Aston Martin's Ultimate Second-gen Vanquish Will Be the V12 Volante S
Even though the DB11 highlights a marked transformation for Aston Martin, there are still a few sexy dinosaurs milling around its factory floors. The Vanquish is one of those dinosaurs and, last November, Aston debuted a 580 horsepower S coupe to keep it from supplicating for its own extinction. This month, the British automaker hacked off its roof to bestow unto us the Vanquish Volante S.
Unless your supercar is completely ridiculous-looking — and Aston’s tasteful examples typically are not — converting one into a droptop is a straightforward way to ruin its grandeur. Fortunately, Aston Martin has a decent track record with convertibles, thanks in no small part to bulging rear fenders and abundance of inoffensive style.
Like the fixed-top Vanquish S, the Volante uses the venerable 5.9 liter V12 affixed to an automatic eight-speed revised specifically for the model. Aston says it should deliver faster gear-changes and additional refinement at lower speeds. It also shares the coupe’s tweaked suspension setup.
There are no performance specifications at this point, but we know the hardtop possesses a 3.5 second 0-to-60 time and is capable of 201 miles an hour. If you really care about going that fast, you’d probably be more interested in the coupe, though the convertible should be in the same neighborhood.
While the new carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser aim to improve high-speed stability, the effect on the car’s looks is far greater. Due to those carbon accents and the quad exhaust ports, the car’s rear may actually be better looking than the front.
With the modern Vanquish ending production soon, the S Volante is realistically as far as Aston can take this current generation. Excluding those wheels, it’s an absolutely gorgeous car and also a nice valediction for the grand tourer.
It goes on sale this April for more than your home at $315,775.
[Images: Aston Martin]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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"It goes on sale this April for more than your home at $315,775" Hey, I live in central Toronto, it's a fraction of the price of my home. Very attractive car, beyond a doubt, but I'm not planning to sell my home to buy one...
Them wheels! Look at the repeated V, for Volante.