The century-old, iconic sports car brand Aston Martin is showcasing the Rapide S, its only four-door model for South India’s luxury car lovers.
Priced at about Rs 4.5 crore, the 12-cylinder Rapide S offers the optimal mix of space and power for the sports car lover to take the family out for a fast spin without feeling crowded, said a company spokesperson.
On show in Chennai is also the Vantage, a two-door, sports car.
Aston Martin’s entire range is available in India with price ranging from about Rs 2.5 crore to over Rs 7 crore for the Vanquish. There are just two cars at the high-end of the price list in India and one of them is in Chennai and the other in Mumbai.
Lalit Choudary, Managing Director, Performance Cars, the dealer for Aston Martin, said that the brand has been a hit in India among the discerning car lovers.
Since its launch in 2011 in the domestic market, the company sold about 15-18 cars a year. The Aston Martin is not about numbers, however, but exclusivity, he pointed out.
Totally, over 55-60 Aston Martins have been sold and South India holds an important share of this purchase, he said.
Customs duty has been hiked annually for the high-end cars and is now ruling at about 175 per cent. The depreciation of the rupee against the dollar has also not helped things.
The current year has had its woes due to the sluggish market conditions and the currency volatility.
This has led to some ‘indecisiveness among the buyers.’ But the company has its hopes up for the coming year, he said.