Description
550bhp, 6-litre V12 engine
Only 32, 000 miles from new
Rear entertainment system and Bang & Olufsen audio
Full main-dealer service history
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
When Aston Martin launched the Rapide in 2009, it described it as being ‘the most elegant four-door sports car in the world’, and it’s hard to disagree when looking at this superbly presented, low-mileage Rapide S.
Registered on 12 June 2013, it was delivered to its first owner with an extensive specification list that included heated and cooled electric seats, a rear entertainment system with individual Bluetooth headphones, Bang & Olufsen audio, front and rear park assist, diamond-cut alloy wheels and xenon lights.
As a Rapide S, it was built at Aston Martin’s Gaydon factory in the UK, rather than in Austria, as earlier Rapides had been. It benefits from the newer AJ11 6-litre V12 engine, too, which produces 550bhp – 80bhp more than the engine in the previous Rapide. It’s also mounted slightly lower in order to improve handling, while Gen4 adaptive damping technology enables the driver to choose between Normal, Sport and Track modes.
Fastidiously maintained since new, this Rapide S comes with a full main-dealer service history, starting with its first service at Aston Martin Cheltenham in July 2014, by which time it had covered just under 7000 miles. It has returned to the same dealer for each subsequent service, has still covered only 32, 000 miles, and is in beautiful condition throughout.
With its well-chosen optional extras, this Rapide S would have cost its first owner nearly £150, 000 and now represents exceptional value for money. Stylish, fast and luxurious, there can be few finer ways for four people to travel.
MODEL HISTORY
Designed by Marek Reichman and Miles Nurnberger, the Aston Martin Rapide was launched in 2010. Based on the DB9, it used the British marque’s bonded aluminium VH platform, and its name was borrowed from the old four-door Lagonda Rapide of the 1960s.
Initially offered with a 470bhp version of the marque’s 6-litre V12, which drove through a six-speed Touchtronic II automatic transmission, it was rated by Autocar as being a ‘better car overall’ than the Porsche Panamera – one of its closest rivals.
That first Rapide was replaced in 2013 by the Rapide S, which benefited from a boost in power to 550bhp, as well as a subtle facelift. Further development the following year added yet more power, pushing the top speed beyond 200mph, and a new eight-speed gearbox.
When Autocar tested a Rapide S, it said that it was a ‘particularly easy and rewarding car to drive at any speeds’ and concluded that it was a ‘beautifully styled and brilliantly accomplished four-door GT’. Car magazine said that, when seen amongst ordinary traffic, ‘it looks stunning – long, low and effortlessly stylish’.
Although the Rapide was intended very much as a roadgoing Grand Tourer, Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez drove one to second in class at the 2010 Nürburgring 24 Hours, alongside co-drivers Matthew Marsh, Nordschleife specialist Wolfgang Schuhbauer and Chris Porritt.
Late in the model’s life, 210 examples of the limited-edition, 595bhp Rapide AMR were built, and production came to an end in 2020.
