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Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake heading for production?

Thu, 06 Jun 2013

Is the Bertone Jet 2+2 (pictured) heading for production as the Rapide Shooting Brake?

At the Geneva Motor Show in March, we saw the Bertone Jet 2+2 – essentially an Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake – designed by Bertone as a one-off customer car. But it looks like the Rapide Estate may be heading for production.

Autocar has been given the keys to the Rapide Shooting Brake and, after having a play and declaring it a fully-formed Aston Martin, it seems AML have dropped heavy hints that the Bertone Rapide could go in to production. Which makes a lot of sense.

What doesn’t really make sense is the observation that the Shooting Brake may be a very limited run – very ‘Premium’ priced – of under ten cars bolted together by Bertone.

As an almost ‘stock’ Rapide – but with a delicious shed bolted on the back – surely the Jet 2+2 doesn’t lend itself to a premium price tag in the range of Aston’s other recent ‘specials’ like the V12 Zagato? But it does lend itself to a space above the new Rapide S as the ‘halo’ Rapide – at a small premium.

Aston Martin should breathe new life in to the Rapdide by building the Shooting Brake as a regular production car – just as Porsche appear to be planning with the Panamera Sport Turismo – rather than trying to turn it in to a short-run cash cow.

If they do, we’re sure the Rapide Shooting Brake would be a winner.


By Cars UK