Aston Martin Rapide is built on the AM / VH platform - on the same as the 2-door DB9. The platform was stretched to a good 11 inches, and it turned out a kind of 4-door coupe, as its creators position the Rapide. The length of the car - 5019 mm, height - 1359 mm.
Relatively short overhangs, long wheelbase (3.02 m) - to freely accommodate 4 passengers in the cabin. The interior of the Rapide is made in the best traditions of the brand Aston Martin. On the front panel of valuable wood veneer. Mostly carbon plastics and aluminum matted, everywhere handmade. Leather upholstery fine dressing.
By the way, only one master is engaged in finishing the interior with leather. This is a guarantee of maintaining a single style and the highest quality. Leather is custom-made from Scotland, and all tailoring takes approximately 35 hours. Individual seats are mounted on both sides of the center console (the entire length of the cabin); electric heating of pillows and backs, servomechanisms of regulation with memory. At the back of the Rapide, there are two full-fledged seats that are perfectly tailored for horse riders. But to get to the second row is not easy. The high threshold and low roof significantly complicate this procedure.
A hinged rear door provides access to the loading space with a capacity of 300 liters (with a full fit in places) to 750 liters, if you fold the back of the rear seats. The style of the front of the cabin borrowed from the Aston Martin DB9 - the central tunnel as it comes on the panel. It is located controls climate control and audio system, as well as buttons for selecting automatic transmission and ignition lock. On the front panel there are three more buttons designed to add adrenaline to the driver and passengers.
By pressing one, the stabilization system is turned off (partially or completely), the other activates the sport mode (the engine responds more sharply to the gas, the engine brakes harder when the gears are lowered), and the third makes the suspension even harder. By inheritance from the DB9 got a powerful, powerful engine: a V-shaped 12-cylinder displacement of 5935 "cubes". The all-aluminum 48-valve design is customized for the 477-hp Aston Martin Rapide. at 6 thousand revolutions; The greatest torque - 600 Nm. The engine works with a 6-speed hydro-mechanical "automatic» ZF Touchtronic II - no options.
Although the driver has the possibility of forced control of the automatic transmission - through the steering column switch. The architecture of the Aston Martin Rapide is classic: the engine in front, the driving wheels are rear. Moreover, the massive gearbox is assigned to the rear axle (transaxle scheme), as is customary in super sports like the same DB9, Chevrolet Corvette or Ferrari California. Thanks to this arrangement, the Rapide has an ideal “weight distribution” along the axes: 49/51%. Aston Martin specialists have invested a considerable part of their talent in the chassis settings. The principle of building the basis of the Rapide body is borrowed from aviation.
In order to preserve the best geometry and rigidity of the chassis, the aluminum panels are connected by industrial glue, and not by welding. This is one of the reasons that the Rapide rulitsya easily and accurately, despite the extra pounds, combining sports car tenacity with the smoothness of the limousine. Suspension front and rear "formula" (Aston Martin DB9) - on double wishbone; correct kinematics. Coil springs, transverse stabilizers. And monotube (gas-filled) shock absorbers with adjustable stiffness: Adaptive Damping System - adaptive damping system.
Sport tires Bridgestone Potenza S001 of unequal axle size: 245 / 40R at the front and 295 / 35R at the rear - on 20-inch light-alloy wheels. The rack and pinion steering gear is equipped with a Servotronic servo amplifier, the “steering wheel” makes 3 turns from lock to lock. Brembo brakes with ventilated discs (diameter 390 mm front and 360 rear) combined design.
