ASTON MARTINRapide S 2013 - 2018

　　Aston Martin had a long history of 4-doors sports cars, decades before the „4-door coupe” trend was on the market. In 2010, the British brand launched a true 4-door Granturismo vehicle. But it didn't stop there and, in 2013, a new version appeared: the Rapide S.

　　Despite the same displacement and the same bore and stroke, the Rapide S had a different engine than the Rapide. It was just one of the domains where the British car-manufacturer succeeded to change something, but not showing it.

　　On the outside, it takes an expert eye to distinguish a Rapide S from a Rapide. At a glance, those two vehicles were identical twins. On second sight, there are three exterior designs that could tell the difference. While the 2010 Rapide had a grille split in two parts, and one side was included in the bumper, the Rapide S adopted a single, big, aluminum grille. On the side, there were new 20” forged alloy wheels and in the back, on top of the trunk, an extended “duck-tail” was installed. Those were the “major” exterior changes for the Rapide S.

　　Inside, the changes were... non-existent. If the same colors and materials would have been chosen, there would have been no different. But the car-manufacturer decided to not change something that was already appreciated. The Rapide was more like a 4-door supercar than a 4-door coupe.

　　On the technical side, the Rapide S gained some power, some torque, and lost some seconds in the 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) sprint. It also gained better control of the adaptive suspension. On top of that, it showed clearly how a true 4-door Granturismo should be.