Aston Martin
Aston Martin’s first all-electric production car – the Rapide E – will be a limited run of 155 units. And based on how quickly supercars are being snapped up these days, it will probably be sold out before the first one rolls off the production line.
The Rapide E will be powered by an 800-volt battery with 65 kWh installed capacity using over 5,600 lithium ion cylindrical cells. These will be mounted in a bespoke battery pack where the original 6.0-liter V12, its gearbox and fuel tank were located in the Rapide S. This battery system powers two rear-mounted electric motors producing a combined target output of just over 600 hp and more than 700 lb-ft of torque.
Rapide E’s range target is over 200 miles. Projected top speed for the Rapide E is 15 5mph, with a sub-4 second 0 to 60mph time and a 50 to 70 mph time of just 1.5 seconds.
Those figures are not restricted to a narrow window of only when the batteries are fully-charged either. Instead the target is for maximum performance on-demand throughout majority of the battery state of charge window, as would be expected from a conventional internal combustion-engined car.
Working closely with Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) as its development partner, Aston Martin has utilised the hugely successful leader in Electric Vehicle (EV) technology to kickstart a new era for Aston Martin’s powertrain technology and overcome the technical challenges associated with packaging the battery system and motors within the space available.
Throughout the development process, the engineering team have focused on achieving effective cooling of the batteries and motor to ensure consistent performance, while strict weight targets have been stringently observed using lightweight alloys and carbon composite materials.
“I take particular satisfaction working with Williams Advanced Engineering and our other associated technology partners to bring Rapide E to reality,” said Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. “As our first all-electric production model, Rapide E will fast-track our knowledge and help us ensure the character and high-performance capabilities of our future EV models and enhance the unique qualities found in all Aston Martins as we know them today. Rapide E will also serve as a critical step on our path to re-launching Lagonda as the world’s first zero-emission luxury marque.”
Plus… it looks pretty dope.
Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin