Who Are YOU Going Home With, Aston's Rapide OR Porsche's Panamera?

Now that I have driven the Panamera a bit and had a brief opportunity to learn about the vehicle, I have begun wondering about the competition.  Although the BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8 and Maserati Quattroporte are all valid contenders, there seems to be one which hits the nail on the head.

The Aston Martin Rapide has been fluttering around in the auto world for several years now and the production version emerged at this year's Frankfurt Auto Show.  Originally, I had been extremely excited at the thought of an Aston four-door sedan/coupe thing.  Now though it seems to have worn thin with me.  Looking at the Frankfurt pictures it seems a bit blasé.



Do not get me wrong, I adore Aston's coupes and I believe the Brits make a fantastic product.  The sedan just seems to have lost its edge.

For me, the problem is that the car seems to be a bit too boring.  Remember when AM launched the Lagonda?  That vehicle was groundbreaking because it had an "out there" design, was a bit ostentatious and had the era's wackiest electronics.  Albeit, they failed most of the time.

Porsche, on the other hand did something from a clean-sheet of paper.  Although it is unmistakably a Porsche when you see on the road, the boys from Stuttgart drew up a totally new design that echo'd what they felt a four-door Porsche should look like. 



The AM Rapide merely looks like a stretched DB9, which although it is not a bad thing, it is just too easy and too safe.  Hell, even the interior looks as though it was transplanted from the DB9. 

In this instance, Aston had a chance to blow us all out of the water but fell short because they were a bit too conservative.  If current estimates are correct, AM will price the Rapide above $200,000 and that is substantially more than a well-equipped Turbo that will most likely outperform the Rapide.

What do you think Spies?

2010 Porsche Panamera Launch Gallery

2009 Frankfurt Auto Show Photo Gallery