Aston Martin’s funkalicious electric DBX concept is the precursor to Aston’s upcoming crossover. But it’s also the precursor to some thing else: Aston’s 1st all-electric model. And after our a single-on-one chat with Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer throughout the New York auto show, we now know 3 things about that electric car: 1) It will be based on the Rapide S, 2) It will arrive in about 2 years, and 3) Aston is considering big when it comes to power. Like, 1000-horsepower huge.
“We green-lighted a technical study for Rapide EV—a pure EV with no range extender,” Palmer stated. Why is Aston going so green, and in such a big way? The short answer to comply with tightening emissions regulations with no, as Palmer told us in Geneva, downsizing engines to the point of ridiculousness. The long answer involves the way that silent thrust can fit into the visceral driving knowledge. Here’s how Palmer sees it, in his own words:
“From the compliance viewpoint, if we as a sports auto business want to continue to make V-12s—I’d hate to be the guy that killed the Aston V-12—then we can make the make the V-12 itself meet the emissions requirement, but you can not anticipate your fleet typical be quite excellent. So if you’re going to make your fleet average genuinely good you have to have a low- or zero-emissions auto.
“Or we stick to the traditional manufacturer’s route, which is that the V-12 becomes a V-8, and the V-8 becomes a V-6, and the V-6 becomes an inline-4, and you just downsize and use turbos . . . which brings me to my subsequent point: Let’s hypothesize that you could make a 1000-hp Rapide.” Yes, let’s! “It fits beautifully with the ethos of the company—power, beauty, soul. The auto is already lovely. And it is enormously strong. And then you get to the soul—one of the points of the soul of an Aston is the sound of a V-12, but we know we need to have some thing that can bring the CAFE typical down. So would you rather listen to the sound of an inline-4, or would you rather listen to silence? My hypothesis is if you can have fabulous acceleration, a visceral encounter, and silence, it’s almost as lovely as the sound of a V-12. I just consider that visceral expertise is considerably greater if it is silent than if it is an I-4.
What about range, overall performance, and charge times? Palmer didn’t get particular, but receiving the V-12 out the engine bay creates possibilities, he said. “We have a series of targets, and obviously they’re greater than technically achievable,” he stated, with a laugh. “And [the functionality] depends significantly on temperature and driving conditions, but we have a minimum parameter that I know that we can meet. We have a weight distribution that in the end gets 51 percent over the rear axle, so the standard package operates. A single of the positive aspects of possessing a V-12 in the nose is that it is bloody heavy so when you take it out, abruptly you have got a lot of space and a lot of weight to play with. And due to the fact the transmission is over the back axle, that becomes packaging space for batteries. So you get the weight pretty even.”
If this is the price of compliance, we’re happy Aston is paying it with this currency. Tesla, you have been warned—a 1000-horse Aston EV could be coming for you.
“Rapide” Indeed: Aston Martin Building Electric Rapide—with 1000 Horsepower?
