ASTON MARTIN
TURNS HEADS WITH
ITS FIRST ELECTRIC CAR
ston Martin Lagonda has revealed the final production-ready iteration of its first all-electric
production car, with the spectacular Rapide E. What could have been better than this as part of its agenda!
Therefore, it was quick to make its world debut at China’s Auto Shanghai motor show. Unveiled by
Aston Martin Executive Vice President & Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, Rapide E is considered a
pivotal model for the luxury marquee in all its shine. Following the success of previous special-edition
models, including Aston Martin Vulcan, the Vanquish Zagato family and DB4 GT Continuation,
Rapide E aims to continue to deliver a superior level of performance, craftsmanship and exclusivity,
while also propelling Aston Martin
into the all-electric realm.
The first car to be built at Aston Martin’s state-of-
the-art St Athan production facility – the brand’s
Home of Electrification – Rapide E has been build to
represent a pioneering first step towards achieving
the company’s wider electrification strategy and
the successful fruition of Lagonda – the world’s first
zero-emission luxury brand. A special edition with
a production run strictly limited to 155 units, Rapide
E has been developed in collaboration with Williams
Advanced Engineering (WAE).
Aston Martin’s design and engineering teams
have worked in partnership to extract the optimal
aerodynamic performance available from the Rapide’s
elegant form. Traditional metal vanes give way to a
striking honeycomb front grille. With lower cooling
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these changes gives Rapide E’s aerodynamic package
an 8% improvement over the previous internal
combustion model.
Inside and out, Rapide E is equipped with the materials
and technology befitting of the marque’s first EV
model. Gone are the analogue displays of the past. A
10” digital display now sits in their place, delivering
all key information to the driver while on the move,
including the battery’s state of charge, current motor
power levels, regenerative performance and a real-
time energy consumption meter. Swathes of carbon
fibre have been deployed throughout; assisting in
delivering the strict weight targets set by Aston
Martin’s engineering team from the outset.
Extending the experience beyond the car, a
dedicated app allows key information from the car
to be remotely monitored. This powerful dashboard
displays remaining range, battery status, and time to
charge, as well as allowing navigation destinations
to be sent from the app to the car for easy route
planning. The car’s parking spot can also be seen
via the app, with walking directions provided to help
re-locate it in busy locations. Finally, the health and
status of Rapide E can also be tracked from the app,
providing reminders such as when a key service is due.
Throughout the development process, the combined
AML/WAE engineering team first focused their efforts
on finding packaging solutions for the battery system
and motors within the Rapide’s architecture before
working to achieve effective cooling of the batteries
and motors.
Rapide E is powered by an 800V electrical
architecture battery – encased in carbon fibre and
Kevlar casing – with a 65kWh installed capacity using
over 5600 lithium-ion 18650 format cylindrical cells.
This bespoke battery pack lies where the original
6.0-litre V12, gearbox and fuel tank were located, with
the 800V system allowing for more efficient charging
and greatly improved thermal characteristics over
existing electrical architectures. This battery system
powers two rear mounted electric motors producing
a combined target output of just over 610PS and a
colossal 950Nm of torque.
Rapide E’s range is over 200 miles under the
requirements demanded of the EV powertrain, Aston
Martin’s aerodynamic engineers have been given the
freedom to optimize the aperture of the frontal area,
minimizing airflow through the car’s body, improving
the car’s aerodynamic efficiency and increasing
range as a result.
A re-designed underfloor streamlines airflow from
the front splitter right the way through to Rapide E’s
new larger rear diffuser – a feature that is now wholly
dedicated to aero efficiency due to the removal of the
exhaust system required before. The model’s forged
aluminium aerodynamic wheels – shod with bespoke
low rolling-resistance Pirelli P-Zero tyres – have also
been re-designed to give greater efficiency, without
compromising brake cooling capability. The sum of
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