EXCLUSIVE REVEAL: Aston Martin Rapide; New four-door flagship wags a (middle) finger at Porsche Panamera.(News)

Byline: GREG KABLE

By now, you may start to hear the first murmurs of the stunning Aston Martin Rapide concept, a svelte sedan destined to join a strong lineup of three contemporary Aston coupes.

Set to make its world premiere at the North American International Auto Show, the four-door Rapide lays the foundation for the rejuvenated British carmaker to take on upmarket sedans like the Maserati Quattroporte and the coming Porsche Panamera.

Though Aston chairman Ulrich Bez would be loath to admit it, the straight-talking German may have had the Panamera-and revenge- in mind when he conceived the Rapide. Bez, an engineer who rose to prominence at Porsche in the early 1990s, was the driving force behind the Panamera-like 989, essentially a four-door 911 that nearly made production. Only Porsche's dire financial plight at the time doomed the project at the last minute.

Rapide is closely related to the DB9 in looks and mechanical makeup, with its real value lying in its full-size rear doors, four-seat layout and generous trunk. These features give the car a versatility and practicality above any of Aston's existing models, while imparting visual excitement, interior craftsmanship and the core sporting values of its coupe siblings.

Aston's recent financial strength during Bez's reign affords the company a chance to renew its once-proud heritage of building a sporting four-door (see timeline). It will do so with an elegant 6.0-liter, 480-hp V12-powered sedan that hearkens back to some of Aston Martin's most significant models, including the 1961 DB4-based Lagonda Rapide from which the concept is clearly inspired and named.

The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive Rapide is crucial in increasing Aston's future worldwide sales without the costly investment that comes with development of new models. Flexible manufacturing techniques allow Aston to build its three current models-the V8 Vantage, DB9 and Vanquish-from the same basic structure.