easy to forget that you’re driving something with a couple of seats behind you, which given they’ll rarely be occupied does make it seem a bit pointless.
The thing is it’s one of Aston’s best steering and most comfortable driving cars. The steering’s weighting is near perfect and clever adaptive dampers neatly balance comfort and control. Aston has basically given it a full makeover and concentrated round of honing, to make it better than before and thus a very appealing alternative to the usual four-door fare.
Running costs go out the window in this sector, which is just as well as anything handbuilt with a 6.0-litre V12 is never going to be inexpensive to run. You’ll not care when you’re in it and petrol’s still way cheaper than decent champagne – it’ll do 19mpg (officially). You could argue it’ll make good sense financially in the long run, as you can empty your garage of any other supercars and saloons. Sports cars are for new money oiks. The Rapide is for gents who appreciate its near perfect blend of sports car agility and saloon car comfort – so long as you’re not in the back.
Culled from TopGear