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Aston Martin Rapide E opens four doors to the company's electric future

At last, the production Aston Martin Rapide E is ready to dance. Developed in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering, the carmaker and the Formula One engineering firm did their best to make the most of an aged platform that was last combined with a 595-horsepower V12. In place of the 6.0-liter 12-cylinder, gearbox, and gas tank in the Rapide AMR, there now sits a 65-kWh battery sheathed in a carbon fiber and kevlar case. It powers two electric motors on the rear axle, the power figures a combined 604 hp and 700 pound-feet of torque. The juice powers the 4,387-pound fastback to a 4.2-second dash to 62 miles per hour. Range is said to be 200 miles on the WLTP cycle, which could mean anywhere from 140 to 180 miles in our numbers. The 800-volt electrical architecture permits charging rates of 300 range-miles per hour when hooked up to the proper outlet delivering 100 kW or more. On top of that, since Aston Martin only plans to build 155 examples of the Rapide E at the carmaker's new St. Athans, Wales, facility, the cries about range anxiety should be muted. The aluminum and carbon fiber bodywork has been submitted to a regime of aero efficiency and shedding superfluous ICE bits. Honeycomb fills the grille aperture and housings formerly used for fog lights, while less air is allowed to flow through the bodywork. A new underfloor hooks up to a larger rear carbon fiber diffuser. The 21-inch forged aero wheels wear low-rolling resistance Pirelli P Zeros. Three driving modes work with an adaptive suspension and limited-slip differential, in an attempt to keep the powertrain swap from eliminating the brand's trademark thrills. Inside, a 10-inch digital display supplants the horologically jeweled dash cluster Aston Martins are known for. A companion app conveys typical EV information remotely, and can also tell owners where the car is parked and provide walking directions to the spot. The Rapide E order book is open now, the price only disclosed "on application." Aston Martin's electric future begins now, and James Bond will be the first person to make the trip there.

Fisker sues Aston Martin for $100M over The Force 1

We were expecting Henrik Fisker to bring The Force 1, his next vehicle design, to next week's Detroit Auto Show, but that might not happen. In December an attorney for Aston Martin sent Fisker a letter asking the Danish designer to either not show his car in Detroit or to change the design. Fisker responded to that letter by filing $100-million civil extortion lawsuit against Aston Martin in a California Federal court, naming company CEO Andy Palmer, chief spokesman Simon Sproule, and chief creative officer Marek Reichman as defendants. Based on the overhead-view sketch, the English carmaker believes that The Force 1 is "strikingly similar to several of Aston Martin's cars, including the DB10" from the movie Spectre. At the same time the carmaker's letter to Fisker admitted that it doesn't know what the final design will look like, but it appears that the carmaker's intent to "protect its valuable rights if necessary" could not make way for patience. Or perhaps Aston Martin is trying to prevent another Thunderbolt episode before it starts. That incident last year involved the carmaker suing Fisker over his reimagined Vanquish, with the two settling the matter out of court. Fisker says The Force 1 has isn't based on an Aston Martin, and as part of the lawsuit submitted a design breakdown of both the DB10 and The Force 1. Fisker's latest is apparently in partnership with VL Automotive, the company that's been threatening to release a V8-powered Karma sedan for years now, and the Detroit show organizers say they've been working with VL, not Fisker. The lawsuit seeks the $100 million for punitive and compensatory damages and court costs, alleging that Aston Martin's actions "would subject [Fisker] to public humiliation, embarrassment in the industry, and significant financial losses." The public allegations go even further, Fisker's lawyer Jonathan Michaels saying that the English brand, "In an effort to protect itself from further market erosion... conspired and devised a scheme to stomp out Henrik Fisker's competitive presence in the luxury sports car industry." News Source: Wall Street Journal Design/Style Government/Legal Detroit Auto Show Aston Martin Fisker Coupe Luxury Performance lawsuit Henrik Fisker spectre aston martin db10

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible fetches record $2 million in Paris

Aston Martin and Ferrari may occupy similar territory in the current market for new cars, or at least overlap, but when it comes to their respective classics, they're in different leagues. While some classic Ferraris can sell at auction for eight figures, the highest prices ever paid for classic Astons work out to seven. That makes this latest result something of a world record. At its recent auction, held at the Grand Palais in Paris during the Retromobile classic car show this past weekend, venerated auction house Bonhams sold a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible (one of just 35 left-hand-drive models made) for the equivalent of $2.14 million. That makes it the highest price ever paid for a production DB5 - coupe or convertible - in the history of automobile auctions, driving the most successful automobile auction Bonhams has ever held in Europe. It was not, strictly speaking, the most ever paid for any Aston, however. That honor, according to Sports Car Market, goes to the 1955 DB3S racer that Gooding & Co. sold for $5.5 million at Pebble Beach last year. Nor was it the most expensive DB5 (modified or otherwise), after the highly modified one from the James Bond movies Goldfinger and Thunderball sold for $4.6 million back in 2010. This latest record easily eclipsed other production DB5s, though: The most we'd ever seen a standard model sell for was $1.65M at RM's auction in Monterey last year. Other high-priced Aston auctions include a Zagato-bodied 1960 DB4 GT "Jet" ($5M, Bonhams 2013), another DB3S ($3.7M, RM 2012), a '57 DBR2 ($3.4M, Christie's 1985), a Ghia-bodied '56 DB2/4 ($2.3M, RM 2013) and a series of DB4 GTs that have gone for between $2.2 and $2.7 million.