British luxury car brand Aston Martin is quite known for producing sports car associated with luxury and speed. The recent opening of 2019 Shanghai Motor Show reveals the future proof cars of the British icon brand. Their global debut of its first all-electric model—the Rapide E—marks the era of the new Aston Martin.
Following the success of previous special-edition models, including Aston Martin Vulcan, the Vanquish Zagato family and DB4 GT Continuation, the Rapide E continues to deliver a superior level of performance, craftsmanship and exclusivity, while also propelling Aston Martin into the all-electric realm.
The first car to be built at Aston Martin’s state-of-the-art St Athan production facility—the brand’s Home of Electrification—Rapide E represents a pioneering first step towards achieving the company’s wider electrification strategy and the successful fruition of Lagonda—the world’s first zero-emission luxury brand.
A special edition with a production run strictly limited to 155 units, Rapide E has been developed in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE).
Traditional metal vanes give way to a striking honeycomb front grille. With lower cooling requirements demanded of the EV powertrain, Aston Martin’s aerodynamic engineers have been given the freedom to optimize the aperture of the frontal area, minimizing airflow through the car’s body, improving the car’s aerodynamic efficiency and increasing range as a result.
Inside and out, Rapide E is equipped with the materials and technology befitting of the marque’s first EV model. Gone are the analogue displays of the past. A 10-inch digital display now sits in their place, delivering all key information to the driver while on the move, including the battery’s state of charge, current motor power levels, regenerative performance and a real-time energy consumption meter. Swathes of carbon fiber have been deployed throughout, assisting in delivering the strict weight targets set by Aston Martin’s engineering team from the outset.
The Rapide E is powered by an 800V electrical architecture battery—encased in carbon fiber and Kevlar casing—with a 65 kWh installed capacity using over 5600 lithium-ion 18650 format cylindrical cells. This bespoke battery pack lies where the original 6.0-liter V12, gearbox and fuel tank were located, with the 800V system allowing for more efficient charging and greatly improved thermal characteristics over existing electrical architectures. This battery system powers two rear mounted electric motors producing a combined target output of just over 610 PS and a colossal 950 Nm of torque.