Rear View: Aston Martin Rapide Flashes Its Rump

CAR magazine were the folks responsible for giving us our first look at the production-ready Aston Martin Rapide, and they've delivered yet again with these images that show the big four-door GT's hitherto-unseen rear quarters.

More CG rendering than actual photograph, these pictures nevertheless give us a better idea of what to expect when the Rapide makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March. Save for the fuel filler cap losing its aluminium finish and migrating to the Rapide's right flank, the rump of Aston's all-new sedan looks virtually unchanged from that of the concept version (below)

There's an obvious familial link to the DB9, DBS and V8 Vantage in everything from the kicked-up windowline to the fatter-than-child-bearing rear haunches, while even the flush-fit door handles and fender vents are signature Aston. Viewed in profile, the Rapide would look for all the world like a slightly stretched DB9.

The chrome-effect taillights are a nice tip of the hat to the DBS and V8 Vantage N400, and the twin circular exhaust pipes mimic those on the Vantage. A small vestigial diffuser lurks beneath the licence plate recess, but that's the only clue to those behind you that the Rapide isn't quite as hardcore as its two-door siblings.

The Aston Martin Rapide is expected to go on sale sometime after its Geneva debut next March as a 2010 model and will go head-to-head with Porsche's upcoming Panamera. Given the choice between the Aston and the Porker, we know which one we'd choose...