Aston Martin Rapid 2011 Review
Test Drive

Aston Martin Rapid 2011 Review

YOU may not be familiar with the name Fritz Chernega. In fact, if you don't live in Graz, Austria, it's an anonymous collection of 14 letters to the world. But Mr. Cherneg's name is under the hood of the Aston Martin Rapide in Perth, continuing Aston's tradition of naming the engine manufacturer. So, presumably, you can call him and go crazy if something goes wrong.

But the Rapide breaks with Aston tradition in one important respect: it's not made in England, like its ancestors, but in Graz, hence Mr. Cherneg's sudden fame.

A handful of trainspotters picked up his name in the tiny Benedictine town of New Norcia, 120km from Perth and 13,246km from Graz, when Australia's first Rapide opened in rural Washington.

Body and appearance

It's Aston's first four-door car in almost four decades, and it has everything you'd expect from an Aston, but with a slightly different design. Those whose knees buckle at the sight of an Aston Martin will be just as enamored with the Rapide. 

The most striking and unexpected is the integration of four doors into the familiar and beautiful rear pillars, sidewalls and trunk line. It's a wonderful piece of work, and at first glance it could be mistaken for a Vantage or DB9 two-door coupe. The styling leads to comparisons with the Porsche Panamera, which side by side looks fussy, clunky and heavy from the same rear three-quarter angle.

Aston is first of all aesthetics. Porsche is the goal. Porsche applies clinical methods to its products. There is an almost arrogance in his relationship with a customer, captured in the 1970s when he filed his 911s - a rather unflattering color palette from baby poop brown to Kermit green to traffic light orange. Later, the Cayenne SUV was introduced.

Aston Martin does not share the philosophy of its competitor. In comparison, this is a very small private company. The company is well aware that the risk involved in driving down the less-trodden path in car design can negate it.

So, like Jennifer Hawkins, her looks are her luck. For this reason, the nose cone and the nose of the turret are DB9. The trademark C-pillar and shoulders hanging over massive 295mm Bridgestone Potenza rear tires also came from the DB9 designer. The trunk lid is long, forming a hatch like the Panamera, though its yawn isn't as obvious when the snub-nosed tailgate is closed.

It would be easy to say that the Rapide is a stretched out DB9. This is not true. Incidentally, it sits on a new platform about 250mm longer than the DB9, which has the same extruded aluminum construction and some suspension components.

Interior and decoration

But get behind the wheel and the Aston DB9 is waiting for you ahead. The six-speed automatic transmission select button is above the center of the dash. The minor switchgear is as familiar as the gauges and console.

Turn around and the front cabin will repeat. The seats are the same deep-toothed buckets, though the backrest is split in half to fold down to increase the modest boot space.

The center console flares out between the front seats, creating separate air vents for rear passengers. Those in the back get separate air conditioning and volume controls for a 1000-watt Bang and Olufsen Beosound audio system, cup holders, a deep center storage compartment, and DVD monitors with wireless headsets mounted in the front seat headrests.

More importantly, they get a seat. The Rapide's shape doesn't accurately reflect the available headroom for a 1.8m passenger, and while legroom is up to the whims of front-seat passengers, only tall people can feel cramped. However, the comfort of the rear seats is unlikely to be the main criterion for owners.

Driving

This is a driving car. A glass key resting against the door stop slides into a slot in the center console, just below the gearshift buttons. You press hard, and there is a pause, as if the conductor hesitates before hitting the baton, and the orchestra explodes with a full roar.

12 angry pistons slide in 12 honed cylinders, and their gig puts out 350kW and 600Nm of torque and plenty of booming, staccato bass. You select either the D button to move, or you pull the right stalk on the steering wheel.

And, despite weighing almost two tons, the Rapide accelerates to 100 km/h in a respectable five seconds under the roar of exhaust gases. It's not as fast as the DB9's 4.8 seconds, and the specs show that while they share power and torque, the Rapide's extra 190kg reduces its acceleration by just a touch. It's a beautiful power delivery, full of noise and torque. The speedometer and tachometer needles swing in opposite directions, so it's not so easy to look at a set of gauges and understand what's going on under the hood. It is this mixture of engine noise and exhaust that will orient the driver.

But it's not just the engine. The gearbox is a simple six-speed automatic, there's no clutchless manual override that cuts power smoothly and relatively quickly.

The steering is well-weighted, so it conveys the feel and contours and all the bumps in the road to the driver's fingers, making the driving experience tactile.

And the brakes are colossal, firm to the touch but responsive. It doesn't take long to dismiss this as a four-door, four-seat express car. It feels like a two-seat coupe.

The balance is excellent, the ride is surprisingly supple and, aside from the roar of the tires in the rubble, it is very quiet. Communication with the rear passengers is completely effortless, even at the permitted road speed.

Where it glows on the open road, there are also dim spots in the city. It is a long car and low, so parking requires patience and skill. The turning circle is large, so the car is not nimble.

Live with it. For a car that drew giggles and ridicule when it was shown as a concept, the Rapide shows that simple, traditional cars can find a place, and that bespoke manufacturers can win the roll of the dice.

ASTON MARTIN FAST

Price: $ 366,280

Built: Austria

Engine: 6 liter V12

Power: 350 kW at 6000 rpm

Torque: 600 Nm at 5000 rpm

0-100 km/h: 5.0 seconds

Top speed: 296km/h

Fuel consumption (tested): 15.8 l / 100 km

Fuel tank: 90.5 liters

Transmission: 6-speed sequential automatic; rear drive

Suspension: double wishbone, twisted

Brakes: front - 390 mm ventilated discs, 6-piston calipers; 360mm rear ventilated discs, 4-piston calipers

Wheels: 20" alloy

Tires: front - 245/40ZR20; rear 295/35ZR20

Length: 5019mm

Width (including mirrors): 2140 mm

Height: 1360mm

Wheelbase: 2989mm

Weight: 1950kg

Maserati Quattroporte GTS ($328,900) 87/100

Porsche Panamera S ($270,200) 91/100

Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG ($275,000) 89/100

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