Aston Martin RapidE: a 602bhp electric super saloon

Aston Martin may be best known for its sporty grand tourers and luxury saloons, but the British car company also has its eye on the rapidly-growing world of electric cars.

The carmaker, which operates out of the Warwickshire-based village of Gaydon, has been busy planning and developing an all-electric version of its Rapide saloon for nearly four years in a bid to rival the likes of Tesla and Porsche.

Although Aston has remained tight-lipped over the car’s specs in recent months, the company has now confirmed a release window for the electric Rapide as well as how much power its electric motors will pack.

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Dubbed the RapidE – differentiated by the capitalised “E” over the regular car’s lower-case “e” – the new EV is due to arrive in the fourth quarter of next year, says Aston.

The car firm says the RapidE will be powered by a pair of electric motors: one over the front axle and the other over the rear. The layout means power is sent to all four wheels. This helps evenly distributes the car’s weight, which in turn improves the handling.

The motors are hooked up to a 65kWh capacity battery system that’s capable of powering the super saloon for 200 miles on a single charge. The figure has been calculated using the new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), which was introduced this month as a replacement for the old and less accurate NEDC measuring system. As a result, we can expect the 200-mile range quoted by Aston to be relatively accurate.

The battery and motor system combined produce an impressive 602bhp and 701lb-ft of torque. That’s a significant jump in performance on the 552bhp produced by the 6.5-litre V12 engine in the current Rapide S.

While Aston has finally revealed on the RapidE’s performance specs, the company is still keeping the car’s design under wraps.

What we do know, however, is that it won’t be cheap. Each model is expected to go for £250,000 and Aston only plans to produce 155 examples.

That makes the RapidE’s rival, the range-topping Tesla Model S P100D, seem like a bargain at £124,000.