When the Aston Martin team arrived at Le Mans race-track this year to defend their ‘Le Mans 24 hours’ title, they used the occasion to present to the world the latest thoroughbred offspring from their AMR stable. The Rapide AMR is the near identical production version of the concept shown at Geneva in 2017. Its production is limited to just 210 cars. The Rapide AMR comes hot on the heels of the DB11 AMR.
“AMR takes technology and inspiration from our motorsport programme to amplify the sporting prowess in our road cars which is clear to see in the Rapide AMR, Aston Martin’s most extreme, 4-door sports car.” – Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin President & CEO.
The Rapide AMR has larger inlet manifolds with tuned length dual inlet runners to enhance the airflow into the 6.0 litre naturally aspirated V12 engine. The Rapide’s new engine and gearbox calibration allows it to produce 603PS and is capable of 0-100km/h acceleration in just 4.4 seconds.
To help harness this power, the Rapide AMR is the first Aston Martin to feature 21-inch, ultra-high-performance Michelin Super-Sport tyres. Carbon ceramic brakes measuring 400mm at the front are standard. Another first on the Rapide AMR is the re-engineered suspension, to make it more focused, agile and dynamic. It now rides 10mm lower, while the three-stage adaptive dampers remain. Much of this development work was done at the newly opened AMR Performance Centre at the Nürburgring.
The Rapide AMR will be available in three different design schemes. The first two, Standard and Silhouette, are available in four colours – Mariana Blue, Scintilla Silver, Lightning Silver and Onyx Black. In the Standard scheme, Lime accents are added to the splitter, sills and rear diffuser, while the Silhouette scheme features a full-length contrasting stripe in China Grey or Clubsport White. The third scheme, the Signature, is the closest visual link to Aston Martin’s race cars. It matches Stirling Green paint with Lime accents and a Lime stripe for the distinctive AMR look.
The interior of each Rapide AMR reflects the design scheme chosen for the exterior, with either AMR Lime or Galena Silver welting and stitching. It also features a full-length carbon fibre centre console, seats trimmed in Alcantara, discrete AMR logos stitched into the seats in Galena Silver, and a limited-edition AMR inspection plaque as well as AMR branding on the carbon sill plaques. Also available for the first time as an option is a One-77 style steering wheel.
The first customer deliveries of the Aston Martin Rapide AMR is expected in Q4 of 2018. In the UK, it is available from £194,950, $240,000 in the US, and €229,950 in Germany.
