Classic restoration Aston Martin Rapide ride feeling
Mr.Bond is a guy who never knows how to cherish a good car. Although the process is different, he always has a aston martin with roughly the same ending. David Beckham also has a aston martin, which is a charming DB7. Soon, he will have a One-77 worth more than 2 million dollars. I often see a DB9 downstairs in Beijing editorial department. I don’t know who it belongs to. Of course, this question is not important. As a aston martin, it is not as extreme as Lamborghini, nor as enchanting as Ferrari.
Take Air China flight CA937 from Beijing and arrive at London Heathrow Airport after an 11-hour flight. This is the second time I have been to England in almost a month, but my destination has become Birmingham. As Britain’s largest industrial city, in its heyday, more than 25% of Britain’s export products were produced here. At the same time, a large number of representatives of the British automobile industry have also gathered here. Including aston martin, the familiar Land Rover and Jaguar are also produced here. It takes about half an hour’s drive from Walton Hall Hotel to aston martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire. We set out in a light rain, and the pastures on both sides of the road are all covered with rain and fog. This is a typical British weather, cold and humid, but you can think of the leisure and comfort of rural life. A cup of hot tea and a sofa are enough, regardless of the wind and rain outside the window.
Aston martin’s experience is somewhat similar to Bugatti’s, but this traditional British car factory is much luckier than the latter. In his early years, aston martin was also obsessed with motor racing. After decades of ups and downs, he finally found the right development direction. The newly built Garden Factory looks more like a luxurious private club, but its interior is a different story. Passing through the office area is a busy production line, where you can see the whole process of the birth of a aston martin. From hand sewing leather parts to body painting, final assembly and finished car testing, it seems busy, but every step is being carried out in an orderly way. From car body color, interior color to interior materials, even the seam color of carpets and sewn leather, every user can customize and produce a unique aston martin according to his own different preferences. Like other top luxury brands, aston martin pays attention to every product detail. Only the body painting process of V8 VANTAGE will take more than 200 man-hours, while that of DB9 and DBS will take longer.
1. A natural and elegant "long-distance sports car"
The design center in aston martin is integrated with the Garden Factory, but it is located in a relatively independent area. Here, Marek Reichman, the design director, introduced the whole development process of One-77 from the design sketch to the 1:1 model. This guy who once worked for Land Rover, BMW and Ford is also the designer of the Rapide model. This four-door aston martin, which just appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show, is described by Reichma as a natural and elegant "long-distance sports car", which not only provides an environment that emphasizes drivers, but also provides an elegant and soothing interior for its passengers, which is the main purpose of our trip.
Fortunately, we became the first Asian media to sit inside Rapide, and before that, its interior details were only digital images of photographers. It has four independent seats and a spacious luggage compartment space that can be expanded. Many elements in the interior are similar to those of the DB9 model. This car is based on the DB9 platform, which has a longer wheelbase and more spacious interior space. "Now, no matter what the lifestyle requirements of users are, there is an Aston &bull suitable for all types of sports car users; Martin, "Aston • Dr. Ulrich Bez, CEO of Martin, said, "Rapide is our most versatile product, which brings a new standard of luxury and elegance to both drivers and passengers."
The Rapide model has exactly the same power system as the DB9. The 477-horsepower V12 naturally aspirated engine can provide powerful power for this four-door sports car, which can accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds. I almost sat in its driver’s seat, but this Rapide is just an engineering prototype, and its panoramic glass skylight is still covered by a black Alcantara material, and even some internal sound insulation treatment has not been finally completed, so we can only experience this Aston &bull as a passenger. Martin. Simon Barnes, the engineering director, drove it to a speed of about 150km/h on a country road, but Rapide still showed the steadiness and calmness of DB9. Now, in addition to Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the super-rich have another choice. Although the launch time of the new car will wait until the beginning of 2010, I believe some people have already prepared a check for it. Rapide is also highly anticipated, and it may become Aston • The cornerstone of Martin’s prosperity.
Related links | rapide
The Rapide model originated from Aston &bull in the 1960s; Martin • Lagunda brand. From 1961 to 1964, this model was based on Aston • A total of 55 luxury four-door GT sports cars of Martin DB4 have been produced, 48 of which have been preserved until now. This car also uses a lightweight aluminum body and is equipped with a 4.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine. It uses a dual-pipe disc brake system and a three-speed automatic gearbox. This Rapide is also produced according to the order. Although the price is only 4,950 pounds, it was extremely expensive in that year. Brand-new Aston • Martin Rapide will be produced in Magna Steyr Graz, Austria, due to the near saturation of the capacity of the Garton plant. At present, the planned annual output is more than 2,000 vehicles.
2. It brings a new standard of luxury and elegance.