James Bond stand by – Luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda has debuted its all-electric Rapide E at the Shanghai Motor Show this week, revealing that it is now ready for production.
The unveil has elicited a favourable response from the media and pundits alike – but with a limited production run of only 155 cars and an expected price tag of over $A450,000, it will be only a few who actually have a chance to ride and own.
Some specs were already released by the sports carmaker last month: kitted with twin rear-mounted motors, the high performance Rapide E will deliver 950Nm of torque and and maximum power of 450kW.
Sporting a 65kWh battery, which is located in the space where the original Aston Martin Rapide 6 litre V12 engine used to live, we now also know that the Rapide E is only rated with around 320km (WLTP) of driving range – but this will be more than made up for the rapid charging time.
An 800V electrical architecture allows for ultra-fast charging – up to 500km extra driving range per hour of charging, says Aston Martin, on a 100kW rapid-charger.
Even on a standard 400V 50kW fast-charger, the Rapide E will be able to charge at a rate of almost 300km/hr.
As for top speed, the Rapide E is limited to a maximum of 250km/hr, and can accelerate from 0-100km/hr within 4.2 seconds.
Ahead of the Shanghai reveal, group CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda said in a statement that, “Unveiling the Rapide E will be a huge moment for Aston Martin.
“As our first all-electric production car, it is a truly historic step. One that 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.
“Only by doing this can we learn and prepare, but also preserve those things we love as drivers and car enthusiasts.
“That’s why it was so important to me that in embracing EV technology we should not let go of those unique qualities that define an Aston Martin. I believe Rapide E embodies that desire and paves the way for a hugely exciting future.”
The Rapide E is slated to appear in the next James Bond movie, to be driven by Daniel Craig as he appears again as the iconic British spy character.
Under the working title “Shatterhand”, the 25th movie in the spy series will feature Daniel Craig’s fifth appearance as James Bond, and is expected to be released in April 2020.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.