Report: James Bond to drive battery-powered Aston Martin in next 007 flick
According to an insider close to the production, Daniel Craig's James Bond will be taking the wheel of another Aston Martin in the next installment of the 007 franchise. This time around, however, the sporty luxury car will be decked out with more than just the standard Q Branch issued gadgets. The car will be a limited edition Rapide E sedan, which is a zero-emissions vehicle, and uses twin electric motors to deliver 600 hp.
Mr. Bond, your car is here.
Aston Martin has revealed its first electric model, the Rapide E.
(Aston Martin)
The sedan making its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show reportedly will be featured in next year’s installment of the “007” film franchise starring Daniel Craig.
The limited-edition model was created with the assistance of Williams Advanced Engineering, which is heavily involved in the Formula E racing series along with Formula 1.
(Aston Martin)
It’s not a ground-up car, but a retrofit of a conventional V12-powered model, and features a carbon fiber and kevlar-protected power control unit and batteries taking up the space where the engine, transmission and gas tank usually is.
(Aston Martin)
Twin electric motors driving the rear wheels draw their power from it and are rated at a combined 604 hp and 700 lb-ft of torque, which are both more than the gasoline-fueled version boasts.
The battery pack is a relatively small 65 kilowatt-hours and has a range of under 200 miles per charge on the U.S. scale, while Tesla’s top models feature 100 kilowatt-hour packs and over 300 miles of range. The Rapide E is compatible with 800v fast-charging systems, however, which can refill the packs at a rate as high as 310 miles of range per hour.
(Aston Martin)
Aston Martin says the Rapide E will be able to accelerate to 60 mph in under 4 seconds, has an electronically restricted 155 mph top speed and will be able to lap the 13-mile long Nurburgring race track at peak performance without overheating, which has been a bugaboo for high performance electric cars.
Exact pricing is only being revealed to legitimate customers interested in purchasing one of the 155 examples that will be built, but is rumored to be around $300,000.