Ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited Aston Martin Rapide E has been officially unveiled at 2019 Shanghai Auto Show. An Aston Martin in every sense, the production-ready version of the Rapide E has been specially designed to enhance and even build on the feel and character of the V12-powered Rapide AMR.
The British sports car manufacturer has been working on this luxurious electric vehicle for couple of years and the finished product has a design that separates it from its Rapide siblings. The Rapide E is not only Aston Martin’s first all-electric sports car, but it’s also the first car to be built at the company’s new St Athan production facility.
Aston Martin teamed up with Williams Advanced Engineering to create this stunning EV, that has an 800V electric architecture underneath it, with a 65 kWh battery encased in carbon fiber and Kevlar and no less than 5,600 lithium-ion 18,650 format cylindrical cells. It might sound like much, but when you compare its range with a Tesla, it’s not doing too well.
The Aston Martin Rapide E has a range that exceeds 200 miles (320 km) but this massive battery pack develops 601 hp and 700 lb-ft (900 Nm) of torque. Beat that, Model S. The battery pack is actually tucked right where the standard 6.0-liter V12 engine of the Rapide can be usually found.
The good thing is that the Rapide E can be charged really fast, even through a common 400V 50kW charger that charges it at a rate of 185 miles of range per hour. The car also offers fast charging, with a rate of 310 miles per hour, and it even comes with a high power AC on-board charger that could top up the battery in 3 hours. But let’s get to the fun part.
In terms of performance, the Aston Martin Rapide E is able to sprint from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in less than 4 seconds and its top speed is electronically limited at 155 mph (250 km/h). It’s a little bit faster than the Rapide AMR and the best thing is that Aston Martin also spent a lot of time tuning the car’s chassis to offer the same driving experience, with GT, Sport and Sport+ modes available on the Rapide E as well.
The company’s first all-electric production vehicle will also come with a limited-slip differential at the rear, complemented by revised spring and dampers that should make sure this EV handles just like the Rapide AMR. It might not sound like much, but it’s a great achievement to have an electric sports car that offers almost the same thrills as its petrol-powered sibling.
Visually, the Rapide E looks a little bit different from other Rapide models. It comes with a re-designed underfloor that funnels air from the front splitter to the enlarged rear diffuser. The car has been also equipped with lightweight forged aluminum wheels, that were developed specifically for this model and come wrapped in high performance Pirelli P-Zero tires.
If you want to buy the first all-electric Aston Martin, you should now the Rapide E will be produced in a limited run of just 155 units, so you might need to hurry up!
