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E-Mail Questions at: beatrisbllyde@tottenhamfans.com .
Hello,
Thank you for looking at this listing. This is a very special Aston Martin Rapide S 2014. Garage kept, just did a
1K wax and detail job to it waiting for its new owner. Moving to New York and do not need this anymore. Car is
beautiful and drives like new... FULLY LOADED: DVD, Carbon Fiber package for exterior (super expensive), BRAND NEW
TOP OF THE LINE PIRELLI TIRES, Best paint, Best interior, 007... MSRP: $249, 524 Take the new Rapide S, a refreshed version of, and replacement for, the four-door Rapide that hit the market in
2010. It uses a 550-hp version of Aston's 5.9-liter V-12—a substantial 80-hp gain over the old Rapide's 5.9.
Torque is a whopping 457 lb-ft, 14 lb-ft more than before. The output bump is due in part to dual variable valve
timing, larger throttle bodies, and flow-optimized combustion chambers. The extra horses punch the car to a claimed
top speed of 190 mph, 7 mph faster than before, and Aston says 60 mph arrives from a stop in just 4.7 seconds.
And yet those numbers are easily bested by the Porsche Panamera Turbo S and Bentley Continental Flying Spur, both
of which, like the Maserati Quattroporte, are better at transporting a pair of ordinary-sized people in the back.
(The Aston's fold-down rear perches, while appropriately posh, are two heavily bolstered sport seats bisected by an
imposing console and driveline tunnel. They're not suited to large people or long hauls.) And so, with a $202, 775
base price, the doubt sneaks in.
But it shouldn't. The aluminum-chassis Rapide is composed and incredibly agile, especially given its 4387 pounds
and 117.7-inch wheelbase. Blasting at near-felonious speeds or enjoying the expressive steering on a mountain road,
glimpsing the back seats in the mirror is startling because you feel like you're in a smaller car. With a 48/52
front-to-rear weight distribution, as well as an engine mounted 0.7 inch lower than the old Rapide, the S feels
remarkably balanced and planted.
And the sound. Oh, the sound. Plant your foot, and the 48-valve V-12 howls like God's own dog; slap a well-timed
downshift via the ZF six-speed's flappy aluminum paddles, and it wails and crackles like you lit the dog's tail on
fire.
Aston was smart to keep the sheetmetal tweaks to a minimum. Like its predecessor, the Rapide S is aesthetically
unchallenged in the four-door-rocket-limo category. The taller, full-face grille is the most prominent cosmetic
update; it adds a welcome but not overpowering dose of aggression. There's also a new, more substantial rear
spoiler, a new carbon-fiber splitter, and optional 20-inch, 10-spoke wheels. The interior is a luxuriously
appointed haven of hand-stitched hides, glass knobs, and a complete lack of artifice. If it looks like leather,
it's leather; if it looks like carbon fiber, it's carbon fiber. Glass is glass, metal is metal, snozzberries are
snozzberries, and so on.
So should the Rapide S buyer worry about falling short on test-track bragging rights? Not at all. The best cars are
more than the sum of their spec sheets. You buy the Bentley sport sedan because the studio just picked up your
overall deal, and you buy the four-door Porsche because your spreadsheets have jumped to life and commanded you.
But you buy an Aston Martin for just one reason: You want to feel like James Bond. And this is the only car in the
world that can give you that feeling, even while taking the kids to soccer practice.
2014 ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE S
Powertrain: 5.9 liter V12, 550 hp, 457 lb./ft.; RWD, six-speed automatic
Weight: 4387 lbs (mfr)
0-60 MPH: 4.7 seconds ((EST) TOP SPEED 190 MPH (MFR))
Top Speed (mfr): 190 MPH
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