The AMR sub-brand of Aston Martin has taken the company's four-door GT model for a thorough redo and dialed its heat up to eleven. The Rapide AMR packs more power, goes faster, and will be made in fewer numbers.
An Aston Martin Rapide test mule was spotted doing the rounds of Nurburgring early this month. The car had yellow detailing on its rear diffuser and exhausts pointing to the fact that it was an AMR test car. And boy oh boy, would you listen to that glorious exhaust note the car is capable of producing. Sounds ferocious, to say the least.
Aston Martin's motorsports division regularly picks out cars from the Lagonda-based manufacturer's lineup and churns out sharper, gnarlier derivatives. AMR's latest project includes the four-door sports GT model, Rapide, that is powered by the company's range-topping 5.9-liter naturally aspirated V12 petrol engine. The motor's been retuned to deliver a maximum of 595 hp to the rear wheels. That's a straight-up 50 hp increase over what the stock engine makes. The V12 is more or less the same one that was plonked under the hood of the previous-generation Vantage GT12.
Aston Martin claims the Rapide AMR will be a sharper handler than its bog-standard sibling, and tells us to expect a 0-100 kph time of just under four seconds. There will be just 210 units of the Rapide AMR built, alluding to the car's 210 mph (338 kph) top speed.
The announcement of the Rapide AMR is a case of mixed tidings. While the car itself looks elegant and has the go to match the show, speculation is rife that the glorious 5.9-liter V12 is on its way out, with a twin-turbocharged 5.2liter V12 rumored to replace it. The rumors are not unfounded, as the same engine has already debuted under the hood of the DB11. Downsizing is a sad but necessary trend that has been on a killing spree of some of the finest powertrains of the automotive industry, and the eargasmic V12 of the Rapide AMR is sort of a last hurrah to the big and loud engines that will soon be part of history.
Take a look at the Rapide AMR being put through its paces on 'Ring, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNyQudsZCAs
Source: Car Throttle
