New Car: 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante

Auto Express can bring you first official images of Aston Martin’s latest head-turner – the DBS Volante convertible. Making its debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month, the new drop-top will line up alongside the V12 Vantage and new Lagonda luxury saloon, giving show goers a triple treat of fresh metal. Described by Aston Martin as the “the ultimate open air motoring experience”, the DBS Volante gets the same mighty 6.0-litre V12 as the coupe and stunning looks with a fabric hood that closely follows the silhouette of the coupe.Capable of dropping at the touch of a button in just 14 seconds and at up to speeds of 30mph, the roof automatically stows under a re–sculpted tonneau cover, which maintains the slick look of the coupe. And as you can see, all the styling cues from the storming DBS coupe are carried across.
The front end gets sleek air intakes, a low splitter and bonnet air vents, the side skirts are lower while at the rear are clear lens covers for the taillights, a subtle boot-lid spoiler and a diffuser. While the bonnet, front wings and boot lid are made from carbon fibre, the DBS Volante is quite a bit heavier than the coupe. To cope with the loss in stiffness associated with the removal of the hard-top, extra strengthening – including a rigidly mounted rear subframe – has gone into the bonded aluminium chassis chassis. As a result the Volante tips the scales at 1810kg – some 115kg more than the coupe. Despite this extra weight, performance isn’t really affected. Under the bonnet lies the same 6.0-litre V12 as the DBS coupe. Based on the same unit that powers the DB9, it gets an uprated airbox, which takes peak power to 510bhp and torque to 570Nm. Standard transmission is a six-speed manual gearbox with the option of Aston Martin’s semi-automatic Touchtronic ‘box. The Volante posts almost identical performance figures to the coupe, accelerating from 0-62mph in just 4.2seconds (0.1seconds down) and hitting the same top speed of 191mph. Carbon ceramic brakes do the stopping while adaptive dampers and double wishbone suspension with 20-inch alloy wheels and sticky Pirelli P-Zero rubber should mean the Volante is prodigious around corners. Inside the luxurious 2+2 cabin gets a bespoke Bang and Olufsen sound system as standard. On sale this autumn, the DBS Volante is expected to cost around £170,000 – some £11,000 more than the coupe. For more details click here.

Thanks to: Auto Express