SA launch imminent for Aston Martin Rapide

Published Mar 18, 2010

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With just over a month to go before the South African launch of Aston Martin's first four-door sedan we thought we'd take a closer look at what will be offered locally.

Aston's Rapide will be launched in Johannesburg on April 29 with the first deliveries soon afterwards. Its rivals, Porsche's Panamera and Maserati's Quattroporte, will cost about R2.8-million but, in true Aston Martin style, the Rapide will be highly personalisable.

Options will include paint finishes, choice of leather and wheels, even a rear-seat entertainment package. Under the bonnet will reside a hand-built, six-litre V12 capable of 350kW/600Nm, mated to a six-speed semi-auto gearbox.

Aston claims the Rapide will reach 100km/h in 5.3sec and thunder on to 296km/h.

A three-dimensional car configurator has been set up so that interested customers and imaginative common folk can design the Rapide of their dreams and even print it out. Customise everything from exterior paint, to seat piping to your own name in the door sills.

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