First Drive: Aston Martin Vanquish Volante
To enter the doors of the Aston Vanquish Volante — the convertible version of the Aston Martin Vanquish flagship — is to savor life’s sweetness. Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman gave us a walk around of this zippy dreamer at the Peninsula Hotel during QuaiL: A Motorsports Gathering. the Vanquish Volante highlighted the company’s presence at Monterey Car Week. “It’s something which has no comparison and no competitor from a proportional relationship of line, surface, and volume,” he said. “The whole emphasis therefore is on only two seats as well asthe most glorious proportioned car showing it in this special version in terms of the color, scheme, and the layout. It should create awe it should create a sense of wow. it should create a sense of celebration.” We first encountered the Vanquish Volante on a bustling midtown Manhattan morning at Q, Aston’s North American flagship gallery, a space for customizing and imagining dreamy vehicle specifications. A line of Vanquish Volantes were lined up on Park Avenue, beckoning.
How it looks when you see it on the street: The Vanquish Volante is a head-turning two-seater stunner composed of boned aluminum and carbon fiber, draped in a fabric hood. It’s the new convertible outtake of the Vanquish, the bodacious Aston Martin flagship sportscar that debuted last year. Its grand size and specs project unapologetic arrival vibes — and it moves Aston’s posh history squarely into the future, with the top down for all to see the flex. Before Vanquish, the debonair DB12 was its statement making convertible, but the Vanquish is over half a foot longer and 3 inches wider.
“It should create awe. It should create a sense of wow.”
How it makes you feel when you get in: The interior is exercise in elegance. Climbing in this cockpit feels like akin to slipping on a Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra Necklace, an expression of classic decadence coated in the finest leathers and carbons. Taking the top up and down is a 16-second feat. It might be cloth, but its winterproofed with eight layers of insulation. Its one of the first vehicles to support Apple CarPlay Ultra, which seemed like it still needed to be smoothed over with a final software update. As Apple creatives, we’d like to see more Apple software guiding the in-car experience. It supports both AppleCar Play and Android Auto and the What3Words app. The 15-speaker Bowers and Wilkins stereo is standard.
How it drives: Before driving it, we inspected under the hood, to find the source of its power: a provocative gasoline powered V12 beast that accounts for its 3.3 second 0 to 60 mile per hour time. In this set up, the engine lacks the hybrid and electric fuel efficiency that is driving future innovation and instead is a throwback, to a thirsty, raucous era of performance. It makes 823 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque that cooperates with a ZF gearbox. To drive through midtown Manhattan made us focus on some of the more discernable details, like how the racing-inspired Pirelli P-zero tires fared well on rocky pavement. City driving up the Westside Highway required a stern grip on the supple steering wheel, because it is quite a lot of car. Those sturdy carbon ceramic brakes came in handy as several terrible drivers cut us off and tested our edges. When we made it north to Westchester County, we were able to relax as the Vanquish Volante sailed along smoothly on the highway. We toyed around with the four driving modes: GT, Sport, Sport+, and Wet—.
Space for people and things: Two comfy seats allow for plenty of leg room. A small handbag can be stored on the ledge behind the seats. The trunk has room enough for small suitcases. We hear Aston Martin makes its own luggage, too.
What should you compare it to: Ferrari 12Cilindri Spider, Bentley Continental GTC
How much does it cost: $489,700 – not for the faint hearted.