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Electric Aston Martin Rapide could be on the way

Aston Martin is looking into building an electric version of the Rapide to launch in the next two or three years. Andy Palmer, the company's new chief executive, said so to the Wall Street Journal at the New York Auto Show this week. A spokesman confirmed the plans to Autoblog. The project would bring in an as-yet undisclosed partner that could come from Silicon Valley, and while we don't know at this point just which company that would be, Palmer said it's not Tesla. Having formerly held senior positions at the Renault Nissan Alliance, Palmer has a wealth of experience with EVs that he brings with him to the British automaker that was recently infused with cash. This wouldn't be the first time that Aston would be experimenting with the prospect of electric propulsion. It showcased the DBX electric crossover coupe concept at the Geneva Motor Show, and even fielded a hybrid hydrogen-powered version of the Rapide in a 24-hour endurance race at the Nurburgring a couple of years ago. The Rapide is Aston's four-door model, based closely on the DB9. It was launched in 2010 after a concept version from 2006. After initially being produced under contract by Magna Steyr in Austria, Aston moved assembly back home in 2012. A revised Rapide S ensued the following year, upping output from its 6.0-liter V12 engine from 470 horsepower to 550 and swapping the six-speed automatic for an eight-speed. According to the WSJ, Palmer also confirmed a new crossover and large luxury sedan in the pipeline, the latter to compete with Rolls-Royce and both of which we expect will wear the Lagonda badge revived by the new Taraf launched in Dubai.

Looking for a deal? Check out your nearest Acura dealer

For the fourth time in the last year, an Aston Martin out-discounts all other automakers by offering the largest monetary savings off the retail price of an automobile in America. This time, though, the discount isn't on the aging (though still beautiful) Rapide sedan or range-topping DBS Superleggera, it's for the DB11 sports car. For those keeping track, the DB11 also led this discount list back in May of 2020. This time, though, the price is even lower than before. Right now, buyers of the Aston Martin DB11 are seeing discounts of $24,330. That's a 12.1% cut off the car's average retail price of $201,820 and it means buyers are paying an average transaction price of $177,490. Still expensive, but really not bad for a drop-dead gorgeous machine with as much as 630 horsepower. Next in line is a familiar face, the Acura NSX. As impressive as the Japanese hybrid supercar may be, Acura has been running big rebates on the NSX for as long as we've been running these lists. This month, the NSX buyers are seeing discounts of nearly 14% for an average transaction price of $138,648. The third biggest discount this month shows up on the most expensive vehicle on the list. The Rolls-Royce Phantom carries an average sticker price of $537,500. But buyers are getting about 4% off that for an average transaction price of $516,333. It may not be a massive discount when measured by percentage, but when the asking price is so high, even a small discount equals big bucks. Related Video:

2020 Aston Martin Vantage Road Test | Old-school road trip in a new-school Aston

Our roads may be virtually empty, with Americans all cooped up and nowhere to go. But with jet planes and TSA lines looking iffy and icky for the foreseeable future, the great American road trip is poised to reclaim its preeminence in travel. To test that post-pandemic theory, in a purely theoretical way, I requisition a 2020 Aston Martin Vantage for a daytrip from New York to the Catskills. It’s the kind of high-character “import” sports car that once defined the breed, before corporate imperatives watered the character down. AstonÂ’s two-seater is nakedly beautiful, flawed-yet-fabulous, and expensive as hell. But if you drive the Vantage and donÂ’t fall head-over-loafers, IÂ’d accuse you of not caring for sports cars at all. ItÂ’s as alive and engaging as any sports car out there, a 509-horsepower firecracker that rewards skilled drivers – or dings them for mistakes – in defiance of the trend toward all-wheel-drive automatons. As for the Catskills, itÂ’s in the midst of its own explosive comeback. This rough-hewn mountain region, a convenient two hours north of Manhattan, was once the prime vacation destination of the Northeast, so popular in the late 19th century that a 1,200-room luxury hotel was required just to gaze at some waterfalls, with guests including U.S. presidents and Oscar Wilde. Through the 1950s and 60s, it continued to be the pipeline to nature for Jewish families and other northeast tourists. Their summer camps and sprawling “Borscht Belt” resorts and nightclubs mythologized in films like Dirty Dancing and now televisionÂ’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which has fetishized Catskills nostalgia to a truly marvelous degree. Then came airline travel, and affordable tickets to Miami Beach and other exotic warm-weather locales. Like a Palm Springs of the east, the Catskills fell into steep decline. The region became a punch line of corny kitsch. As with Palm Springs, fashion has come full circle: The Catskills and adjacent Hudson Valley are red-hot again, rediscovered by Brooklynites especially as a magical spot for affordable second homes, or permanent moves to open farm-to-table restaurants, curated antique shops and other bastions of rustic hip. The Vantage lures me from coronavirus lockdown like a movie idol waving outside my Brooklyn window, for a cannon-shot recon run to Woodstock.