How do you make the Aston Martin Vanquish look even better? Simple: cut its roof off.
Aston is ready to put the inevitable convertible version of its top V12 grand tourer into production and with looks like this, it can’t come soon enough.
The 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante shares its trademark styling with the Vanquish coupe, but adds the drama of a roofless profile. Underneath, though, the similarities continue.
The Volante comes with the same 5.9-liter V12 as the hardtop Vanquish, producing 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
“Volante” is Italian for “flying,” and that’s no boast given this car’s estimated 183 mph top speed.
Despite the Vanquish Volante’s more relaxed “Super GT” billing, it should be pretty entertaining in the corners, too. Aston claims a near-perfect 51:49 front-rear weight distribution, and says the Volante is the stiffest of its convertibles to date. It’s also the first Aston Martin convertible to wear carbon fiber body panels.
Turning the Volante into a work of art is a three-piece power folding fabric top. The top can lower itself in 14 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph.
In an interesting design touch, the Volante’s windshield attaches directly to the top without the narrow strip of sheetmetal (or in this case, carbon fiber) normally seen on convertibles. For such a minor detail, it makes a big difference in the overall look of the car.
Like the Vanquish coupe, the Volante gets an appropriately luxurious cabin trimmed in leather, Alcantara, and satin chrome. For a high-tech touch, much of the center stack’s switchgear is capacitive buttons with haptic feedback, for a classier reinterpretation of your iPhone’s touchscreen.
If any car could inspire an early summer impulse buy, it would be the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, However, buyers will have to wait until next summer to drive their cars, because don’t begin until early next year. At least that will give people lusting after this rolling sculpture some time to save up the $297,995 needed to purchase it.
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