The best thing about the DBS Volante is that, top down, you can more thoroughly appreciate the sound of the Aston’s viciously powerful V12 engine.
In town for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Aston Martin had a selection of DBS Volante’s on hand and invited AutoGuide to test out the latest Bond car in Monterey - one of the few places in the world that can make even Monte Carlo look middle-class.
Blasting through the Northern California hills we’re happy to report that due to the DBS’s already extra-potent V12 engine, the added weight in the convertible model doesn’t effect performance… not that you can feel anyway. Making 510hp and 420 ft-lbs of torque it will hit 62 mph in 4.3 seconds… ever-so-slightly slower than the coupe.
One reason for this is that Aston kept the weight gain to a minimum, with a total curb weight of 3,990 lbs. - roughly 250 lbs more then the coupe. That might seem like quite a bit at first but many convertibles, especially hard-top ones, can weigh as much as 500 lbs more than their coupe counterparts. Aston chose the soft top to keep the weight low and retain a useable amount of trunk space. We should also point out that the sub-4,000 lb curb weight is actually very good for a full-sized grand tourer.
And rather than just cut the top off, Aston redesigned the DBS with a new line that runs along the entire length of the car and a new decklid spoiler.
The DBS Volante is one of the few vehicles on the road that’s as nice to look at as it is to drive.
For a full run-down on the DBS Volante be sure to check out our Reviews section later this week. For now we’ll just list some initial impressions:
LOVE IT:
-Intoxicating exhaust note
-Looks that thrill
-No real performance loss on drop-top
LEAVE IT:
-Annoying backwards gauges
-Tiny gear indicator
GALLERY: 201 Aston Martin DBS Volante
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