The current head of the noted luxury auto manufacturer Aston Martin — well known for the role that its vehicles have played in James Bond films — recently revealed that the company is aiming to develop an electric version of its Rapide model, a four-door coupe.
This marks one of the first times that I’ve heard the words ‘electric car’ and ‘Aston Martin’ in the same sentence. The company has actually already revealed an electric concept, though — the electric crossover DBX, revealed at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show — but the creation of an electric Rapide would mark a much stronger step in that direction.
As mentioned in the title of the article, the current plan is, according to current company head and former Nissan executive vice president Andy Palmer, for the electric Rapide model to be developed in 2–3 years.
The company head also recently revealed that an electric car research project had already been launched and that the company was already in talks with potential partners/suppliers.
Palmer apparently also noted that the company is currently looking into “some pretty cool technologies coming from Silicon Valley” — these apparently have nothing to do with Tesla Motors, it bears noting.
A bit of background on the conventional Rapide — it’s a 4-door model based on the two-door DB9 that makes use of that model’s streamlined styling. It’s typically offered with a 6.0-liter V-12 — providing just 17 mpg combined (14 mpg city/22 mpg highway), as per EPA fuel-economy testing results.
The move is an interesting one, even if, presumably, it’s simply a hedged bet — and/or partly a response to improving emissions standards and fuel economy requirements in many wealthy countries.
I’m genuinely curious to see how this one turns out. Maybe they can use an electric Aston Martin in the next James Bond movie?
Image Credit: Aston Martin
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