Aston Martin Wrestles Gasoline From the Grasp of World's Sexiest Sedan

We’re all used to driving curvaceous V12 sedans, right? Now, how would you react to news that your luxury automaker of choice planned to strip all fossil fuel-related hardware from it just to satisfy some squares with exceptionally strong regulatory powers?

That’s the situation for fans of the Rapide S, which Aston Martin claims is — in AMR guise — the world’s fastest four-door vehicle. Aston claims it just can’t keep building all of these 12-cylinder beauties in Europe’s regulatory environment. For some vehicles, gas has to go. And guess which model takes the first hit?

Speaking to Australia’s Motoring, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer said the Rapide S has no future beyond this decade. It seems that looming emissions requirements will put the kibosh on the model’s 6.0-liter V12. However, the Rapide name isn’t disappearing entirely.

The quintessentially British automaker expects an electric version of the Rapide in short order, possibly named the RapidE. Get it?

“So obviously there’s a platform for the electric Rapide, so it has life in front of it, but the Rapide as you see it today is also going to be replaced by the DBX on one hand and the Lagonda on the other,” Palmer said.

The limited-production, uber-luxurious Lagonda is apparently all the gas-powered four-door Aston needs. It should appear by 2020. Meanwhile, the RapidE, or whatever name the automaker gives it, is expected to be a muscular green performer. Official power output isn’t known, but it could be in the order of 800 horsepower.

“It’s coming 2018. It’s around the corner,” said Palmer of the coming EV.

In a bid to cut down on air pollution, many European cities are considering laws mandating gas-free motoring on certain days of the week, or in certain downtown locales. No one with money to burn wants to drive their vehicle to the suburbs, only to hop on a train. The all-electric model could also prove appealing to well-heeled Chinese customers.

[Image: Aston Martin]