INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Aston Martin is finally sharing some specs and a couple of teaser photos of the upcoming Rapide E, the British automaker first all-electric
The upshot: It&ll be fast and rare.
The company will only make 155 of the Rapide E,which will be powered by an 800-volt battery system with
65 kilowatt-hour capacity.(Pretty sure that makes Aston Martin the first luxury car company to launch an 800-volt system.)
The battery,
which will use more than 5,600 lithium-ion 18650 format cylindrical cells, is expected to have a range of more than 200 miles
The battery system will have a charging rate ofa 185 miles per hour using a 400V outlet with 50kW charger
The car battery system does enable faster charging of 310 miles of range per hour for those using a 800V outlet delivering 100kW
CEO Andy Palmer told TechCrunch recently that translates to about 15 minutes to charge the battery 80 percent.
The big objective of this
project — one that has been years in the making — is to build an electric vehicle that can deliver those V12-engined Rapide S feels
The company said engineers paid particular attention to the development and tuning of the electric powertrain, which Williams Advanced
Engineering worked on, the chassis and software integration.
Aston Martin Rapide E.
The Rapide E is expected to have a top speed of 155
miles per hour and be able to travel from 0 to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds, and from 50 to 70 mph in 1.5 seconds.The battery system powers
two rear-mounted electric motors that produce a combined target output of just over 600 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque.
Aston
Martin emphasized that drivers will be able to hit these performance targets regardless of how full the battery is
The aim, the company said, is for the Rapide E to drive a full lap of the famousNürburgring &with absolutely no derating of the battery and
the ability to cope with the daily demands of repeated hard acceleration and braking.
Customer deliveries are set for the fourth quarter of
2019.
The Rapide E is a bridge of sorts to Aston Martin electric future
The Rapide E and the resurrected Lagonda brand will be built in the upcomingSt
Athan production facility in the U.K
Lagonda will be Aston Martin electric brand, with production beginning in 2021.
The Rapide E will help us understand the technology and the
customer,& Palmer told TechCrunch during Monterey Car Week in August
Customers have agreed to work with the company to provide data and their experience of driving and owning an electric vehicle, Palmer said,
adding that information will impact the upcoming Lagonda brand.
Aston Martin doesn''t advertise the price of the Rapide E, saying pricing is
available once customers have applied
The company previously said it would be priced around $255,000.
