• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • March New Vehicle Sales to Rise 6.2% Over Last Year
  • Hyundai, Kia Recall Warns Owners of 570K Vehicles to Park Outside
  • Ford Facing $3 Billion in Losses on EV Business for 2023
  • Higher Interest Rates, Bank Failures Pose Challenge to Car Business
  • General Motors to Face Class Action Lawsuit
  • Cruise Applies to Test Robotaxis Statewide in California
  • Chevrolet Pulling Plug on Camaro – But an All-Electric Successor Already in the Works
  • Want to Buy an EV? Welcome to the 34 Percent!
  • The End of an Era for Rolls-Royce
  • South Carolina Provides $1.29 Billion Incentive for new Scout Factory
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo
    • First Drive: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
    • First Drive: 2023 Dodge Hornet GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70
    • First Drive: 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Jeep Compass Limited
    • A Week With: 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series
    • A Week With: 2023 Volvo XC40 AWD Ultimate
    • First Drive: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek
    • First Drive: 2023 Lexus RZ 450e
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Auto Shows > Aston Martin’s Long-Awaited EV, the Rapide E Rolls Into Shanghai

        Aston Martin’s Long-Awaited EV, the Rapide E Rolls Into Shanghai

        Low-volume sport sedan will be followed by two electric crossovers.

        Paul A. Eisenstein
        Paul A. Eisenstein , Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
        April 16, 2019
        Two years late, Aston Martin debuted its battery-electric speedster, the Rapide E, at Auto Shanghai.

        Few countries are plugging into battery-power more rapidly than China, so it would seem appropriate that Aston Martin would bring its first all-electric model, the Rapide E, to Auto Shanghai for its formal debut.

        Originally intended to be developed as part of a joint venture with China’s LeEco, the project is nearly two years behind schedule and, with the Chinese start-up pulling out of the project, Aston now plans to build just 155 of the battery-electric vehicles. But it says it will use what it has learned for future BEVs, including both a plug-based version of its upcoming DBX crossover, as well as the Lagonda crossover due out in 2021.

        Business News!

        Calling the unveiling of the Rapide E “a huge moment for Aston Martin,” CEO Andy Palmer said that it “signals Aston Martin is prepared for the huge challenge of an environmentally responsible and sustainable future. As a car company we cannot afford to passively allow that future to come to us; we have to actively chase it.

        With the pullout of LeEco, which has been struggling to survive, indefinitely delaying its own product programs, Aston turned to Williams Advanced Engineering to complete the development of the Rapide E.

        (Aston Martin AM-RB 003 is a high-tech hypercard. Click Here for the story.)

        Produced at the British marque’s new factory in St. Athan, the Rapide E is powered by an 800-volt, 65 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Twin motors on the rear axle produce 602 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to launch it from 0 to 60 in the “sub-4-second range,” the automaker claimed, with a top speed electronically limited to 155 mph.

        The Rapide E's twin motors on the rear axle produce 602 horsepower and 701 pound-feet of torque.

        The automaker claims the sports car will be able to travel about 200 miles between charges. That’s using the updated European test standard however and would likely be lower if Aston were to bring any of the Rapid E battery-cars to the U.S., something not considered likely given its low volume.

        At first glance, the Rapide E looks much like the standard, gas-powered version of Aston’s four-door model, but for the plug cover that replaces the traditional gas filler door and the lack of the Rapide’s conventional exhaust system.

        The BEV has been outfitted with pretty much all the features one could ask for on a standard-issue Rapide, but it also adds some key features in the passenger compartment that distinguish it as an electric vehicle. The conventional analog gauges, for one thing, have been replaced by a 10-inch digital display that provides necessary details about the battery’s state-of-charge charge and motor power levels.

        The cabin also features what Aston describes as “swaths” of carbon fiber “assisting in delivering the strict weight targets” needed to maximize range. At 4,717 pounds, the Rapide E still weighs about 400 pounds more than the gas version.

        (Click Here to see Aston’s new DBX SUV undergoing testing.) 

        The Rapide name appears to apply to Aston’s approach to recharging the battery-car, the automaker claiming its battery pack can be fully topped off in less than an hour using a Level 3 fast charging system. The built-in Level 2 240-volt charger can also recharge the batteries in as little as three hours.

        The Rapide E has a range of more than 200 miles an hour and a top speed of 155 mph.

        The Rapide E engineering team didn’t have the luxury of developing the battery-electric model from the ground up. As a result, the vehicle doesn’t follow the current state-of-the-art approach of using a skateboard-like platform to house the battery pack below its load floor Instead, the lithium-ion cells are packed pretty much anywhere the development team could find space, starting with the engine compartment and the area where a gas tank would normally be mounted. That approach limited the amount of batteries that could be carried – and thus range – while also impacting vehicle dynamics.

        Going forward, Aston is expected to go with the skateboard design layout when it adds its next electric vehicle. No hard date has been set for the battery-powered DBX, but it will likely follow a year or two after the conventionally powered version due out a year from now.

        As for Lagonda, that new sub-brand will go entirely battery-electric, CEO Palmer has confirmed. Its first model, also a crossover, is due out by the beginning of the coming decade. A show car version, the Lagonda All Terrain Concept, was revealed at the recent Geneva Motor Show.

        (Aston Martin Longonda all-terrain concept hints at future.)

        All future Aston battery-cars will be produced at the St. Athan’s plant which the automaker has dubbed its “home of electrification.”

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        Dealer lot 2021

        March New Vehicle Sales to Rise 6.2% Over Last Year

        Yesterday
        2022 Hyundai SantaFe 7

        Hyundai, Kia Recall Warns Owners of 570K Vehicles to Park Outside

        Yesterday
        Bronco Raptor rock crawling REL

        Ford Facing $3 Billion in Losses on EV Business for 2023

        Yesterday

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: