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]