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Aston Martin Rapide 2011
By Mark Elias James Bond is scrupulously careful. But let us suppose for a minute that Her Majesty’s Secret Service’s most capable employee found himself (actually one of his paramours) in the family way. WWJD (What would James drive?) Mr. Bond, your Aston Martin Rapide awaits.
Having owned or at least borrowed numerous examples of the brand through the years, why should he compromise at this stage of his life? And besides, Aston-Martin does not make a minivan.
Trademark grille design. Check. Side strakes. Check. Two extra doors—swan wings in Aston speak—provide access to the two additional seats loaded in back. Add to that a center console that is big enough to land an airplane on and you get the idea: This is not Q’s Aston-Martin.
Looking like a coupe with no B-pillar, the Aston Martin Rapide is a modern interpretation of a 2+2 sports-touring car that is actually two adults plus two adults, instead of two adults and a two cases of wishful thinking. Actually, there really are two rear doors and a B-pillar that is located inside the glass, instead of separating it from the rear pane.
The sporting stance is there and design wise, most viewers perform a double take before realizing they are seeing a four-door—the first since the Aston Martin Lagonda sedan of 1974-1989. Finally, luggage room as never before seen in an Aston: 317 liters (think 11 square feet) of space that nearly triples to 886 liters (31 square feet) with the folding down of the rear seatbacks and bulkhead for a load-flat surface area in the cargo hold.
The rear-mounted Touchtronic 2 six-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wire control system accomplishes the desired 49-front/51-rear percent weight bias, and is controlled by alloy paddle shift levers, which are nicely finished with leather accents.