Graz, Austria, 9 November 2009. A new chapter in Aston Martin’s modern era will begin as production of the four-door Rapide sports car officially starts in early 2010 at the new model’s dedicated production facility in Graz, Austria.
This ambitious project – the first Aston Martin model to be built in its entirety outside of the UK – will be the culmination of more than 12 months intensive joint-effort by Aston Martin and its specialist automotive partner, Magna Steyr to ensure the Aston Martin Rapide Plant (AMRP) achieves the exacting standards set by the marque’s headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The result is a plant that combines the very latest technology with time-honoured craftsmanship.
Officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September to worldwide acclaim, the elegant Rapide, functional yet luxurious, provides space for up to four adults combined with an engaging driving experience synonymous with all Aston Martins.
Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez said: “Rapide is the culmination of the Aston Martin range of sports cars, a car that seals the revival of a truly admired marque. There is now an Aston Martin for every taste and for every use.
“With Rapide, the entire family can enjoy their Aston Martin together in unison, in an invigorating yet comfortable environment, sitting low, with plenty of visibility from every seat and with new levels of comfort, refinement and entertainment.”
The two teams from Aston Martin and Magna Steyr adopted a holistic approach to the numerous challenges of the Rapide programme. It was a process that drew heavily from the skills and highly specialised knowledge of both teams. For Ian Minards, Aston Martin’s Product Development Director, it was a rewarding and refreshing collaboration: “It’s very much been a partnership: our intimate product knowledge and the AMRP team’s fresh perspective.”
Some 240 technicians and craftspeople work at Graz building the Rapide. As Minards explains; it’s a challenge that highlights the difference between Aston Martin and other brands: “The fine tuning and finessing of the product is fundamental to building an Aston Martin and therefore a big challenge for the technicians. The fit and finish of the body panels and paintwork, the precision of the leather and its stitching, the fact that our quality standards are right at the top-end makes working on Rapide so demanding.”
The AMRP - like Aston Martin’s production facility at Gaydon - places an emphasis on absolute quality and painstaking craftsmanship, shunning the constantly moving production line typical of most other car factories in favour of a series of static workstations. Here time can be lavished upon each stage of hand-building the Rapide: Only once work is completed at one station are the bodies moved to the next along the line, in a total build process that takes approximately 220 man-hours per car.
From the preparation of Rapide’s aluminium body frame, or body-in-white using high strength adhesive to bond lightweight aluminium extrusions to the painstaking six-stage painting process where nine coats of paint are applied that make Aston Martin’s paint finish the best in class, to the trim shop where highly-skilled craftspeople shape and stitch 10 of the finest leather hides to create the Rapide’s magnificently upholstered interior, the AMRP is a centre of automotive excellence.
Production at AMRP begins early 2010. The Aston Martin Rapide is on sale now and deliveries to customers will begin in quarter two 2010.
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The process
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Manufacturing and Craftsmanship
Each stage in the build of the Rapide demands specific skills and meticulous attention to detail.
In the body-in-white area the aluminium body frame is constructed using highly technical processes that require the most stringent cleanliness. Using high strength structural adhesive aluminium extrusions and composite components are bonded together to produce a lightweight body frame. This is then prepared to receive all the major body panels, which are bonded to the frame using the same adhesive. The application of these adhesives is one of the few processes to rely on some robotic technology, but the fitment of the panels themselves is done by hand, before being carefully hand-finished in preparation for paint.
Thanks to a combination of industry leading techniques and a six-stage painting process where nine coats of paint are applied, Aston Martin’s paint finish is the best in class. It is time-consuming – approximately 50 man-hours – but the result is a uniformly flawless finish that sets Rapide apart.
Like the paint finish, Rapide’s interior is another Aston Martin hallmark. Trimmed in its entirety on-site by craftspeople, the Rapide’s four-seat interior is upholstered using ten of the finest leather hides, supplied by Bridge of Weir. A highly skilled process, the trimming is completed by hand and each car set is stitched by one seamstress to ensure a consistency of stitch throughout the car. To produce the trim for each Rapide takes approximately 40 man-hours. The completed trim pieces are gathered together at the appropriate workstation where they are then fitted to the car.
The marriage of the powertain to the body is the next key build stage. Using a rail-guided vehicle to transfer the 6.0-litre V12 engine, cast aluminium torque tube, carbon fibre propshaft and rear-mounted six-speed transmission from its sub-assembly position to the marriage station itself, the powertrain is then raised into the suspended body with a hydraulic lift and electric pantograph where the installation is then concluded.
The final and, in the case of the Rapide, most symbolic assembly stage is the fitment of its four swan-wing doors. Special attention is paid to alignment, opening and closing action and the tightness and uniformity of the panels.
Doors fitted, each Rapide is then subjected to a series of checks, including the setting of wheel alignment, steering geometry and camber/caster angles, before completing a driving test cycle on the production facility’s rolling road to validate exhaust emissions and braking system.
Assured Quality
With the last items of trim fitted and the chassis alignment and rolling tests completed, each Rapide heads for its final inspection. Once passed the car is then fitted with a nameplate bearing the name of the technician who approved it. Each Aston Martin Rapide is then put through an arduous road test on a dedicated test track which simulates different road surfaces and inputs to confirm the quality of every Rapide meets the marques high standards.
As Quality Manager for the Rapide programme, Nathan Leeming oversees a threefold role that applies quality control measures to the parts supply, sets manufacturing and assembly standards for technicians to achieve, and then gives final say on whether those standards have been met. The methods employed to achieve the AMRP’s stringent quality targets won’t be confined to Graz, as he explains: “Several major new quality initiatives have been implemented for Rapide and there’s no doubt what we’ve learned on Rapide will be carried over into new projects.
“For example we’ve made a significant investment in what we call an ‘Environmental Cube’. Essentially this is a body that’s been machined from solid with absolute precision. We can then use it to check the tolerances of interior and exterior components by attaching them to the ‘cube’ as a reference. It’s something common in large volume production, but almost unprecedented on low-volume cars like the Rapide. It’s an invaluable tool and an illustration of how serious we are about achieving our usual high standards.”
Customer Experience
In setting the template for the AMRP at Graz, Aston Martin’s award-winning Gaydon headquarters set the tone and the template for customer areas at the new facility.
Visitors to the AMRP will experience the same warm welcome they would find at Gaydon or any of Aston Martin’s 125 worldwide dealerships. On arrival they will enjoy the reassuringly familiar ambience of the customer atrium, with its clean architectural lines and striking use of glass, steel and the warm, honeyed tones of polished travertine marble.
In addition to the customer atrium, which has ample space in which to display a Rapide, there are two dedicated specification rooms, which contain everything clients require to assist them in creating their perfect Rapide in privacy and comfort. Once their Rapide has been built, customers will then enter the most exciting phase of an unforgettable experience.