Aston Martin Rapide Bertone (2013) first pictures

Published: 25 February 2013 Updated: 26 January 2015

Bertone is celebrating 60 years of collaboration with Aston Martin with this one-off Rapide shooting brake. The Rapide Bertone keeps the regular Rapide’s 2+2 seating configuration, but offers rear passengers more headroom and a taller boot. It’s been comissioned by a wealthy Aston Martin collector, who helped design the final look of the car as well as the choice of paint and upholstery colours.

What’s under the bonnet of the Aston Martin Rapide Bertone?

Although the Rapide Bertone gets the same wide-mouth front grille as the new Rapide S, the one-off doesn’t share the uprated 550bhp V12 engine of the Rapide S too. Instead, power comes from the outgoing Rapide’s 470bhp 6.0-litre V12, driving the rear wheels via a six-speed paddleshift gearbox.

Any other Bertone Rapide details?

The rear lights are borrowed from the £190,000 Vanquish super-GT, themselves inspired by the limited edition One-77 flagship. Inside, the two rear seats fold flat – handy for trips to the tip in your bespoke Aston.

The Bertone Rapide project is a successor to the 2004 Vanquish ‘Jet 2’ concept, which saw Vanqish mechanicals twinned with a true shooting brake two-door bodystyle.

>> Check out CAR’s video review of the 565bhp Aston Martin Vanquish below 

By Ollie Kew

Former road tester and staff writer of this parish

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