Aston Martin has finally unveiled that its very first all-electric vehicle, the RapidE, will go in production in 2019. The first concept of this vehicle was unveiled nearly two years ago, and now the company has announced that it will be building them in about two years. However, only 155 models of the RapidE will ever be built.
The Aston Martin RapidE, as you would figure, is based on the Rapide sedan. In fact, it is based on the Rapide AMR concept and is built in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering. The prime difference between the Rapide and the RapidE (with a capital E, for understandable reasons) will obviously be the all-electric powertrain. The configuration of electric motors that will be used in the RapidE has not yet been disclosed, but there is expected to be ample power to replace the 6.0-litre V12 engine that produces 552 brake horsepower on the Rapide S. Official specifications are awaited in the coming months on this rather limited edition all-electric premium sedan, and Aston Martin will only be making 155 units of it.
All-electric premium cars are expected to pick up pace in the coming days, with the likes of Porsche Panamera 4 e-hybrid (which isn't only electric) already on the road, and Mercedes having the EQ Power lineup planned for the future. While petrolheads would swear by the roar of these monstrous engines, I personally liked how seamless the Panamera 4 feels on track. Power inflow still remains adequate, with adaptive technology accounting for denser batteries, more powerful electric motors and intelligent elements like adaptive dampers and dynamic chassis. With the RapidE, Aston Martin too will aim to hit the same notes.