Kroymans is one of the 2 Dutch Aston Martin dealerships. In fact, it is a combined dealership for Aston Martin, Jaguar and Ferrari. Last Friday, Kroymans organized an “Arrive & Drive” event, inviting a small group of customers to come and try the newest models of all 3 car brands, on both public roads and on the track.
Yep, two car shows in one week! Saturday’s Interclassics event was all about classic Astons, but yesterday it was time to spot some new models at the AutoSalon in Brussels. I spent most of my time in Hall 12, the super car hall, where Aston Martin had a stand showing a Rapide S, a Vanquish and a V12 Vantage S. But two other Astons could be found in other halls, a V12 Vantage GT3 hidden away in the bike halls and a classic DB6 Vantage at the Vredestein stand.
This weekend I visited the 2014 edition of the yearly Interclassics & Topmobiel fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands. Last year’s edition was the best year for Aston Martin fans, because it celebrated AM’s 100 year anniversary. But still, lots of Aston Martin’s to find this year. Here’s some photos I took during the event. A couple of Lagonda’s from the pre-Aston Martin days, several beautiful classic Aston and two modern ones.
So what happened here? A Rapide S, stationary in a pool of water, with the windows open and the fuel cap open?
This weekend, the Power Beauty Soulmates (a dutch Aston Martin club) visited Zwolle, to have dinner at the famous 3-star restaurant De Librije. Because of the nice weather, the amount of members that actually arrived in their Astons in this time of the year was surprisingly high. Here’s some quick photos I took of the Astons present:
Aston Martin has chosen the Geneva Motorshow to show their new Rapide S for the first time, bringing two beautiful examples, one in Selene Bronze and one in Volcano Red. A quick recap on the Rapide S: It is Aston’s new version of the Rapide, which will replace the current Rapide (contrary to what they did with the Vantage and Vantage S).
I am going to the Geneva Motor Show next week! My dealer has arranged a press-ticket for me, so I’ll be visiting the show on Tuesday, during the press-days. Looking forward to see these two Rapide versions in real live: Aston Martin’s own Rapide S and Bertone’s Jet 2+2. (and of course the Ferrari F150, McLaren P1, the Porsche 911 GT3, the Rolls-Royce Wraith, the Alfa Romeo 4C, etc…)
The internet is a scary place and sometimes you accidentally come across pictures that you wish you had never seen. This is one of those occasions… Some guy who’s calling himself “Automotive Manipulator”, photoshopped this monstrosity: A Shooting Brake version of the new Aston Martin Rapide S.
We’ve already seen spy shots of the new Rapide a couple of times, but now it’s official: the new Aston Martin Rapide S. And what a brutal beauty it is: Up until day, the big question was: would the new Rapide be a sportier “Rapide S” to be placed next to the regular Rapide, or would it just be a new “Rapide”, replacing the existing Rapide. Well, it turns out it is a bit of both. It is called the “Rapide S” and it will replace the old Rapide. I did not expect they would go this route, as it is not consistent with the naming of the Vantage and Vantage S models. Or… could this be sign that the regular Vantage (without the “S”) will soon be dropped, keeping just the Vantage S in the product line up. (Personally, I think this would be a good idea. IMO the regular Vantage has become quite obsolete with the arrival of the Vantage S, especially now they’re becoming more and more similar in both looks and performance.) Anyway, I digress… back to the Rapide S! What’s new in this Rapide v2.0?
The new Rapide was spied again, without any camouflage. Is it the replacement of the current Rapide or is it a new Rapide S model, to be introduced next to the existing Rapide? Time will tell, but my guess still is that this will be a replacement.