Anyone who ever decides to write a book about the car world won’t be able to escape from two considerations: a: this would take an entire encyclopedia, and b: it could dedicate an entire volume only to name-related tidbits. Most of these were created by the event of one word having entirely different meanings in each country, which fits Aston Martin’s case without the mocking: the same expression for steering wheel in Portuguese means flying in Italian and, since few decades ago, a series of gorgeous English convertible cars.
Coupés and convertibles tend to be projected together because these concepts differ essentially on having a removable or fixed roof – both can be larger and seat four (whose convertibles are called cabriolets) or shorter and seat only two (therefore having their drop-heads called roadsters). That’s the reason why almost every release of one doesn’t take long to receive the other variation, and also why the expectations of how the second one would like aren’t so intense – hatchbacks, sedans and station wagons arouse bigger curiosity, for instance, because each development can affect the vehicle’s entire second half. However, staying far from big changes results very positive when it comes to a car which is derived from nothing but the latest Vanquish. Aston’s convertible managed to preserve also the coupe’s sportiness, but specially its class. Such feeling comes mostly from Volante’s different proportions, which start with the long hood but finish in an also long rear section, while competitors such as Mercedes-Benz SL-Class have much shorter rears in order to resemble the traditional roadsters. This comes from the fact that the English car prefers to give a grand-tourer air, rather than screaming it is a high-performance vehicle. But one should never be led to think that’s some attempt of masking a slow car – this would be an enormous mistake.
Volante keeps reminding it’s a Vanquish when you manage to stop staring at the carbon-fiber external panels in order to enter the 2+2-seater cabin. Like in the coupe, it’ll be possible to choose between several combinations of colors and materials. But in the new car they’ll include the removable cloth-roof, which can open or close when riding at up to 30 mph taking fourteen seconds. The automaker also boasts about the windshield, whose glass was extended to the top of this piece in the outside, hiding the horizontal structure that connects both A-pillars. Going back to what was shared with the coupe means mentioning the the 5.9L V12 engine, paired to a six-speed automatic gearbox. Such powertrain generates 565 hp, 457 lb-ft and Aston’s typical engine sound in a car that has fewer physical obstructions for it to be heard. The top-notch equipment list includes Brembo carbon-ceramic disc brakes, electronic controls such as DSC and PTC and the brand’s Adaptive Damping System. ADS is better than most driving-mode selectors because it chooses between the three offered modes automatically. The car counts on several different sensors to detect parameters like throttle, brake and steering wheel positions in order to determine the current driving conditions and activate whichever suspension settings result most suitable.
