Watch an Aston Martin Rapide Crash Filmed from the Inside

Most people tend to freak out after an accident with their cars even if there are no fatalities or injuries, but not Mr. Roberto Ricci, who had the misfortune of wrecking his prized Aston Martin Rapide sports saloon during a joy ride.

If you see Ricci's super cool reaction after the crash, you'd think that the Rapide suffered only a few minor scratches, when reality is that the car was brutally bashed / borderline repairable write-off.

The incident occurred in late July when Ricci, who is the founder and owner of RRD, makers of surfboards, windsurfs, sails and kites, took Dave White, editor of Mpora, for a quick ride in his Rapide after a guided tour of his company's facilities in Italy.

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Aston Martin Cuts Back Production of Rapide Due to Poor Sales

Seems like the recession isn’t hitting just common people, but is also affecting the market for $200,000-plus supercars. One such example is the Rapide, Aston Martin’s sports sedan, whose sales are falling way off initial expectations.

According to media reports, the British carmaker is cutting back production of the Rapide to 25 cars per week, which translates to 1,250 per year, or 750 less than initial estimates.

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Aston Martin to Move Production of Rapide from Austria to the UK

For the past two years, Aston Martin has been manufacturing the Rapide at Magna Steyr’s facilities in Austria, but that’s about to change soon as today, the British automaker announced that it will move production of the four-door sports saloon to the company’s Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, UK. The company said the necessary upgrades at its Gaydon headquarters for Rapide will begin immediately with a view to begin production of the Rapide in the second half of 2012. Read more »

Aston Martin to Auction Ulrich Bez’s Rapide for Japan

In a goodwill gesture towards the people of Japan, Aston Martin boss Dr. Ulrich Bez will auction his company Rapide sports sedan at this year’s annual Bonhams event at Newport Pagnell, with all proceeds from the sale to benefit charities providing aid to the victims of the recent earthquakes and Tsunami. The Bonhams auction house said that in support of this initiative, it would waive its commission the Rapide sale that will take place in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday May 21. Read more »

VIDEO: New Aston Martin Rapide Promo Films [Part 3]

Aston Martin has released the third and final part of its promotional trilogy “True Power Should Be Shared” starring the Rapide four-door coupe. There's less action in this film as our heroes drive towards their destination, wondering what they are transporting. Well, it turns out to be some kind of a time machine, which saves them from being killed in an ambush and returns them to Lisbon, where everything started. Not what we expected, but at least the Rapide didn’t get blown up. Hit the jump to watch the video. Read more »

VIDEO: New Aston Martin Rapide Promo Films [Part 2]

As promised, Aston Martin released the second part of a new promotional series of films featuring the Rapide sports saloon. Called “True Power Should Be Shared”, it’s a more of an action-packed sequel, showing longer driving scenes and a spectacular fight sequence, as the story gets more substance. Still, this is no James Bond movie, although seeing and hearing the British four-door coupe kind of makes up for the lack of originality. Video available after the jump.

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VIDEO: New Aston Martin Rapide Promo Films [Part 1]

As part of its first foray into the digital campaign medium, Aston Martin will release three new promotional videos, featuring the breathtaking Rapide four-door coupe. Filmed in Lisbon, Portugal, the video follows a group of “agents” commissioned by a mysterious person to deliver a precious package, without opening it. A very Ronin-ish plot, we know.

The introductory part is available after the jump, while the second and third clips will follow on January 19 and 26, respectively.

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Aston Martin Quietly Unwraps Rapide Luxe Special Edition

What's better than a sleek Aston Martin Rapide? No, not some German competitor, but the Rapide Luxe, a special edition version of the British sports saloon that quietly appeared on the automaker's official website.

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Aston Martin to Race New Rapide at 24h of Nurburgring

Aston Martin has taken the wraps off the race-spec version of its new Rapide sports saloon with which it will compete in the Nürburgring 24-hour race on 15-16 May, 2010.

The British firm said that the Rapide race car will be very close to the production model with changes including the addition of essential race safety modifications, the removal of the interior trim to reduce weight and a retuned suspension. It will also run on slick tires designed for track use.

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VIDEO: Aston Martin Shows off Rapide on the Roads of Valencia

If our recent gallery with 120 high-res photos of the all-new Aston Martin Rapide sports sedan left you wanting more, then you'll probably get a kick out of this fresh new video of the British firm's Porsche Panamera rival that was filmed during the media presentation in the city of Valencia in Spain earlier this month.

Aston Martin's four-door, high-performance sport saloon is powered solely by a mighty 6.0-liter V12 engine, the same one found in the DB9.

It produces a peak power of 477-horsepower and 443 lb-ft of torque, enough to propel the four-seater Rapide from zero to 60mph in 5.1 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 188mph or 303 km/h. Watch the Rapide in action in the video after the jump.

Photo Fest: Aston Martin Rapide Sports Saloon in 120 High-Res Images

When it comes to specialty cars like the Aston Martin Rapide, the more the photos the merrier. It's not as if most of us will ever have the opportunity to like or dislike the Rapide as an owner, so we might as well enjoy it from a reader's perspective.

And with 120 high-resolution photos of the British sports saloon in four different shades (Hardly Green, Magma Red, Quantum Silver and Silver Blonde) and in all kinds of poses and settings, we reckon that you'll feel pretty 'joyous' after you check out our gallery below.

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Aston Martin Rapide Sports Sedan: First Official Rendering?

With all the hype surrounding the brand-new Panamera, someone was bound to dig up something new on one of Porsche's chief rivals in the four-door sports saloon segment. That someone is Car Magazine and the rival is the long-awaited Aston Martin Rapide. The British mag supports that it has obtained the first official image of the production car in the form of a computer-generated rendering. If we are to believe the magazine's claims, then not much has changed from the concept that was unveiled to the world at the 2006 Detroit auto show.

Put the concept images and the rendering side by side and you'll find a few subtle tweaks like the absence of the secondary air intakes, the larger exterior mirrors and the stronger crease that runs from the front wing vent through both doors, but other than that, nothing important.

The Aston Martin Rapide that will be offered with a 6.0-liter V12 engine developing around 500HP is slated to be introduced in early 2009 with first deliveries expected in early 2010. It will be the first Aston to be built outside Britain with production to be carried out by Magna Steyr at the company's plant in Graz, Austria.

Via: Carmagazine