Gaydon, England: Andy Haslam may be the luckiest twentysomething in England. Made redundant by Ford, the 28 year old managed to catch on with a small automotive firm in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Initially, starting as a lowly technology planner, he’s worked his way up to project leader.
But that’s not what makes him so fortunate. The reason he’s so lucky is that the little English firm with which he has landed happens to be Aston Martin, and the car he oversees is the DBS Volante, the storied marque’s new topline convertible.
Of course, the only one luckier than Haslam is Yours Truly. While he had to slave for months to finally enjoy the fruits of his labour, my mandate is to pop into the DBS just as quick as you please and then thrash it until it either impresses my jaded self or submits in the process.
I’ll stick with the former, thank you. For those with a short memory, I was previously very impressed with my time in the DBS Coupe, the Volante’s predecessor. Six litres of high-revving, double overhead cam V12 bristling with 510 brake horsepower (as the Brits call them) is hard to argue with, especially when it’s accompanied by an exhaust note that could have been written by Chopin or Wagner.
I have to admit to a degree of shallowness here since one of the main reasons I so loved the DBS is the sound emanating from its twin oval exhaust pipes.
Part Ferrari scream, part Corvette thunder, the DBS growls menacingly at low speed — and then howls like a banshee as it passes 4,000 rpm and a flap in its exhaust system opens so that its full melody might be enjoyed by occupants and passersby alike. So enthralled was I in my original road test that I drove most everywhere with the windows down — the better to listen to the chorus — even though it was a particularly cold week in May.
In the Volante, the effect is even more delicious since there’s a completely open roof, not just a measly window, providing access to that marvellous exhaust note. Yes, I know that reading about how good a car sounds makes for a seemingly facile reason to laud a $310,100 automobile (that’s for the base car with its six-speed manual transmission; the six-speed Touchtronic automatic costs $4,000 more), but for true lovers of the internal combustion engine, the DBS’s cacophony is pure aural delight.
As for the rest of the car, it is essentially a Coupe with its top lopped off. That’s not meant as an insult since the DBS Coupe is brilliant and the car was designed from the outset for both body styles. Other than a slightly more robust rear suspension subframe, the Volante needs no further frame stiffening despite the loss of its roof. Over some extremely lumpy English B-roads, there was no perceptible cowl shake whatsoever, even after selecting the seriously firm suspension setting.
The aforementioned stiff suspension also makes the Aston Martin extremely nimble for something originally intended for more sedate grand touring.
Despite having some if its big V12 mounted ahead of the front axle — not so good for weight distribution — the DBS proves remarkably adept at navigating tight turns at sports car speeds, either neatly with the traction nanny engaged or more dramatically when the incessant nuisance is shut off. Even in its convertible form, the DBS is the one DB9 variant that feels as if it might be comfortable being flung around a race track at speed.
It certainly has the moxie for it. Besides all that glorious bellowing, the 6.0L V12 does an admirable job of motivating the 1,810-kilogram Volante.
Aston Martin claims a zero-to-100-kilometres-an-hour time of 4.3 seconds. This is impressive indeed, although it doesn’t capture the eagerness of the 12 pistons scurrying to their 7,000 rpm redline. Equally admirable but far more illegal is its 307 km/h top speed, testament that the DBS’s beautiful, organic curves are as aerodynamic as they are sensual.
Making sure the DBS can harness all that power is a set of standard Brembo brakes (six pistons up front, four pots in the rear) clamping on to high-tech carbon ceramic discs. The latter look to be the size of manhole covers and, at 398 millimetres in diameter, the front discs require 20-inch wheels to fit.
Inside the Aston, the materials are all exquisite — as befits any automobile costing almost as much as my house. Four cows or so sacrificed their epidermis so one Aston Martin interior can be lined and it is, as I can attest from visiting the company’s manufacturing facility in Gaydon, all hand-stitched by little old ladies wearing spectacles. The electronic key has crystal inlays and the gearshift knob is beautifully polished aluminum, cool to the touch and easy to shift through its six gears despite a clutch that insists on engaging quite late in its travel.
But the centrepiece of the new Volante’s cabin is a Bang & Olufsen audio system boasting 1,000 watts, no less than 13 speakers and the same pop-up tweeters as the B&O system in Audi’s S8. Without comparing them back to back, I can’t tell you which system is better, but one of them is the best car audio system in the world.
This is why the 2010 DBS Volante is the car I would buy if I had stupid money. When it is too cold for a top-down operetta of 12-cylinder exhaust music, I can just listen to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at ear-splitting volumes and comfort myself with the warmth of British leather and hand-laid carbon fibre.
I really need to make more money.
dbooth@nationalpost.com
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