Aston Martin reveals ‘unprecedented’ Vanquish Volante

Meet the fastest, most powerful front-engine convertible

Aston Martin has celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Volante name with the announcement of its latest example.

The Vanquish Volante cranks things up a notch, becoming the most powerful open-top series production car Aston Martin has produced to date. It also shares the title of the fastest, most powerful front-engine production car on sale today with its coupe stablemate.

It is available to order now, with the first deliveries arriving in Q3 2025.

60 years of Volante

The Volante name was originally given to the Short Chassis Volante of 1965, which became a mix of the outgoing DB5 convertible and future DB6. In case you were wondering, the word Volante means ‘flying’ in Italian.

Not that these were flying off the proverbial shelves. Only 37 were ever built in a one-year production period, making it one of the rarest production cars of all time and it eventually gave way to the DB6 Volante.

The new Vanquish Volante is the fifteenth production car produced by Aston Martin to use the Volante name, with famous examples including the DB6 MkII Vantage Volante, which counts King Charles III as a former owner. The car was loaned to Prince William to drive himself and the Princess of Wales from their wedding reception at Buckingham Palace to St James Palace. The King has also taken delivery of a 1986 V8 Vantage Volante in the past, and has been behind the wheel of an uprated 1994 Virage Volante.

James Bond fans will remember the gadget-filled V8 Volante used by Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights, which actually belonged to Aston Martin chairman Victor Gauntlett at the time.

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante engine

While the original Volante was powered by a 3995 cc Tadek Marek I6 engine, the new Vanquish Volante contains a twin-turbocharged, 5.2-litre V12. Producing 823bhp and 1000Nm of torque, the Volante Vanquish has a top speed of 214mph and 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds with anywhere between 2500-5000rpm possible.

How does it produce such speeds? Power is fed to the rear wheels with an eight-speed ZF gearbox situated within the rear axle for better weight distribution. It also contains the same rear E-diff used on the Vanquish Coupe and, combined with the new Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) tech, provides greater agility in cornering and more control in oversteer and lane change conditions. This new ESP system also offers a safer experience with predefined modes (On, Track, Off, Wet) all selectable via the ESP button on the centre console.

According to Simon Newton, Director of Vehicle Performance and Attributes at Aston Martin, engineers worked on the Coupe and Volante simultaneously to “retain the dynamic capabilities and character of Vanquish Coupe with no compromise upon removing the roof.”

There are some differences between the two, however, with the Vanquish Volante getting a bespoke suspension tune designed to account for its unique weight distribution. New Bilstein DTX dampers help with wheel control, which Aston says “provide(s) far greater distinction between the individual modes than has ever been possible in the past.” These modes are GT, Sport and Sport+ which pretty much speak for themselves.

To bring all that power to a stop, a carbon ceramic brake system is fitted as standard, weighing 27kg less than conventional iron discs and offering increased longevity and resistance to fade. Aston Martin engineers also worked with tyre partner Pirelli to develop a new P ZERO tyre specifically for the Vanquish Coupe and Volante.

Exterior Design

Designed to have a muscular presence with ‘contemporary elegance’, the Vanquish Volante’s design is performance driven and also features F1 inspired thermos louvres to aid cooling. The kicked up Kamm tail at the rear sits above the ‘Shield’, which is apparently designed to appear as though it is “floating at the rear of the car.”

The lightweight roof can be opened in 14 seconds and closed in 16 seconds at speeds of 31mph and under either via a metal switch on the centre console or remotely from the key fob within a two-metre radius of the car. The fabric roof can be seamlessly stowed behind the seats.

The front bumper has had a redesign, and the grille is now 13% bigger in surface area. This helps to cool the engine, while the new outer bumper vents channel air around the nose and into the front wheel arches to help with brake cooling. Matrix LED headlights have a new light signature and new intricate details include the Aston Martin name etched on the internals, while the red ‘V12’ motif is seen on the side strake.

A newly developed stainless steel exhaust system has been fitted with a quad tailpipe layout, while a 10.5kg lighter Titanium exhaust system is available as an option giving a louder and clearer V12 sound.

Interior

Inside, the Vanquish Volante has been purposely designed with an adjustable two-seat configuration. Sports Plus Seats come as standard, although carbon fibre Performance Seats are optional, all with the retractable roof in mind.

The interior layout of the Coupe has been carried over, characterised by a lower centre console featuring a 10.25-inch driver display and a 10.25-inch touchscreen system with full online connectivity and multi-finger gesture control.

For fans of buttons and switches, machine-knurled rotary dial surrounds the illuminated Stop/Start button to select your desired drive mode. This sits alongside push button switches for Chassis, ESP, Exhaust and Park Distance Control, meaning they can be operated without needing to take your eyes off the road.

Sound is provided by a seamlessly integrated 15-speaker surround sound system courtesy of audio partner Bowers & Wilkins.

The rear of the interior (as well as some exterior features) can be tailored to the customer’s needs thanks to Q by Aston Martin, the brand’s customisation service. This can include anything from names sewn by hand in a headrest to full scale engineering components.

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante Price

Prices are set to begin at nearly £400,000, which puts it above its £366,500 12 Cilindri Spider rival from Ferrari.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Aston Martin