The DB11 was a major step forward for Aston Martin which has been overhauling its tech game recently, particularly with its innovative AeroBlade and Mercedes-based electrical architecture. But now the Gaydon-based company has announced that it is entering the electric car club, confirming production of the RapidE.
This will be the brand’s first all-electric model and will be built with Williams Advanced Engineering as Aston’s lead engineering partner on the project.
Based on the RapidE AMR concept, the RapidE will have a limited build run of just 155 cars with production set for 2019.
Aston revealed the concept version of the RapidE back in October 2015. The production version of the Rapide will be a four-door sports car with the appearance and dynamics of the Rapide S but powered by an all-electric powertrain replacing the six-litre V12 engine.
Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer, said: “We are now putting the first all-electric Aston Martin into production. RapidE represents a sustainable future in which Aston Martin’s values of style and supreme performance don’t merely co-exist alongside a new zero-emission powertrain, but are enhanced by it.”
Reassuring the Aston faithful that the company was going to continue developing traditional combustion engine vehicles, Palmer added: “The internal combustion engine has been at the heart of Aston Martin for more than a century, and will continue to be. RapidE will showcase Aston’s desire and capability to embrace radical change, delivering a new breed of car.”
Paul McNamara, technical director at Williams Advanced Engineering said: “This project with Aston Martin will draw on the extensive battery and EV experience we have accumulated.”
The EV market is experiencing a boom in Britain and the US. The number of new cars registered in the UK hit a 12-year high this January, with electric vehicles taking a record share of that market, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. And following a 5% decline in sales from 2014 to 2015, US EV sales increased by a healthy 37% in 2016.
Elon Musk has just announced that the first production Tesla Model 3 is to be expected this Friday.
Aston is also not the first luxury car marque to enter the all-electric market. Bentley showed off its all-electric EXP 12 Speed 6e convertible at Geneva 2017 and Jaguar is due to release its i-PACE SUV in 2018, which is entirely electric and aimed squarely at taking on the Tesla Model X.
There has been no word yet on whether Jaguar is going to include any driverless car tech it has been developing on the I-Pace, but WIRED certainly hopes it does.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.