Aston Martin is on a roll and it just keeps on getting more exclusive – as they unveil their topless Vanquish Volante, the first to feature a full carbon fibre body, loaded with a 570bhp 6.0-litre V12 engine offering 0-62 mph in about 4.0-seconds and with a multi-layer lightweight fabric roof capable of folding flat in just 14 seconds. Oh, and did I mention the price? £199,995 RRP in the UK, €264,995 RRP in Germany, $297,995 MSRP in the United States and $323,974 RRP in Dubai. But they claim the Vanquish Volante is "a stunning new
luxury sports car that brings the thrill of open top motoring to the
super GT class... and sits at the pinnacle of our sports car line-up."They say: "Benefitting from all of the technical, engineering and design
advances present in the Vanquish coupe launched last year, the new Volante enhances the
driving experience still further through the option of exciting
convertible driving. The Vanquish Volante crucially retains the coupe’s dynamic character and
sporting capability. It boasts the same new AM11 6.0-litre V12 engine as
the coupe and the same blistering performance figures, meaning the 0-62
mph sprint is despatched in just 4.1 seconds (estimated) while the top
speed stands at 183 mph."
Vanquish Volante is the first fully carbon fibre-skinned Volante in
the brand’s 100-year history, while also being the stiffest Volante body
structure yet created by the engineering team at Aston Martin’s global
HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The new car’s triple-skin
lightweight fabric roof takes just 14 seconds to fold.
Announcing the arrival of the Vanquish Volante Aston Martin CEO Dr
Ulrich Bez said: "This car is what luxury super GT driving is all about.
Great performance, fantastic style and exhilarating Volante motoring in
one superb package. Aston Martin is celebrating 100 years of excellence in 2013, and the
arrival of this new sports car – our ultimate Volante – underlines that
our mission to make the next 100 years even more successful is starting
perfectly."
The design of Vanquish Volante represents the latest take on Aston
Martin’s iconic visual language. Styling cues such as the elegant waist,
elongated side strakes and LED rear light blades are derived from the
One-77 supercar while the folding fabric roof sits beneath a tonneau and
decklid that have been aerodynamically tuned for optimum performance.
The windscreen, meanwhile, is now full height – a first for Aston
Martin – which means that the glass runs up to meet the fabric roof,
thereby achieving a particularly clean transition.
The Vanquish Volante’s ‘suit’ of carbon fibre panels cloaks a cabin
that is both sophisticated and comfortable. The 2+2 cabin is elegantly
attired in authentic and luxurious materials: full grain Luxmil leather
with optional quilting, metal controls and satin chrome trim underscore
the car’s well-appointed nature.
Each body panel on the car is constructed from carbon fibre not just
because of its high strength-to-weight ratio, but also for its
flexibility of form. This not only reduces mass but means that fewer
individual body panels are required – reducing joints and contributing
to a more coherent and svelte shape.
As practical as it is well-dressed, the Vanquish Volante boasts a
boot that’s fully 50% larger than that of the previous DBS Volante. It
measures 279 litres – roof up or down – and makes the new Aston Martin
the perfect choice for continent-crossing grand tours as well as daily
drives.
Perhaps one of the most striking interior design elements is the
centre stack with refinements providing a more elegant form that is also
more intuitive and accessible for both driver and front seat passenger.
A direct descendent of the One-77 centre stack, the Vanquish and
Vanquish Volante’s set-up retains familiar elements such as the ECU
engine start button and glass gear selection buttons while featuring a
new infotainment system and a significantly more user-friendly design.
The facia trim now stretches down the whole centre stack and is
manufactured from a single piece of material giving a uniform finish.
The user interface boasts a simple, ergonomically efficient layout as
well as technological updates that make it the brand’s most advanced
in-car system available today.
Capacitive glass buttons with illumination and haptic feedback
feature in the rest of the centre stack’s switchgear. Haptic feedback is
more commonly found in touch-screen mobile phones and Aston Martin was
among the first significant luxury car manufacturers in the world to use
the technology in a series production model when it debuted on Vanquish
coupe in 2012.
Aston Martin Design Director Marek Reichman explained: "Vanquish
Volante is a sports car, of course, but more even than that it is the
ultimate Volante. A car which follows a long line of elegant Aston
Martin convertibles, this super GT is sculpted to convey sophistication
as much as raw power.
