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Weekly Recap: Electric Rapide concept showcases Aston's future

Aston Martin showed off an all-electric Rapide S prototype this week and announced an agreement with investment firm ChinaEquity to explore development of a production version of the sports sedan. The car could arrive in about two years if the project advances, and it would be built in Gaydon, England. The concept car, called the "RapidE" was developed with Williams Advanced Engineering. The electric Rapide is meant to highlight British innovation, and it was revealed during a state visit by Chinese president Xi Jinping to the United Kingdom. Spec were not available for the concept on display. "The car we showed in London is a fully running concept but not yet defining [of] our choice of battery, motor, inverter, etc," spokesman Simon Sproule said. "Now that we have a clearer path for producing the car, we will be defining all the parameters." Aston Martin has been vocal about its electric ambitions this year, and Sproule told us at the New York Auto Show that an all-electric Rapide could cost $200,000 to $250,000 or more. "It's a study, but we're serious about it," he said. Some reports have indicated the electric Rapide could pack as much as 1,000 horsepower. Aston considers electric technology the strongest play for modernizing its powertrains and meeting emissions standards around the world. Hybrids and all-electric models can offer high outputs and strong torque delivery, which is in keeping with the Aston's image as a sportscar maker. Company brass prefer this option over dropping down to four-cylinder engines. And yes, V8s and V12s remain part of the plan. The electric push is part of Aston's future strategy to remake its lineup, which includes refreshing its sportscars, building a production version of the electric all-wheel-drive DBX concept shown at the Geneva Motor Show, and adding a four-door Lagonda. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Domino's serves up purpose-built delivery car Domino's revealed a purpose-built pizza delivery car based on the Chevy Spark. It's called the DXP, for Delivery Expert, and it can handle up to 80 pizzas. The pies stay warm thanks to an oven located behind the driver's seat, and the DXP is sauced up with a puddle-lighting feature that projects the Domino's logo outside of the car. Power comes from the Spark's stock 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 84 hp that gets up to 39 mpg on the highway. Chevy dealers will be trained to service the DXP.

Aston Martin Lagonda supersaloon gets official with first delivery

Over the past 67 years since Aston Martin acquired the Lagonda marque, the name has come and gone, but now it's back again. After an aborted attempt at reviving the brand with a much-criticized SUV concept at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show, Aston is building a new high-end sedan exclusively for the Middle Eastern market, and this is our best look at it yet. We first caught glimpse of the upcoming new Lagonda a few months ago when it was spotted undergoing testing, and Aston released preliminary details and a couple of teaser images just last month. But now it's shipping the first example for testing to the Sultanate of Oman on the Persian Gulf coast, and it has evidently allowed Oman Air and the Aston Martin Oman dealership to release a handful of photos. What we can see is a pretty handsome sedan that borrows stylistically from the original Aston Martin Zagato sedan that shocked the world in the mid-'70s, not to mention cues from the Zagato Centennial concepts revealed last year. It's possible this is Aston's new design direction, a bid to finally take it away from the gorgeous but overfamiliar styling of its current crop. The fresh look is more squared off, with narrower head- and taillights. It's also possible, of course, that this new look will remain specific to future Zagato-branded vehicles. Look close enough and you'll notice that the handsome sedan is wearing the Lagonda badge, not those of Aston Martin. Oman Air Partners With Aston Martin For Exclusive New Lagonda Test Date: 25 August 2014 World class luxury airline Oman Air is today, [TBC], proud to announce a key partnership with globally renowned British car manufacturer Aston Martin which sees the Middle Eastern carrier bring the marque's yet-to-be-launched Lagonda to Muscat as part of its early testing programme. Reviving the iconic Lagonda name from Aston Martin's renowned heritage, the brand new car is a top-of-the-range, luxury four-door super-saloon which has been designed exclusively for the Middle East market – and Oman's awe-inspiring mountains, deserts and state-of-the-art road network are providing the perfect backdrop for essential summer heat testing.

Rare 1958 Aston to be auctioned in Tennessee

Decaying Aston Martins are showing up on the auction block all over the world. The final, original DBS recently went up for bid in the UK, and to go up for sale on the other side of the Atlantic, a 1958 DB Mark III was recently found wasting away in a Tennessee garage. "I didn't know much about it, except it was old and worth some money," said owner Tammy Maxwell to Clarksville Now. Her husband bought the Aston in Hawaii in 1975 and carried the car along with him until the family settled in Tennessee. He originally intended to restore it but an illness got in the way. Now, the vintage coupe is crossing the auction block in Cumberland Furnace, TN, on April 11 through Auction World Gallery. This example is in very rough shape, though. The paint and trim are gone from the entire front end, and the interior is a rat's nest of parts. There's no mention of whether the powertrain is intact, although a crankshaft is visible sitting in the boot and possibly a carb on the passenger seat. It's going to be a big project to get this Mark III back on the road. According to Aston Martin, the company built just 552 examples of the DB Mark III, and 462 of them were the coupe body style shown here that featured a hatchback. Power came from a 2.9-liter inline-six routed through a four-speed manual gearbox. The car also grabbed a unique footnote in pop culture history as James Bond's car in the book Goldfinger, rather than the DB5 in the film version.