12:39 pm, February 25, 2009
ASTON Martin will do anything but raise the roof at Geneva next week – with its new DBS Volante!
The new drop-top DBS Volante is Aston Martin’s open-top version of the fabulous DBS Coupe. And is set to be just as thrilling.
Packing the same hand-built 510bhp 6.0-litre V12 as the DBS Coupe, the DBS Volante can do 191mph all-out: with occupants fully exposed to the elements, remember! That certainly sounds exciting to us…
It will also hit 60mph in 4.3 seconds. What’s more, rev it to over 4000rpm, and a valve in the exhaust opens. This bypasses the silences, releasing even more immense V12 blare. Heard all the better with the roof down!
If you don’t want to, the roof can be raised or lowered in 14 seconds, at speeds of up to 30mph. Lowering it adjusts the profile of the Bang & Olufsen stereo, for better roof-down sound.
Aston reckons the roof operation of its 16th Convertible is also the quietest yet.
Cutting it off, though, does mean the DBS Volante is only 75 per cent as rigid as the Coupe. Even so, reckons Aston, this is an ‘exceptional’ figure, achieved through built-in engineering solutions from the off.
As it was always designed to incorporate a Volante version from the off, it also means the DBS’ style is fluid, with the canvass hood very well integrated into the lines.
Car Dealer is already familiar with the DBS Coupe, of course, after the mighty Aston Martin joined us on our Road Test of the Year extravaganza.
That £160k motor stunned everyone who drove it – and we’re sure the DBS Volante, when it goes on sale in the autumn, will do the same…
