Rapide sedan debuts

It was a typically "British" kind of day in Las Vegas, complete with the requisite dark, gloomy sky, buckets of precipitation and blustering winds that only a warm jumper and fluffy muffler could guard against.

Perfect weather, actually, to test drive the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide, the iconic manufacturer's first foray into the luxury four-door luxury car market.

With the roads slick around Gaudin Jaguar Porsche Aston Martin on West Sahara Avenue, this reporter encouraged Gaudin's Aston Martin manager Paul Jarrett to get behind the wheel. She would gladly ride shotgun and take copious notes, thank you. Not that we wouldn't have loved to drive the DB9-inspired Rapide, but $199,950 wasn't in the budget should something go wrong on our wet city streets.

Right away, Jarrett commented on the Rapide's agility and ride.

"I'm very impressed with the smoothness," he said. "It's a quiet, soft, yet responsive drive."

Like the DB9, the Rapide is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 engine that produces 470 horsepower at 6,000 rpm. The rear-mounted, six-speed automatic transmission is Aston Martin's signature Touchtronic 2 technology that will propel the car from zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds as it accelerates past 180 mph, if needed. We, however, stayed within the posted speed limit on Summerlin Parkway, but did test the Rapide's pulse-raising potential on the onramp.

And, true to any Aston Martin experience, that gnarly exhaust rumble was all the evidence needed to confirm this was indeed an Aston Martin, albeit a four-door version, but an Aston Martin just the same.

There is one small catch, however, which shouldn't really matter other than to those who just have to set the record straight. The Rapide is Aston Martin's first current model produced away from its historic plant in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. Citing some relatively ambitious production plans, the Rapide is being assembled in Graz, Austria, coincidentally in the same Magna Steyr manufacturing facility as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class wagon.

So, now we can move on. Keep in mind, Aston Martin's current CEO, Ulrich Bez, was on the lead engineering team for Porsche's 989 concept car, which was designed in the 1980s to be the German manufacturer's first sedan, but the idea was sidelined. Well, then more than 25 years later comes along the four-door Porsche Panamera, to which Bez responds, "We see Rapide as the most exclusive, the most beautiful four-door luxury car in the world."

We can't disagree. The Rapide's silhouette is breathtaking with its low-slung sporty stance and delicate curves. At first glance, the rear doors are nearly invisible and it takes a second or two to remember it's a four-door sedan. All four doors are fastened on hinges in Aston Martin's swan-wing configuration, which opens the doors at a 12-degree upward angle.

The four passenger seats are cockpitlike, driving seats. The front passenger has the most room and adjustability and can make things a little tight for the rear seater, who may need to take his or her time clambering in and out. Once in, however, it's a snug, reassuring fit, depending, of course, on how generous the driver and front passenger are with the leg room.

Opulence and richness abound, as one would expect. There's even ample room for luggage and/or Las Vegas shopping excursions.

While driving, Jarrett explains some of Rapide's most notable traits, like the many standard items including the theater-quality, 1,000-watt, 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system, dual-pane thermally insulated windows, cockpit adjustable suspension, navigation and hands-free mobile phone technology to name just a few. The only two options are the rear-seat entertainment system and cooling ventilators for the four passenger seats, which would bring the price tag closer to $207,000, according to Jarrett.

Because it was the manufacturer's "travel" car, this particular Rapide, whose exterior was a pleasing "Morning Frost" white with "Falcon Grey" leather and suede interior, was only in Las Vegas for a couple days last week. Jarrett expects two Rapides by June, one for demonstration and the other for the showroom floor. "We'll have one for sale, otherwise you'll have to get in line with the rest of the world," Jarrett said.

Despite its four doors, the Rapide certainly conveys Aston Martin's heritage while preserving the understated elegance that has become synonymous with the manufacturer's celebrated line of automobiles. Like Bez has strongly proclaimed, "The Rapide is the only four-door sports car in the world, and the only one that comes from a sports car. Others are made from limosines."

For more information about the Aston Martin Rapide, visit Gaudin Jaguar Porsche Aston Martin at 7200 W. Sahara Ave., contact Aston Martin manager Paul Jarrett at 284-7000 or go to www.jplv.net.