NCE Decapitates Acura TL Sedan, Proposes to do the Same to AM Rapide and Hyundai Equus

To be frank, I never understood the allure or the reasoning, for that matter, behind the aftermarket conversion of four-door sedans to convertibles, but I guess each to his own taste.

While we're on the subject of taste (or the lack thereof…), the drop-top specialists over at Newport Convertible Engineering (NEC) from Placentia, California, have sharpened their scalpels on the roof of an Acura TL sedan turning it into a four-door cabriolet with a center roll-bar to keep things in place. The gold stripes running down the middle are the cherry icing to this strangely flavored cake.

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Autocar Gets the Keys to Bertone's Aston Martin Jet 2+2 Shooting Brake

Two of the current coolest fast-estates are solely one-offs, with neither getting the official confirmation for production, despite looking very promising. I am talking about the Aston Martin Jet 2+2 shooting brake and Porsche's Panamera Sports Turismo concept. Read more »

Aston Martin Sends Hydrogen-Burning Rapide S to Racing!

Aston Martin and Alset Global, a technology and engineering company founded in 2005, have announced that they will be entering an Aston Martin Rapide S into the Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race, which takes place May 19-20.

The car they will be using is a prototype, and it features a twin-turbo system, in addition to the fact that it can also burn both hydrogen and gasoline (in tandem or separately). The company whose name is "Tesla" spelt backwards says it plans to complete the first ever zero-emissions hydrogen-powered lap of the 'Ring, and "make history."

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Aston Martin Explains the Rapide S in Five Minute-Long Video

The Aston Martin Rapide S is one of the nicest looking four-door sedans in the world, but many will dismiss it as being a simple facelift of the previous model. Here to correct you is the firm's Director of Product Development, Ian Minards, who breaks the S apart in front of your eyes and puts all the changes they've made into perspective. Read more »

Bertone Brings Two Unique Aston Martin Jet Models to Geneva

The Vanquish Centenary isn't the only car created by/for Aston Martin for the celebration of their 100th birthday. Aside from the limited-run production model, Bertone also presented two one-off specials at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show. Read more »

New Rapide S Takes Center Stage at Aston Martin's Geneva Motor Show Stand

Don’t let the “S” designation fool you: the Rapide S, which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, is not a sportier version of Aston Martin’s sole four-door model but its revamped replacement.

The jury is still out on that pedestrian-friendly, huge one-piece grille (the rest of the bodywork is mostly the same) but under the skin Aston’s engineers have done a lot of work.

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Bertone Makes a One-Off Shooting Brake Model Out of the Aston Martin Rapide

One very lucky (and wealthy…) Aston Martin collector from Britain will soon get his hands on a one-off, shooting brake version of the Rapide sports sedan named the Jet 2+2, which was made by Bertone, but not before the Italian coachbuilder reveals the car to the public at next week's 83rd Geneva International Auto Show. Read more »

New Aston Martin Rapide S gets 550HP and a Huge Grille [w/Video]

If there are one or two things the Rapide wasn't short of, it sure wasn’t looks or power. On the other hand, the upper echelons of the luxury four-door sedan segment are becoming more crowded by the day and Aston Martin’s offering, which is already three years old, isn’t getting any younger.

Thus, the Gaydon-based manufacturer developed the Rapide S, a more powerful (by a significant 17 percent), redesigned and re-engineered version of its sports sedan.

Instantly recognizable by its single-, instead of two-piece, front-grille, the sportiest four-door ever built by Aston Martin keeps the Rapide’s delicious looks and adds more of everything.

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EVO Reviews the Aston Martin Rapide, Compares it to the Maserati Gran Turismo

If Aston Martin’s Rapide strikes you as an elongated DB9 with two extra doors and seats, that is because, well, it is.

Designed as a more practical alternative to the British luxury automaker’s line-up, which otherwise consists only of two-door models, the truth is that the Rapide may be the one of the sexiest four-door models on sale, but it hasn’t managed to achieve the kind of sales Aston was hoping for.

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Aston Martin Celebrates Centenary with Special Edition Models

On January 15, Aston Martin became 100 years old and to celebrate its birthday, it announced the launch of 100 examples of each of its model lines, including the V8 Vantage, DB9, Rapide and Vanquish – but not the Cygnet (we wonder why…), which are offered for sale worldwide now. Read more »

So, Does the New Ford Fusion / Mondeo's Snout Resemble that of the Aston Martin Rapide?

A lot has been said about the styling similarities between Ford's new corporate nose and in particular, the trapezoidal grille, and the one used by the Blue Oval's former premium brand, Aston Martin, on models like the Rapide luxury sports saloon.

Naturally, when the opportunity arose, Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire didn't miss out on the chance to park his black 2013 Ford Fusion (to be sold as the new Ford Mondeo in Europe and other regions) next to an Aston Martin Rapide in the same color and shoot a few pictures for us to compare.

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Scoop: Aston Martin Rapide Sports Saloon Goes Under the Knife

Aston Martin seems to be following Porsche's evolutionary example not only in terms of design, but also in other areas by constantly tweaking, upgrading and adding new editions to its existing range of models.

After the recent presentations of the new Vanquish coupe and the refined 2013MY DB9 series, the British automaker has turned its attention to the Rapide sedan that was captured by our scoop photographers with barely any camouflage.

We previously reported that Aston Martin was readying a peppier "S" version of its luxury sports saloon, which we believe still holds true, but we now know that the regular Rapide will also benefit from a light makeover.

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Kahn Suits Up Aston Martin Rapide Saloon with Some Discreet Upgrades

More often than not, when it comes to sports cars of the likes of the Aston Martin Rapide it’s better/wiser to keep the aftermarket upgrades as limited and as discreet as possible, which is the path followed by British customizer Afzal Kahn. Read more »

Spy Shots: Is Aston Martin Preparing a More Powerful Rapide S Model?

Understandably, with only two years under its belt, it's too early for Aston Martin to be working on a mid-life facelift for its Rapide sports saloon. So, what is the British brand doing with this partially camouflaged prototype of the Rapide?

Our spies believe that the car you see in these photos is a more powerful and sportier version of luxury sedan named the Rapide S.

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Video of Million-Dollar Fender Bender Caused by a Blonde Woman in a Bentley Hits the Web

A video that captured one of the more highly publicized car accidents of recent years, which incidentally (or not…) involved a young blonde woman driving a Bentley Azure convertible into four other luxurious cars in Monaco, has surfaced on the internet almost a year after the crash happened. Read more »