Oh, the irony in a name. While Aston Martin has revealed plans to build an all-electric Rapide with around 800 hp, it won’t feature a similar mind-blowing boost function like the latest Tesla Model S’ new Ludicrous Mode. Not for as long as Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer stays at the helm, Automotive News reports.
“We don’t do Ludicrous because Ludicrous speed is stupid,” Palmer was reported as saying. The brand head further explained, “I think that the fact that you could drive a few laps of a decent race course or race it around the Nordschleife is much more interesting than doing 500 metres in Ludicrous mode.”
Ludicrous Mode will be featured in the 2016 Tesla Model S. Upon activation, the electric sedan will receive a sudden boost of electric power that will surge it forward from 0-96 km/h in 2.8 seconds, while the quarter-mile sprint takes just 10.9 seconds to complete.
In his own Twitter account, meanwhile, Palmer added that the Aston Martin will have a “preposterous mode (beyond insane) as standard – no funny button!”
Further commenting on Tesla, Palmer noted that Elon Musk’s company is not yet a threat to Aston Martin. “I think it’s hard, though not impossible, for them as a relatively new brand to keep pushing up and to go into that super premier area,” he said.
The all-electric Rapide is estimated to be priced somewhere between USD$200k to USD$250k (RM850k to RM1.06 million), a fair bit more than the Model S, which tops out at USD$142,000 (RM605k). Which begs the question, really. What’s with the hostility, then?
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The only thing stupid was his comment on Tesla. Who the heck has the chance to go around the Ring all the time?
Plus the satisfaction of smokin even Ferraris at the traffic lights is MORE FUN.
first they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
they they fight you,
then you win
personally, i prefer aston look’s over tesla, but to have the ceo say things like that means tesla is definitely in their radar. and what do you know, tesla is a bigger company than aston martin.
Tesla model s is more desirable than the rapide
Rapide is based on an old vh/vf architecture, its heavy, worse still its cramped at the back, hugely impractical,
A panamera trumps it in all areas…
a tesla is a different kind of car, right now it has no competitor, its sets the benchmark, and it sets the rules and tone….insane / ludicrous mode can be enjoyed by its owner any time of the day
He making such comments becaus he knows for a fact that Aston Martin does not hav the technological capability to come out with such a mode. A they do is use the same v8 and v12 over and over again. A little like Toyota .
Tesla wun have Ludicrous Mode, cuz they wanna come out with Ludacris Mode
with slammed down shocks, external speakers, bling rims, undercarriage neons, auxiliary sound system to imitate loud exhaust, and gold plated fittings.
They lost one of their chief engineers to Tesla, hence the sour grapes.
Sounds like Proton CEO trying hard to comment and beat on Japanese competitors; wrapping up by saying “they are behind us”.