Aston Martin and Williams Advanced Engineering joined forces in 2015 to create the RapidE concept providing a taste of things to come as far as an all-electric version of the gorgeous sedan. Several months later, the folks from Gaydon signed a Memorandum of Understanding with LeEco to pave the way for a production version of the concept slated to arrive in 2018.

Now, Aston Martin's CEO Andy Palmer has reiterated the firm's plans to launch the RapidE next year, but with a twist. The EV won't join the V12-powered Rapide S on sale today as it will actually replace it altogether. In other words, the Rapide will be going all-electric in 2018, so it's only a matter of time before the sexy four-door sedan will lose its naturally aspirated 6.0-liter gasoline engine pushing out 552 horsepower (411 kilowatts) and 465 pound-feet (630 Newton-meters) of torque. As a side note, the Rapide recently gained a beefy AMR version, but that's only a limited-run edition to signal the company's newly formed AMR sub-brand.