New Aston Martin Rapide S revealed

Aston Martin- Aston Martin has launched a revised version of the Rapide – called, neatly, Rapide S, and looking to bring much-needed new focus to Aston Martin’s four-door coupe Porsche Panamera Turbo rival. Now built at Aston’s Gaydon HQ in England, following its transfer from Austria, the new Rapide S goes on sale next month, for prices from around £155,000 (approx. $246,032). Aston Martin has officially revealed the 2013 Rapide S which comes with a significant power hike.

The attractive four-door saloon has received the "S" moniker to match the increased output as the naturally-aspirated V12 5.9-liter engine now produces 558 HP (410 kW), representing an 81 HP (59 kW) increase over the pre-facelift variant. Torque is also up from 600 Nm (442 lb-ft) to 620 Nm (457 lb-ft).

Thanks to these changes, the revised Rapide reaches 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.9 seconds, which makes it 0.3 seconds faster than before. Its top speed has also increased from 188 mph (302.5 km/h) to 190 mph (305.7 km/h).