On June 25th, Aston Martin Rapide will simultaneously race at the Nurburgring 24 hours and Spring Mountain 24 hours.
The team the will race with the Rapide at Spring Mountain Motor Sports Ranch, Nevada, includes drivers from Aston Martin drivers Road&Track magazine. Aston says it will show the durability of Aston Martin’s four door sports coupe, while they also make some money for charity. The racing Rapide on both events is pretty much standard, apart form some mandatory safety equipments.
The car’s presence at Nurburgring however, is kinda overshadowed by the Aston Martin Zagato V12 racer.
The Rapide might be suffering from slow sales, but this magnificent car with its hand-built 6.0 litre V12 engine giving a power output of 470bhp and the standard feature Touchtronic automatic gearbox allows the driver to shift gear automatically or manually, is one of the finest luxury saloons in the world, and indeed the prettiest.
Julian Jenkins, Aston Martin the Americas, said: “Since its launch, the Rapide has been popular with customers looking for an exclusive sports car with a combination of exhilarating performance, handcrafted style, and added four-door practicality. As well as raising money for Heart for Japan, this 24-hour initiative will give us an opportunity to showcase the endurance capabilities of the Rapide which in turn demonstrates its everyday usability and durability.”
Matt Delorenzo, editor-in-chief of Road & Track magazine, added “We’re truly excited to participate in this challenge. Since the Rapide made its racing debut at last year’s 24-hour race at the Nurburgring, we wondered how a street version would compare if driven continuously for a day over a closed circuit. Seeing how close we can get to the race distance covered last year will be an excellent measure of the car’s real-world performance.”