Skip advert
Advertisement

Aston Rapide to race at Ring

Aston Martin's Rapide super saloon will compete at the Nurburgring 24 hour race

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin will be battling at the Nurburgring 24 hours once again. It’s the fifth consecutive year the British sports car maker will be tackling the Green Hell’s endurance race, though 2010 sees the debut of a new competitor – Aston’s Rapide saloon. It follows in the footsteps of more typical contenders, the V8 and V12 iterations of the Vantage, yet still looks very much a racer. We think the transformation from Quattroporte-rival to Ring-basher has been a successful one – it’s a cool looking thing. It’s fairly close to production spec, too, with the inevitable loss of interior trim and seats, some toughened suspension and the fitment of slick tyres and necessary safety equipment the only major changes. So why the Rapide? Aston chief Dr Ulrich Bez explains its appearance at the Ring – ‘this race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car – it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny. ‘The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars.’ It will be joined by a V12 Vantage, competing at the Ring once again. The race takes place on May 15 and 16, and once again there’ll be an evo presence – Chris Harris will be competing in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Details here…

Advertisement - Article continues below

Click here to read evo's road test of the Aston Rapide

Read John Barker's Nurburgring 24 story from 2009

Join evo on our Twitter, Facebook and Youtube pages

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Volkswagen Passat 2025 review – a breath of fresh air next to leaden EVs
Volkswagen Passat front
Reviews

Volkswagen Passat 2025 review – a breath of fresh air next to leaden EVs

Being ‘only’ 1500kg has its advantages. The latest Passat in petrol-only form reminds us ‘normal’ cars can and should be above average
16 Apr 2025
Why the Vauxhall Astra should have been given a different name
Vauxhall Astra GSE
Opinion

Why the Vauxhall Astra should have been given a different name

It’s time to reassess a perennially underrated hatchback, says Porter
17 Apr 2025
Best German cars – our high-performance favourites from the Fatherland
Best German cars
Best cars

Best German cars – our high-performance favourites from the Fatherland

If you still think Germans don’t have a sense of humour, you haven’t driven their finest performance cars. You’d be grinning from ear to ear
18 Apr 2025