Kimber’s new Rapide is a distinctive .45 ACP pistol. With its titanium-nitride-coated, stainless steel, match-grade barrel, stepped cocking serrations, Stiplex frontstrap treatment, uniquely sculpted mainspring housing and slide windows, the Rapide distinguishes itself from other vanilla-flavored 1911s. Our test Rapide displayed typical Kimber fit and finish, with an impeccable slide-to-frame fit. The stainless steel slide and frame are coated with the tough KimPro II black finish. Internally, the gun is all 1911, and there is no firing pin safety. The fire control parts are expertly mated, and the trigger pull measures a reasonable 4.5 pounds, breaking crisply with no overtravel.
The gun features extended an ambidextrous thumb safety and a two-piece magazine well funnel. The single magazine comes with two bumper pads—one is low-profile for carry while the other is extended and will appeal to competitive shooters. Kimber also equips the Rapide with aggressively checkered G10 grips that, combined with the Stiplex frontstrap treatment, lock the gun in the shooter’s hand.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
The front of the slide has three holes on each side as well as on top. This slide lightening increases the cycling time, which should appease competitors shooting lighter .45 ACP loads.
Kimber outfits the Rapide with the excellent TruGlo TFX sights. The sights feature fiber-optic inserts for brilliant daylight illumination as well as tritium for low-light situations. The front sight has a bright fluorescent orange ring around the green fiber-optic inserts for quick sight acquisitions.
The Kimber Rapide impressed me with its accuracy, producing an average group size for all three types of ammunition of just 0.87 inches. The best group came with the Black Hills load at 0.78 inches. The Aguila ammo wasn’t far behind with a 0.85-inch group.
Altogether, I like the gun’s unique styling. It also has a good trigger and great sights. The Rapide just might be one of those guns that will pull double duty for self-defense and competition. Priced at a very reasonable $1,490, the Kimber Rapide is pretty cool.
