Aston Martin is making a what?!?!

The Aston Martin we know and love today is a small but very rapidly growing, towards profitability and greater worldwide sales, crafter of fine high performance grand touring 2-door automobiles. The name brings to mind new vehicles such as the Vanquish, perhaps the ultimate expression of this British marquee, with a big presence and furtive V12 power. It brings to mind such classics as James Bond’s 1960’s DB5, and the sexy Project 214? – one of Phil Hills old favorite racecars.

The newest face, proportioned two ways on the DB9 and Vantage, is tied into the past with an enlargement of the grille once so prominent on Astons but made minimalistic on the DB7. it is a beautiful, complete look started by Ian Callum and finished by Henrik Fisker.

But Aston Martin was not satisfied. There was more to be done with those proportions. The DB9 has been stretched, and two more full sized doors have been added at the rear. A four door Aston Martin? Well, it’s nothing new, really. The name Lagonda conjures foggy images of elegant four-door Astons from long ago, and the name Rapide, when used in conjunction with the Aston name, brings up a middle-twentieth century design which was taught yet large and strong, an excellent upscale and upsize image for the British marquee at the middle of the twentieth century.

Now Rapide lives again, in sleek, sexy, form. It is the sexiest four door Aston to date, and will arguably be the sexiest four door sedan ever. Gosh that sounds cliché-ish, but it’s true. The Jaguar S-type had it’s run, and the Mercedes Benz CLS certainly has redefined what a sedan form can be…but the Rapide does this and has a much prettier face. The Rapide is an Aston Martin, and it certainly must be perfect. Dr. Ulrich Bez, Chairman and CEO of Aston Martin, supports that notion: “Our cars must look beautiful from all angles, and the four-door is very well balanced.”

The design, governed by new Aston Martin design chief Marek Reichman, began with some exploratory sketches last summer. The result is a well-balanced design that embodies Aston Martin values and yet takes on a form almost completely new. It’s beautiful. It seems composed yet emotionally involving. The feeling you get from gazing at these lines is the emotional you feel when listening to slow, flowing, softly played violin notes. That is not to imply this is something comfy and cozy which makes you want to fall asleep; it is enriching to experience, it awakens the senses and pleases the mind. Reichman explains “We put character and feeling into the surface,” says Reichman. “Our designers and modellers work with a sculptural language here at Aston Martin - the play of light on the surface are incredibly important to us.”

The front end is unmistakably Aston Martin, and unmistakably DB9. This makes sense as that is the template from which current Aston Martin designs will stem, as per Henrik and Ian’s earlier foundation work. But this is no Hummer stretch limo. This is a proper, full, complete design, full of beautifully flowing lines and perfect proportions. That, too, is a necessity – Dr. Bez commands “The proportions must be perfect…if we couldn’t achieve this then we wouldn’t have made the car.”

The frame of the car is from the same basic design as the DB9 and Vantage, which helps immensely in manufacturing and development costs. Aston Martin’s Vertical/Horizontal extruded Aluminum chassis can be varied with relative ease in both length and width, allowing for flexibility in product proportions. The chassis is bonded with advanced glueing techniques, and offers both high strength and low weight. The bodywork on top is a mix of sheet metal and composites.

The interior is a work of art and mechanics, incorporating a tradition of attention to detail, exquisite yet purposeful materials and hand-craftsmanship with a volume firmly constrained by interior proportions (the Rapide is just 4 centimeters taller than the DB9 yet must balance a coupe-like roofline with the need for rear passenger headroom). The seats are covered in custom-embossed shagreen leather found only on the Rapide. The materials include carbon fiber, Aluminum, wood, and the same glass starter button as is found on the DB9. The clock in the dashboard is the creation of Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss watchmaker who has a history of designing gauges for Aston Martin which dates back to 1929. The brushed metal face and sapphire crystal accents enhance the Aston’s interior exquisiteness. Interior visual space is expanded greatly through a transparent polycarbonate roof.

Functionality extends to cargo space. The Rapide is actually a four-door hatchback – not a 5-door vehicle, but certainly very cargo friendly. Fold-down rear seats enhance the space flexibility; one can fit golf clubs for three in the trunk, utilizing one rear seat folded down, or a set of skis for four slid neatly up the center to rest on the center console. The Rapide features bluetooth capability – including a hand-held unit that allows rear seat passengers to direct the driver to the proper route - dual zone climate control, and rear seat controls for climate and audio functions; the rear seats also fold down and have their own DVD screens. And, to top it off, there’s a small cabinet just the right size for a bottle of bubbly and four thin flutes.

Under the hood is Aston Martin’s V12, enhanced. The Rapide is moved by 480 bhp mated to a six-speed ZF automatic gearbox, with gear ratios altered from the DB9 to accommodate for the slight weight increase yet optimize highway operation. The result is accelerative performance comparable to the DB9.

Stopping power is handled by Aston Martin’s first set of carbon brakes and calipers.

This concept certainly seems ripe for production, with its realistic design and proportions, proven existing market segment, stunning good looks and ample power. Plus Aston Martin does not have time to play around with concepts. We look forward to hearing a production announcement towards the end of this year.

Jim Padilla, Ford Motor's COO, happily endorses Aston Martin's Rapide concept