The Aston Martin Rapide isn’t slated to hit the market for about another year, but the British automaker has decided to release some new production images of the car’s final design. The Rapide — which is based on Aston Martin’s concept from 2006 — will compete with vehicles like the Porsche Panamera in the ever-growing luxury four-door coupe segment.

As you can see, the production version will be very similar to the concept car, but does swap out quad-air intakes for upper and lower grilles.

The rear of the car has strong family ties to other Aston Martin models, and sports ’smoked’ rear taillights. From the rear view it also appears as though the Rapide will feature either a glass roof or panoramic sunroof, a feature supported by the latest images.

As reportedly recently, the Rapide will be the first ever Aston Martin built outside of the United Kingdom, thanks to a partnership up with Magna Steyr.

Given a strong interest in the Rapide, Aston Martin says it will build between 1,000 and 2,000 units per year, up from an original estimate of 500 or less.

Like Aston’s other models, the Rapide is built on the company’s VH (Vertical/Horizontal) architecture — the same that underpins the DB9. The Rapide will also borrow its twelve-cylinder powerplant from the DB9, although power will be increased from 450 horsepower to 470. With that power routed through a six-speed transmission — featuring Aston Martin’s Touchtronic control — the Rapide should make the sprint from 0-60 in under five seconds, on its way to a top speed of 180 mph.

Expect to see the Aston Martin Rapide to hit the market sometime during 2010, with a price tag in the $200,000 range.

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