Aston Martin unveils all-electric RapidE
The luxury British sports car company Aston Martin -- famously James Bond’s preferred vehicle -- has taken the covers off a concept version of an all-electric sedan: the RapidE.
Aston Martin already makes a gas-powered version, the Rapide S, a $200,000 four-door delight that makes 552 horsepower and gets from zero to 60 mph in under 4.2 seconds.
Aston Martin also makes new Bond cars. Its DB10 GT will be featured in the upcoming installment of 007’s adventures, “Spectre.” That vehicle will not be available for purchase, but the company has released a special DB9 GT “Bond Edition.”
This is something different. The all-electric RapidE was unveiled Wednesday at the Aston Martin facility in Gaydon, England, in front of visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of dignitaries including Prince William.
The proposed vehicle, the company said, will be offered as a production car, perhaps as early as 2017 -- the stated goal of Andy Palmer, Aston Martin’s chief executive.
Palmer was not available for elaboration but sources near the company not authorized to speak for the automaker said the RapidE is a Tesla fighter.
The first version is to be a rear-wheel-drive car producing the equivalent of 560 horsepower and capable of going 200 miles between charges -- in the range of what the Tesla Model S can do. It would retail at about $250,000 -- about twice the price of a Tesla Model S -- and be followed by an all-wheel-drive model capable of making 800 to 1,000 horsepower.
The company, which currently sells about 4,000 of its Rapide S, Vantage, Vanquish and DB9 vehicles a year, plans to build only about 400 of the RapidE cars, with about a quarter of them headed for the U.S.
Palmer said in a statement, “We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio. ... The exciting RapidE concept tangibly demonstrates the capability and ambition of Aston Martin towards developing low- and zero-emission sports cars.”
No word what 007 makes of it.
Twitter: @misterfleming
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