Is It a Car or Is It a Sedan?

2011 Aston Martin Rapide

In 2005, Mercedes introduced the four-door coupe car type with the CLS. When that car came out, it was hard to tell if it was a car or a coupe. It turns out that they are one in the same. You could now have sports car performance for 4 people. Ever since the CLS was introduced, other car manufacturers have had a go at the four-door coupe design. So far we have three new contenders from Porsche, Audi, and Aston Martin. These three were indeed great contenders, but only one of them went above and beyond the design.

It's Just Beautiful!

This is the new 2011 Aston Martin Rapide. As you can see, this car is drop-dead gorgeous from all corners. It's hard to tell if this is an exotic or a four-door saloon. The thing is, it's both. Under the hood, the car uses the same engine from one of Aston Martin's greatest: the DB9: a 6.3 liter V12 with 470 horsepower and 444 lb-ft of torque. This car will do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and will go on until it reaches 188 MPH. As for design, the car is based off the DB9. The chassis of this car is actually borrowed from the DB9. So, basically, this car is the Aston Martin DB9, only a few inches longer and a few inches wider.

It looks even sexier in red!

Even though its not a DB9 or a DBS, it certainly behaves like one. I had a go in this car a while back and I was surprised at what I saw. It was fast, grippy, and precise. It might not be as precise as a DBS or a DB9, but for a four door coupe, it's superb. It even rides comfortably, and that should be good since you'll have two passengers in the back. Comparing this car to its closest rival, the Porsche Panamera Turbo, there are a few drawbacks. While they both reach a top speed of about 190 MPH, the Panamera Turbo reaches 60 MPH in 3.7 sec. That's 0.8 sec faster than the Aston. It also comes with All-Wheel Drive for more traction and ugly-weather driving, unlike the Rapide's real-wheel drive. Also, the Panamera Turbo has a twin-turbocharged V8-powered 500 horsepower engine, 30 more than the Aston's V12. But, what makes the Rapide 10x better than the Panamera is that it looks beautiful. The Panamera looks like an ugly elephant.

Love, Beauty, Soul

So, the Rapide is definitely a brilliant car. But, it would be much better if it wasn't so expensive: $199,590 to be exact. But, it doesn't matter. Once you get it. You'll be driving in a thing of pure beauty. That's Aston Martin's motto: Power, Beauty, Soul.