Aston Martin’s racing division, AMR, has been giving its road cars a bit of oomph every now and then. The latest one was the DB11 AMR that came out a few weeks back. But if that wasn’t enough, AMR now gives one of Aston’s offerings the special touch—this time on an unlikely model.
The Rapide AMR is the newest member of the racing family. It’s a four-door meant for both the road and the racetrack. This is immediately seen in the various details on the exterior, such as the carbon fiber splitter, diffuser, side sills, and large air vents on the hood and other parts of the car. The quad exhaust tips are another dead giveaway, promising a raucous soundtrack. And the forged 21-inch alloys finish things off nicely.
Inside, the Alcantara-covered racing seats come with either AMR Lime or Galeria Silver accents. While it’s quite racy in there, Aston Martin assures that this one is still a comfortable cruiser—even if you’re running at a rapid 330kph.
And this is where the Rapide really lives up to its name. While the Rapide S was already uber powerful at 550hp, the folks from AMR tuned the naturally-aspirated V12 to belt out 580 horses. Torque is at 630Nm and pushes the car from rest to 100kph in 4.2 seconds. Moreover, three-mode adaptive dampers and a 100mm lower ride height ensure dynamic handling in the corners.
Want one? You better hurry as Aston Martin is limiting the number of Rapide AMR examples to 210 units. Deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2018.
