Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake Bertone Jet 2+2 first drive review

We test the one-off V12-engined Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake Bertone Jet 2+2
Bertone also designed this Vanquish-based Jet 2 concept car to accompany the Rapide Shooting Brake

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by Steve Sutcliffe
20 May 2013

[h=2]What is it?[/h] At the moment, the Aston Martin Rapide Shooting Brake – or the Jet 2+2 as it is officially entitled – is merely a one-off design project that Bertone has created for one of its wealthier customers; a chap who likes his Aston Martins and who goes by the name of Mr Barry Weir.
However, so taken with the car are the folks at Aston Martin that, rumour has it, they are now seriously considering making a small but perfectly formed production run.
If that run is less than 10, then the cars will be made by Bertone. But if it’s more than 10, Aston will build them instead, at Gaydon, probably (not that anyone from Aston will confirm or deny any plans for such a model as it stands…).
Either way, from the moment you set eyes on the Shooting Brake Rapide, you just know that its styling is right. It looks so natural, in fact, that it’s a wonder Aston Martin didn’t come up with the idea in-house.
Putting a price on such a one-off car is hard if not impossible to do, but at a guess you’d have to think that the Aston Martin is worth at least £1.5m, possibly more.
Beneath its elegantly stretched lines the Shooting Brake is “about 70 per cent Rapide” according to its chief designer, ex-Rover man and a very proud Britain who works abroad, Adrian Griffiths.
That means, effectively, that it uses the previous generation's 470bhp V12 and the same rear wheel-drive chassis as the regular Rapide. Mechanically, in other words, it is pure Rapide.
“We basically had to take the car apart and then put most of it back together again” admits Griffiths.
“But we realised early on that we had to lift the rear haunches substantially because the whole car was sitting too low at the back. I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved, the client is very happy, and so are the people at Aston Martin.”

[h=2]What is it like?[/h] In the flesh, the Rapide Shooting Brake looks big but also delicate, and its new tail end contains some quite extraordinarily exquisite detailing in the form of a moveable parcel shelf.
From the driver’s seat the cabin feels much more spacious and airy than the standard Rapide, even though there’s no more legroom in the rear on account of the car being not a single millimetre longer than the standard car.
What there is, is a great deal more rear headroom, though, plus a fair bit more space for luggage, too, neither of which are strong points in the standard Rapide.
As a machine in which to waft from one continent to another, four up, with plenty of luggage in tow, the Shooting Brake has few if any real rivals. Inside, it feels worth every single one of the millions of pounds that it costs.
On the road, the Aston Martin Shooting Brake feels much like the car on which it’s based, albeit with a touch less ride refinement in the rear seats, if and when you encounter a really rough road surface. Its performance is strong, the exhaust note rousing and even the steering feels crisp and direct.
To drive, it feels remarkably like the regular Rapide to be honest, which is probably the biggest compliment you could pay the people at Bertone who not only designed but built the car in the first place.

[h=2]Should I buy one?[/h] At the moment you can’t because this is the only one in the world. However, if the rumours about Aston Martin being so taken with the car are true, that situation may change in the not too distant future. In which case expect a limited production run to appear at some stage, maybe.
It’d be a shame if they didn’t make a few more because, apart from anything else, the Shooting Brake Rapide is a stunning piece of design that would, you suspect, sit very neatly at the top of Aston's range.
Bertone has already done the hard bit, after all, and now all Aston needs to do is build it.

[h=1]Mclaren F1 Sells For Record $10 Million: Andretti-Owned Supercar Is 1 Of Only 2 In Red [GALLERY][/h] By Adnan Bhat | May 9, 2014 - 12:49pm

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In an age before traction control, ABS, and dual-clutch transmissions, the McLaren F1 was the ultimate analog supercar and became an instant classic from the moment it was launched. Over the years, demand and exclusivity has driven the price of the McLaren F1 higher and higher. According to GT Spirit, the recent private sale of a bright red McLaren F1 has driven the price past 8 figures-- the McLaren F1 is officially a $10 million car.

Prior to this monumental sale, a McLaren F1 was sold at an auction for $8,470,000 last year. The silver 1997 McLaren F1 set the record price at the time.

This red McLaren F1 is Chassis #28, better known as the special McLaren originally owned by former McLaren driver Michael Andretti, the son of American F1 champion Mario Andretti, who received the car as a gift at the end of his McLaren contract. Michael Andretti's McLaren F1 was the only one of two examples that came in an original red finish. Since owning Chassis #28 for two years, Andretti had sold the car to a Japanese collector. The McLaren F1 has since been owned by two California-based F1 fans.

According to DailyMail, vehicle acquisition consultant James Cottingham spent six months arranging the sale and has since flown the McLaren F1 from California to its new home in England.

“F1s are without doubt one of the most difficult cars to sell or buy. You have a lot of ‘fantasy’ cars for sale so getting a genuine customer and genuine vendor is very hard. Likewise for a buyer, finding a dealer who will be able to fulfil the task in hand is very hard indeed,” said Cottingham. “'It took six months to find a car and get the deal in place and the new owner did not see the car before the transaction took place. I flew to California with 24 hours' notice and the deal was completed just a few days later.”
Boasting a 670 hp BMW V12 engine, this 240-mph, the McLaren F1 is one of the most desirable cars of the last 40 years, and with just 64 built, is one of the hardest to buy. Despite being 20 years old, it still remains the world's fastest normally-aspirated car.

McLaren F1 owned by Andretti sells for $10 million. McLaren F1 owned by Mario Andretti sells for $10 million. McLaren F1 sells for $10 million. McLaren F1 sells for $10 million.

A Mercedes-Benz 300SL gullwing was wrecked in a crash at the 2014 Mille Miglia in Italy over the weekend. The black 300SL, built in 1956, was being driven at the time by one of the heirs of German rental car giant Sixt.

According to Italian website Tuscia Web, which has several photos of the gruesome wreckage, a driver of a BMW 1-Series lost control on a broken stretch of road and ran head-on into the 300SL. The impact caused the Mercedes to spin but even though the damage is quite severe there were no major injuries reported.

The original 300SL, both in its coupe and roadster bodystyles, remains one of the most sought-after models by collectors today, with some examples fetching more than a million dollars, though they typically sell for between $500k and $700,000k. First launched in 1954, the car was the fastest production vehicle of its day, with its 3.0-liter straight-six enabling it to reach a top speed of 161 mph.