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The long awaited four-door Aston Martin Rapide has been spotted, almost completely undisguised, doing laps of the Nurburgring. The car was last spotted on the frozen lakes of Sweden for winter testing, and somewhere in between its journey from Sweden to Germany the Rapide was given a full-length glass roof starting at the top of its windshield and going all the way to the boot. While the rear lights in the spy shots are similar to the plain red ones found on the DB9, it is uncertain whether the production version will share the same clear taillights of the original concept version from 2006′s Detroit Auto Show.

Other than this, the testing model remains faithful to the stunning concept and it looks like it’s shaping up to be one of the best looking four-doors on the planet. Porsches Panamera and the Mercedes-Benz CLS will have a tough time competing with the new Aston, which is expected to sport a 6.0L V12 in top-spec models putting out around 500hp.

Unfortunately for purists, the Rapide will not be built at Aston’s traditional Gaydon plant in England – production of the four-door has been contracted to Magna Steyr who will build the vehicle at its Austrian plant.

Production is expected to start in 2009 for the Rapide, giving it ample time to get into the market against the upcoming Porsche Panamera, although rivals like the CLS and Maserati Quattroporte already have a big head start over the new four-door Porsche and Aston.

[Source : MotorAuthority.com]