“The aerodynamically shaped tonneau, the proportions of the folding
fabric roof, the luxurious nature of the cabin – these elements have
been pored over by the Design team, working with our Engineering
colleagues, to ensure we deliver the aesthetic appeal for which Aston
Martin is renowned around the world."
Under its curvaceous carbon fibre bonnet the Vanquish Volante
comprises the latest generation AM11 naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12
petrol engine which drives the rear wheels via a Touchtronic 2 six-speed
automatic gearbox.
The V12’s power peak of 573 PS (565 bhp) arrives at 6,750 rpm while
the torque peak of 620 Nm (457 lb ft) is available at 5,500 rpm. These
numbers translate into performance that matches the Vanquish coupe’s and
ensures the new car supports its Super GT billing.
The dynamics have been tuned precisely, with new springs and damper
settings calibrated to deliver the same crisp handling yet compliant
ride as the coupe.
Strenuous efforts have been made to limit the new car’s weight;
contributing to its impressive performance, agile handling and
compelling power-to-weight ratio. The combination of controlled weight,
near-perfect 51:49 weight distribution, a powerful V12 engine and a
performance-honed six-speed transmission unite to make the Vanquish
Volante as rewarding on the move as it is beautiful standing still.
Like its coupe counterpart, the Vanquish Volante uses the latest
generation of Aston Martin’s class-leading VH (Vertical Horizontal)
architecture, a lightweight bonded aluminium structure that provides
outstanding strength and rigidity. In this iteration, the Vanquish now
includes the addition of significant semi-structural carbon fibre
components, as well as the use of bonding derived directly from the
latest aerospace technologies.
As well as being light, strong and flexible in its application, the
gen4 VH architecture is also extremely rigid. The new Vanquish Volante
is, in fact, 14% torsionally stiffer than the DBS Volante which preceded
it, making it highly resistant to flex and allowing for responsive and
predictable handling.
This rigid structure also provides an ideal foundation from which the
suspension can control the vehicle effectively, further highlighting
the importance of the body structure and the effect it has on the
dynamic performance of the car.
Aston Martin’s engineering teams have worked particularly hard to
minimise the weight outside the wheelbase of the new car to reduce yaw
inertia. As a result, carbon fibre has been used extensively in the rear
structure and the weight of the aluminium front structure has been
limited.
To take full advantage of its precise and rigid architecture, the
Vanquish Volante employs a battery of sophisticated technologies
including Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and Positive Torque Control
(PTC).
Aston Martin’s Adaptive Damping System (ADS) allows the driver to
switch between three distinct damping modes: Normal, Sport and Track,
delivering instant adjustment of the car’s ride and handling
characteristics.
The ADS automatically alters the suspension settings to ensure the
driver has high levels of control at all times, with the ability to
respond quickly to different driving conditions. The different damping
modes available help significantly broaden the Vanquish Volante’s
character, adapting its set-up to suit the driver’s mood and
requirements. Thus it can be a cruising GT car in Normal mode with the
capacity to morph into an assertive sports car in Sport and Track modes.
The damper settings are determined by an electronic control unit
which takes sensor readings from the car’s systems including throttle
position, brake position, steering wheel rotation and vehicle speed.
This data establishes the prevailing driving conditions and the demands
the driver is making on the car.
Steering, too, is crisp, precise and communicative. The rack’s quick
15:1 ratio – 2.6 turns lock-to-lock – is allied to speed-sensitive power
assistance that’s tuned to deliver optimum assistance.
The car’s braking system features third generation Brembo Carbon
Ceramic Matrix (CCM) parts to deliver shorter stopping distances with
resistance to fade in even the most demanding driving conditions. CCM
brakes are also lighter than a conventional system, reducing the weight
of the car overall and, in particular, the unsprung weight and
rotational masses, further enhancing the performance of the suspension.
The front brakes use 398 mm x 36 mm CCM discs with larger front pads
and six-piston callipers from the One-77, while the rear brakes use 360
mm x 32 mm CCM discs with four-piston callipers.
Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez added: "Vanquish Volante, like the
Vanquish coupe before it, uses the very latest technologies employed in
the very best ways to create a sports car which is easy to control, and
to enjoy dynamic performance at the finest level. This is not simply a great-looking car – this is a great car
engineered and crafted for the connoisseur by people dedicated to
delivering exceptional sports cars with clearly defined characters."
See 20+ images of the new killer cabriolet
here.
