Introducing the striking new Aston Martin DB12 Volante. Offering one of the most powerful V8s currently on sale and aiming to become the world’s first open-top super tourer, the Volante is the latest in Aston Martin’s illustrious history of high-performance convertibles.

With an emphasis on preserving the love of roof down driving, Amedeo Felisa, Aston Martin Chief Executive Officer, says the vision was about “creating a car that intensifies those feelings”.

Developed in parallel with the Coupe stablemate and boasting the same design, engineering and technology advances, the DB12 Volante was built on the foundation of performance and handling. The suspension mounts have been made stiffer by 140% at the front end and a cross brace has been added across the engine bay. This boots the torsional stiffness by 3.7% compared to its predecessor, the DB11. And carried over is the soft top which can open and close at 31mph, taking 14 seconds to open and 16 to close. There are four different exterior hood colours to choose from. Black comes as standard, as well as a choice of Red, Blue and ‘Black and Silver’ as options, complementing the range of exterior and interior colour choices.

In terms of performance, the Volante manages a 0-62mph time of 3.7 seconds, being powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, sending 671bhp and 590 lb-ft of torque via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. A top speed of 202mph is also achievable.

Other highlights of the Volante include new adaptive dampers, which have a 500% increase in bandwidth of force distribution compared to the previous generation's hardware. Of course, like many other Astons, there is the ability to use the services of Q, the luxury personalisation service to put your own stamp on the Volante.

Marek Reichman, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, said: “Creating open-air performance machines for drivers has always held a special place in hearts across Aston Martin, dating back to 1965, with our introduction of the first Volante model, the legendary Short Chassis. It has been, and always will be, a design beacon for us.”

Making its global debut at Monterey Car Week in California this week and at the exclusive clubhouse Aston Martin Club 1913 at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance over the weekend, the DB12 Volante is sure to gather widespread interest from the motoring world.

Deliveries of the DB12 Volante will start by the end of the year, with production due to begin in the immediate future. The next step for Aston Martin is to undertake a similar project in overhauling the Vantage in a similar manner.

Words: Mike Booth
Pictures & Video: Aston Martin