Aston Martin DB11 V8 Volante
WE SAY: DOES THE NEW ROOFLESS DB11 V8 HAVE ALL THE ATTRIBUTES OF A CLASSIC GT?
Assuming it’s not breaking a drought, rain is one of the frustrations by which we British defne ourselves. Rain falling upon us in the South of France is a higher scope of vexation. And rain in the South of France when there’s a British 510bhp Aston Martin to be driven? Now that is just really bloody annoying. But I did it so you don’t have to.
These photos were shot under kinder skies, and doesn’t it look glamorous, eh? The front and rear of it are clearly as per any other DB11. What mattered intensely, obsessively, to the designers was that the middle region around the folded hood didn’t bulge upwards. They wanted a long, low spearing shape. Head of exteriors Miles Nurnberger, unshackled from the usual PR-led ban on mentioning rivals’ cars, unselfconsciously allows the E-(not F-) type Jaguar into his conversation.
Avoiding visual bloat was no mean feat. The hood is bulkier than on a DB9, because it has more metal bows for a smoother shape, and a full eight layers of fabric to help absorb wind noise, a sorely needed change. Plustwo rear perches are now big enough to incorporate Isofx seats. And the actual boot will now hold four carryon suitcases. Also demanding space around the same congested region are hidden pop-up roll hoops. (You might grumble that your expensive Aston’s stalks are the same as the cheapest Merc ones. But it’d be madly ungrateful to whinge at the rollover bars’ M-B part number if they’d just saved your neck.)
So sections of the underlying DB11 structure were tortured into complex new shapes to make it all ft. Other reinforcements for the convertible run under the engine, along the sills and across the rear chassis. The usual places, but done with commitment. Because the rear deck is longer than the coupe’s, there’s less aero lift; a small deployable spoiler is all that’s needed to counter it. No need for the coupe’s slightly controversial D-pillar channels.
The power-fold mechanism is heavy, as, of course, is the body strengthening. So, aluminium or no, this V8-engined Volante weighs as much as a V12 coupe, at 1,870kg, though, of course, biased signifcantly more towards the rear. It’s carrying 110kg over the V8 coupe. Will there be a V12 Volante? “No. But it wouldn’t be a challenging leap to make.” Take that as a yes but not yet.
And so we fnd ourselves in a 510bhp car that doesn’t feel shatteringly quick. But does it need to? Not in this weather, where, unless the car is aimed dead straight, I’m operating the throttle with extreme circumspection. If this weren’t the weather, the roof would be down and I still wouldn’t need shattering performance because my attention would be partially distracted towards
enjoying a whole new lot of smells, sounds and sights and the caress of the departing air.
I’m not saying it’s an inadequate V8, though. Far, far from it. It’s extremely rare to fnd a turbo engine that feels so literally and metaphorically unforced as this one: it’s a natural, free, exuberant mechanical spirit. It’s not the awesome V12, no, but it’s very much up to the task, even in a £160k context.
In other ways, this V8 leaves the V12 coupe in its wake. I so don’t get on with the V12. Into a bend, the reactions of the front and rear don’t match, and it gives me the jitters. So it’s not a sports car. But it conversely also fails as a GT: too much road noise, and it lacks what are today GT vitals, such as CarPlay and radar cruise.
Guess what, the Volante is for those same reasons not a GT, either. But it’s vastly more charming to drive than the V12, whether quickly or not. Small changes have had huge efects. The steering is more progressive of-centre, and the rear’s roll-gain is better matched. I felt more confdent hustling the Volante in the rain than the V12 in the dry. Anyway, roof up, it has a coupe-like ability to keep the weather out. But I ached for that brief moment when the clouds dried their tears and the roof furled down. When that happened, this was suddenly a car of charm, soul and real ability.
The V12 puts so much efort into being an Aston Martin that it misses out on being a good car. The Volante succeeds in the second, and so knocks the frst clean out of the park.