Aston Martin’s 1000-horsepower RapidE electric sedan is go

With every carmaker worth its salt making a foray into hybrids and other alternative energy, can Aston Martin be far behind? The British luxury marquee took the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping as an opportunity to pull the wraps off its fully electric version of the Rapide four-door sedan, now spelled with a capital ‘E’ at the end, denoting, well, its electric underpinnings. 

Aston Martin was understandably cagey about specifics on the RapidE’s October 21 unveil, but earlier this year, CEO Andy Palmer floated the idea of a 1000-PS, fully electric version of the Rapide, with four-wheel drive, and this looks to be it. That is quite a lot more than what Tesla Motors’ most powerful model, the Model S, makes at 765 PS. The engine has been built in collaboration with Formula One specialists Williams Advanced Engineering, and is proceeding in conjunction with a Chinese investment group, ChinaEquity, with the goal of producing a series production version of this very car in about two years. It went on display in support of a creative summit organised by the British government’s successful GREAT campaign to showcase the best of what the UK has to offer and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in this country.

Speaking at the RapidE’s unveiling, Andy Palmer said: “We see luxury electric vehicles as an intrinsic part of our future product portfolio and welcome ChinaEquity into the next phase of study for the project development. 

“The exciting RapidE concept tangibly demonstrates the capability and ambition of Aston Martin towards developing low- and zero-emission sports cars.” 

During the Lancaster House event, Aston Martin and Chinese investment group, ChinaEquity, announced an agreement to explore the development of a production version of the RapidE concept. If successful, the new luxury sports car would be constructed at Aston Martin’s global HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and could be brought to market in around two years. 

On the signing of this agreement, Chairman Chaoyong Wang of ChinaEquity said, "We are delighted that Aston Martin not only provides a high performance driving experience to customers, but also show’s their social responsibility by showcasing a new generation of electric car with zero emissions. We are excited to participate in the development of the RapidE and to make a contribution to Sino-British clean energy and green environmental strategy. We feel confident that there are significant opportunities for electric cars in China and the world."