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When you think of Aston Martin, you probably picture a voluptuous two-door coupe with James Bond sawing away at the wheel being pursued by a phalanx of would-be assassins, your mental scene's soundtrack provided by a wailing twelve-cylinder engine. However, like Bond's onscreen persona, that memorable formula is constantly evolving. First, Aston Martin stretched its well-known coupe shape, added a couple of doors, and the Rapide sedan was born. Then, in acknowledgment of legislative and environmental pressures, the luxury marque took the unusual step of re-trimming a prosaic Toyota/Scion iQ mini car, calling it the Aston Martin Cygnet overseas. That ugly duckling failed spectacularly, but the pressures for the UK firm to offer a more eco-friendly car remains, and now comes word that the British auto maker is planning an electrifying response: an 800-horsepower, battery-powered version of the aforementioned Rapide. According to Automotive News, Aston CEO Andy Palmer has confirmed company plans to launch a Rapide EV within the next two years. The industry publication quotes Palmer as noting, "If you want to keep making V-12 engines, then you've got to do something at the opposite end of the spectrum." That's because Aston Martin's current range of V-8 and V-12 luxury cars will have trouble meeting global emissions and fuel economy legislation unless those gas-guzzling models are offset by the introduction of much cleaner offerings. An all-electric Rapide could fit the bill. The AN report suggests that the Rapide EV will feature all-wheel drive and target a range of 200 miles. What's more, it won't be Aston's only electric model -- a battery-powered version of its forthcoming DBX sports SUV is also in the cards. When talking about the future model during Sunday's Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance in Monterey, California, Palmer couldn't resist knocking the E-Rapide's presumptive rival Tesla. "We don't do Ludicrous because Ludicrous speed is stupid," he said, taking a thinly veiled dig at the new Model S P85D's high-performance drive mode. S: http://www.cnet.com/
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