Drop-dead gorgeous.
Aston Martin is going from win to win these days, with the excellent DB11 V12 coupé that came about last year joined earlier this year by a lighter, more focused V8 variant that hasn’t yet found criticism among motoring hacks. To ensure that they have our full and undivided attention, the Gaydon firm has brought out this, the DB11 Volante.
“The challenge of creating a convertible car is retaining structural and dynamic integrity. To protect the former, you need strength and rigidity, but to preserve the latter you need to keep weight to a minimum. The DB11 Volante is a truly magnificent car, one that combines greater performance and agility with increased comfort, refinement, and interior space for occupants and their luggage.” — Max Szwaj, CTO, Aston Martin
The DB11 Volante is essentially an open-top variant of the DB11 V8 that we first clapped eyes on in June, but leaving it at that would be doing the car a disservice. Under the bonnet you’ll find an AMG-supplied 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, putting out an eye-watering 380kW and 675Nm, paired to an eight-speed automatic that sends power to the rear wheels. While it may have German roots, the engine has been thoroughly reworked to provide a uniquely Aston Martin experience, and is far more sonorous and soulful here than it is in the brash and brutish Mercedes-AMG GT.
Despite losing the roof, the DB11 has gained just 110kg over its fixed-top sibling, bringing the total weight up to just 1870kg. Compared to the DB9 Volante it succeeds, the DB11 Volante has shed 26kg (a bulk of which is thanks to that lighter engine up front), and enjoys a 5% improvement of overall chassis stiffness, which should result in the same sharp, focused driving experience as we’ve seen from the DB11 coupé.
What’s interesting about the roof mechanism is that it’s a brand-new design for Aston Martin, allowing the eight-layered hand-stitched soft-top to be lowered in 14-seconds and raised in 16-seconds, at speeds of up to 50km/h. The soft-top can be had in either red, black-silver or grey-silver hues, giving customers the ability to further customise their DB11 Volante’s to ensure it’s never mistaken for anyone else.
Arguably one of the biggest design differences between the DB11 coupé and DB11 Volante is the absence of the aeroblades, that sit at the base of the C-pillar on the coupé and channel air over the rear in a manner that negates the need for a large rear spoiler. The rear deck on the DB11 Volante is entirely bespoke, and definitely maintains the design purity of the DB11 better than some previous Volante models.
“For many of our customers, indeed many generations of Aston Martin customer, the Volante has always offered something very special: a unique combination of elegant style, innate sporting ability and sensory engagement that lifts it above other open-top cars. The new DB11 Volante captures those qualities perfectly and promises the kind of pleasure and enjoyment that can only come from driving an open-top Aston Martin.” — Dr. Andy Palmer, CEO, Aston Martin
The DB11 Volante is available in the UK today with prices starting at a whisker under £160,000 (or $270k and some change), with deliveries expected in Q1 2018. There’s no mention of when this model will arrive on our shores, though we expect it to be sooner rather than later. Money no object, which would you rather have: This, or the coupé?
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