The story of Touring Superleggera
The early years In early 1926, two lawyers from Milan – Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni – decided to leave behind the world…
While this car was a personal favorite of Aston Martin’s then chairman Sir David Brown, the Rapide saw limited sales of only 55 units over three years before being dropped. It featured an inline 4.0-liter 6-cylinder, dual-overhead-cam engine which produced 236 horsepower. Four wheel disc brakes and all-independent front and rear suspensions were equipped on the Rapide as well. It was a car ahead of its time, and a nicely integrated design based on Aston’s famous coupe featured in early James Bond movies.
The Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide was based on the Aston Martin DB4, it was named Rapide, which had been used by the Lagonda on a model of the 1930s. The car was designed by Touring Superleggera in Milan and was characterized by a style similar to that of the DB4 cabriolet, with a very wide front grille that echoed the previous Lagonda models. The Rapide uses a 3,995 cc 6-cylinder in-line engine with double overhead camshafts, which will later be used on the Aston Martin DB5. The car was equipped with four-wheel disc brakes powered by a dual circuit. Most of the cars produced were equipped with a BorgWarner 3-speed automatic gearbox. The body of the car body was made of aluminum alloy and rested on a tubular steel frame.
Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The early years In early 1926, two lawyers from Milan – Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni – decided to leave behind the world…
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