Aston Martin ’s Rapide sedan will be the first ever Aston Martin built outside of the United Kingdom, thanks to a partnership up with Magna Steyr, it was announced today. The four-door will be built in Magna Steyr’s plant located in Graz, Austria, instead, due to Aston’s Gaydon plant running at nearly full capacity of 8,000 cars annually, split between the maker’s DB9, V8 Vantage and DBS models.
Launched as a fairly complete concept back at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit back in 2006, the low-profile Rapide was well received. After it was confirmed for production in May of 2007, Aston Martin looked into several companies to outsource the car’s build to, finally deciding Magna Steyr, a subsidiary of Canada-based Magna International, was the best fit.
Magna Steyr produces about 200,000 cars annually, including the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW X3 .
The Aston Martin Rapide Plant (AMRP) will be based on the auto maker’s award-winning Gaydon plant as well as its Aston Martin Engine Plant in Cologne, Germany and as such will include a travertine marble reception and Aston Martin work clothes. Production is expected to begin in 2009, outputting an estimated 2,000 units.
