![]() ![]() Yet it’s the V12 that seizes centre stage – and won’t relinquish its grip for the entire time you spend with the car. Wind noise is hushed with the roof up, and buffeting minimised with it lowered, all of which is so easy to do with just a single press and hold of a button. Although the Volante’s interior fails to delight in quite the way a car of this price should, it’s a very comfortable place from which to tackle a long journey, although the same probably can’t be said for the rear seats, which are for kids or luggage only. Braking is via carbon-ceramic discs, measuring 410mm/360mm, front/rear, which the DBS will be needing if it’s to contain its mighty levels of performance. There are 21-inch wheels all round, with 265/35 Pirelli P Zeros on the front axle, and massive 305/30s on the rear. ![]() A carbon propshaft takes power to the rear axle, and the adaptive damping has GT, Sport and Sport Plus modes, just as the engine and gearbox mapping does, too. Otherwise, the Volante closely follows the specification of the coupe. In fact, the list of possible personalisation options with colours, fabric and trim is almost endless, and a surefire way to inflate the purchase price by a significant amount. The fabric is available in different colours, and there are six different headliners to choose from on the inside. Its construction features eight layers, with the result being superb high-speed refinement, particularly for a car with a ‘soft’ roof. The fabric roof has a completely electric operation and lowers in 14 seconds, raising again in 16 seconds. 2013 Aston Martin Vanquish review and pictures.Aston Martin Vanquish Volante review, price and specs.Aston Martin says a rework of the car’s Aeroblade 2 dynamics means that just 3kg of downforce is lost at V-max compared to the coupe, the figure now being 177kg. The top speed is 211mph, which should challenge even the most hardy of follicles. Performance is blistering for such a big, heavy car, with 0-62mph passing in just 3.6sec and 100mph in only 6.7sec, just a few tenths off the lighter coupe. ![]() There’s the same, toughened, ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox, too, mounted at the rear as a transaxle, with paddles for manual changes mounted behind the steering wheel. This means a peak power figure of 715bhp at 6500rpm and a thumping 664lb ft of torque from just 1800rpm. Under the vast clamshell is the familiar 5.2-litre twin-turbo ‘AE31’ engine, carried across from the DBS coupe. Powered by the firm’s 5.2-litre V12 with a full-fat 715bhp power figure, combined with a sumptuous four-seater interior and folding roof, it really is an example of sheer excess.Īt nearly £280,000, it’s also the most expensive series production Aston Martin currently on sale, and with all its power being transferred through a weakened structure can it still deliver that mix of GT car and supercar that makes the coupe variant so appealing? When it comes to the more is more argument, few cars portray the notion better than Aston Martin’s flagship open-top GT, the DBS Volante. ![]()
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