Well that was a long time coming.
Legendary British marque Aston Martin has finally pulled the covers off the all-electric Rapide E, which after years of development in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering, is ready to be sold to 155 very lucky customers. Despite the green-technology focus, Aston Martin is keen to point out that its first-ever electric production car is also one of the sharpest weapons it currently has in its arsenal, drawing parallels to the Rapide AMR Pro.
There’s an obvious are serious penalty to be paid by going the electrification route, and that’s in weight. By replacing the 6.0-litre V12 and its related addenda with a fully-electric rear-driven powertrain, the Rapide E tips the scales at 2,140kg, an increase of 150kg over the standard car. While the extra weight may seem like an impediment, the power available certainly makes up for it.
How much power? 448kW, and 950Nm. To the rear wheels. Only.
“Unveiling the Rapide E is a huge moment for Aston Martin. As our first all-electric production car, it is truly a historic step. One that signals Aston Martin is prepared for the huge challenge of an environmentally responsible and sustainable future.” – Andy Palmer, President & Group CEO, Aston Martin Lagonda
On a full charge (which can take as little as three hours via high-power AC destination charging, or 500km/h via a 100kW charger), the Rapide E can travel about 320km according to WLTP standards. That’s not bad for something that can hit 100km/h from rest in just 4.2-seconds, before going on to a top speed of 250km/h. Aston is very proud of the fact that the Rapide E’s performance is repeatable and consistent, which is why it can lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife without degrading the life of the motors or the battery.
Aesthetically it won’t take much effort to differentiate the Rapide E vs. the usual models. While we’re sure you can de-spec the stripe (which stretches from badge to badge, nose to tail), the wheels are designed to cut through the air in the most aerodynamically-efficient fashion, and the enlarged air intakes up front are designed to maximise powertrain cooling. Smaller aerodynamic changes have all contributed to an 8% improvement in aerodynamic efficiency, which we’re sure have contributed to the outright range of the Rapide E.
Life with the Rapide E will be made a bit easier thanks to a dedicated app for owners, which allow them to monitor the status of their vehicle remotely. This means that they can check their remaining range, battery charge level, and time-to-full. The Rapide E is also the very first model to come out of Aston Martin’s new ‘Home of Electrification’ in St. Athan, Wales.
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