Aston Martin Rapide arrives

Watch out Porsche, the British are coming. It's been a long time in the making but Aston Martin has finally unveiled the production version of its Rapide four-door, four-seater at the Frankfurt Motor Show. 

The Porsche Panamera-fighter first appeared as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show back in 2006. Now, five months after its German rival made its public debut in Shanghai, Aston Martin has confirmed first deliveries of the Rapide will begin in early 2010.

"Rapide is the culmination of the Aston Martin range of sports cars, a car that seals the revival of a truly admired marque," said Chief Executive, Ulrich Bez. "There is now an Aston Martin for every taste and for every use.

"With Rapide, the entire family can enjoy their Aston Martin together in unison, in an invigorating yet comfortable environment, sitting low, with plenty of visibility from every seat and with new levels of comfort, refinement and entertainment," stated Bez.

As previously announced the Rapide is powered by Aston's trademark 6.0-litre V12 that produces 350kW and 600Nm. That's enough to propel the Rapide from 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds and a top speed of 303km/h.

The power goes to the rear-wheels via a rear-mounted 'Touchtronic 2' six-speed gearbox.

Bringing the car to a stop is handled by 390mm front discs with six piston calipers and 360mm rear discs with four piston calipers. Bridgestone Potenza tyres wrap around 20-inch alloy wheels front and rear.

Dynamically speaking, Aston Martin Product Development Director, Ian Minards, claims the Rapide is a match for the DB9 coupe.

"We have learned so much with the development of the current Aston Martin range, and Rapide has really benefited from this knowledge," Minards said. "Our prototypes have been so close to production specification that we are able to really understand the car from very early on in the development process.

"Rapide is about the journey, and we always intended to combine the ethos of the DB9 and package it for up to four people in comfort but preserve the excitement of driving an Aston Martin sports car."

He added: "Dynamically the Rapide feels every bit as agile as the DB9, I have personally experienced the car being driven at high speed on the Nürburgring, and was enormously impressed with its capabilities."

We're previously brought you a sneak peak of the Rapide interior but we can now give you a full rundown of the creature comforts. As you'd expect for such a premium vehicle full grain leather is standard alongside walnut fascia trim.

Electric and heated front seats, automatic front and rear temperature control, LED map and ambient lights, trip computer, cruise control, a hard disk drive satellite navigation system, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitors and even a boot mounted umbrella are standard. The in car entertainment is handled by a 1000W Bang & Olufsen sound system with iPod and USB connectivity.

Check out the Carsales Network's Frankfurt show preview and brand-by-brand summaries. And stay tuned for more Frankfurt show news and first drives in the days to come.

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