Aston Martin revealed the new 2014 Rapide S, and changes are more substantial than we expected. The luxury GT gets a proper facelift with a large front grille, optimized aerodynamics, and a lot more power than before.

So Aston hasn’t been lazy and put some real effort into making something new out of the Rapide S. That’s good, even if the new looks don’t appeal to everyone. Aston has also been fiddling with the aerodynamics. A highlight of the exterior is the availability of a new Carbon Exterior Pack, including front splitter, rear diffuser, mirror caps and rear lamp infill.

The cabin is upgraded too. Besides the new handcrafted pure glass transmission selector and duotone perforated red and black leather, it also has improved NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) characteristics. It is still a bit cramped in the back, though, for a large saloon that it is.

The most important changes with the Rapide S have happened under the bonnet. It still has the old 6.0 liter V12 engine, but it’s tuned to make 558 PS and 620 Nm of torque. That is 81 PS and 20 Nm more than the standard Rapide. As a result the S goes from 0 to 60 mph in 4.9 seconds, onto a top speed of 190 mph.

Aston Rapide S also gets the firm’s latest iteration of Adaptive Damping System (ADS). The system now offers three distinct settings: ‘Normal’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Track’, although who would use this car on a race track we don’t know.