The upcoming all-electric Aston Martin RapidE may
seem like a direct rival to the Tesla Model S but according to boss Andy
Palmer, the RapidE won’t target Tesla buyers. During an interview with Autocar,
Palmer said customers of the RapidE won’t be interested in the mind-boggling
straight-line performance of the Model S and instead place a greater emphasis
on luxury.
The British automaker has been developing and
testing the all-electric RapidE for quite some time now and will limit production
to just 155 units. Rather than chasing huge sales figures, the car is a
short-term answer to demand for an electric Aston Martin and in the future,
could be superseded by an EV developed from the ground up.
According to Aston Martin, the RapidE will be based
on the performance-oriented Rapide AMR and therefore receive a more aggressive
design than a typical Rapide. The car is being co-developed with Williams
Advanced Engineering and is set to launch in 2019.
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