Aston Martin Rapide a snip at $400,000

Aston Martin importers Independent Prestige expects the New Zealand dollar to be worth upwards of 40 pence for a long time yet - the main reason why it is reviewing pricing for the British-made exotics.

"There are no final numbers but the price of the whole range of Aston Martins is going to be improved," says Independent Prestige general manager Lee Small.

The four-door Rapide, for example, is likely to come in at around $400,000 when it lands here next May/June.

"We are finalising pricing for the Rapide now and it will be a lot better than we anticipated," says Small. "Initially we expected it to be around $450,000 but with the way the British pound has gone, the Rapide will be closer to $400,000."

The dollar was at 44p this week and recently has been as high as 46p. Small says the British economy will take longer than the US to recover from the global recession, so he believes the kiwi will remain strong against the British currency. "We mightn't go to 46p again but I believe we will stay in the early 40s for some time."

The Rapide is Aston Martin's first four-door saloon - or a James Bond car for dads. Company CEO Dr Ulrich Bez unveiled it at the Frankfurt motor show in September and wants it to spread the Aston brand across a wider audience.

The Rapide is based on the two-door DB9 and features the same 6-litre V12 engine, delivering 350kW of power and an expected top speed of 300km/h-plus.

It also uses the same aluminium platform as the DB9, "stretched" 30cm or so to accommodate four doors and a boot.

Aston Martin built 14 Rapide prototypes. The development programme included high-speed endurance runs out of the company's own centre at Germany's Nurburgring circuit, hot-weather tests in the Kuwait desert, and cold-weather runs in the snow and ice of northern Sweden.

Simon Barnes, the carmaker's engineering manager, says of the hot weather tests: "Many of our customers will be based in the Middle East. We need to be certain that our cars will be reliable."

Aston Martin says the Rapide is the most important car in its modern history.