Aston Martin taking RapidE step toward electrification
“Electrification is as sure as death and taxes,” says Aston Martin chief executive Dr. Andy Palmer, when discussing the future of a company renowned more for its hand-built, V12-powered luxury automobiles than for cars propelled by electrons.
You wouldn’t expect electrification to be incorporated throughout the Aston Martin lineup any time soon, but Palmer announced earlier this year that electric propulsion, be it via hybrid or a full electric powertrain, will be available in every bespoke automobile leaving the factory in Gaydon as of 2025. Ahead of that date, however, the company plans to make available in late 2019 a limited edition, all-electric version of the Rapide, cleverly named the RapidE.
Aston Martin enlisted Williams Advanced Engineering (of F1 fame) to help develop the RapidE after a deal with original partner LeEco fell through when the Chinese cellphone and streaming company pulled out because of financial problems.
The RapidE will be a limited edition special, numbering 155 units. Plans initially called for a higher production number but it was reduced after LeEco pulled out. Aston Martin’s objective is to produce an electric luxury sedan with performance that matches the V12-powered Rapide; engineers are aiming for a range of about 400 kilometres without de-rating (tapering off power output to extend range) between charges, and a zero-to100-km/h time of about four seconds.
“We’re not looking at things like (Tesla’s) ludicrous modes,” Palmer says, “but it will still be bloody quick.”
Williams Advanced Engineering’s electric know-how is considerable, as it has developed the hybrid system that helps power the Audi R18 Le Mans prototype, and is the sole battery supplier for the Formula E racing series.
Aston Martin delivered a complete Rapide to Williams, and the car was stripped of its powertrain and retrofitted with an electric power plant developed by Williams and Aston Martin engineers. The concept car has a large 30kW battery squeezed tightly under the hood that weighs as much as the V12 engine it replaces, and the surrounding metalwork had to be trimmed to make it fit.
The inverter is mounted at the rear, where the gearbox would normally be found. Although the RapidE concept is a working test mule, it is not an example of what the real car will be like or how it will perform; even the wiper motor had to be removed to make room for the battery. To achieve the targeted performance, the production RapidE will need a larger battery of at least 80kW, which will also run through the space normally occupied by the torque tube. The car is to weigh no more than its gasoline-powered stablemate, as this will help reduce production costs by retaining the Rapide’s suspension and brakes.
The only RapidE in existence, the one we had a chance to drive briefly at the Williams facility, is an early proof of concept that ultimately has little to do with the future production version, other than sharing bodywork. It is even yet undetermined if the production RapidE will have a single electric motor and rear differential like the concept, or if it will have two electric motors, each powering a rear wheel.
Despite being developed at Williams, all of the intellectual property for the electric drive belongs to Aston Martin.
“Given the importance of EVs in the future, we have to own that technology,” Palmer says.
Despite this focus on electric and hybrid drives, Palmer believes there’s still room for improvement on internal-combustion engines, and the company will continue their development.
“A Formula One engine has thermal efficiency of about 50 per cent compared to a thermal efficiency of about 30 per cent for a road car,” Palmer says, “so there’s improvement right there that remains to be tapped in future engine development.”
However, he also believes the time is now to work on solutions that will help reduce emissions, and he thinks carmakers and not policy-makers should bring about these solutions.
“I’m a great believer in throwing a clean-air or emissions problem at the engineers and let (them) define the technology,” he says. “We tend to be a bit better at finding technical solutions than politicians, who are not really good at making policy decisions.”
The upcoming RapidE is just the first step toward that goal.