Rapide S

STORY

The Rapide, launched in 2010, was Aston Martin's four-door grand tourer, the company's first four-door car since the wedge-shaped Lagonda of the 1980s. Reviving a name from the 1960s Lagonda Rapide, it wrapped a genuine four-seat, four-door cabin in a sleek fastback body clearly related to the DB9, blurring the line between saloon and sports car.

Built on the VH platform, it used the 6.0-litre V12, producing 470bhp at launch and later 550bhp in the Rapide S. It aimed at four-door rivals such as the Porsche Panamera while keeping the low, sculpted proportions and hand-finished interior expected of an Aston.

Produced until 2020, the Rapide also served as the basis for the all-electric RapidE prototype, an early exploration of electrification for the brand. It remains a rare example of a genuinely elegant, driver-oriented luxury four-door.