A BEAUTIFUL, DYNAMIC GEM
Aston Martin DB11 Volante delivers
NICE, FRANCE Like a hot knife through foie gras, the 2019 Aston Martin DB11 Volante cut to the very quick of its raison d’etre. The people of southern France noticed. It even elevated this sun-starved Canuck wheelman to something altogether more intriguing.
Yes, this fresh droptop Aston rumbles with V-8 authority and immerses its front-seat occupants in a cocoon of the finest hides and woods, but first and foremost the Volante invites the world to share in your good fortune, or resent your luck.
Whatever. You are part of the spectacle, and damn, this decapitated version of Aston’s DB11 hardtop is a looker.
Britain has a long history of creating lithe droptops with heavenly bodies, and this new effort from Aston Martin is one for the books. The DB11 Volante is stunning from any angle, its perfect Cokebottle proportions accentuated by a bold, sweeping shoulder line, short overhangs, beautiful detailing and forged 20-inch alloys. The voluptuous hips are to die for, yet there is no unwanted excess in the car’s derriere.
We can thank lead designer Julian Nunn for that. As he said over dinner, “I was watching a documentary on the restoration of an Aston Martin DB2 convertible, and was moved by the purity of its lines. So at the next Volante production meeting, I stated: We are creating a modern classic here, and I refuse to build an ugly car.”
To that end, pressure was put on the German convertible roof supplier to design an eight-layer top that would follow the profile of the coupe when up, and accordion to a class-leading stack height so as to not affect the designer’s vision of a low rear deck. Mission accomplished.
Those viewing this long-nosed Aston could be forgiven for assuming there’s a V-12 engine lurking within. Not so. While the 2018 DB11 coupe was initially launched with a fresh 5.2-litre turbocharged V-12 making 600 silken horsepower, it was soon available with a Mercedes-AMG-sourced 503-hp 4.0-L twin-turbo V-8 that knocked several thousand dollars off the price, shaved off 115 kilograms (mostly from the front end) and imbued the coupe with a more sporting disposition.
That’s the route AM is taking with the 2019 Volante, and believe me, you won’t be pining for the V-12. This 4.0-L V-8 that keeps its turbos nestled within the V is an absolute stonker. It makes 503 hp and 498 pound-feet of twist from 2,000 r.p.m., the same tune as in the Mercedes-AMG C63 S.
Thumb the starter button and the V-8 barks with authority, then settles into an mellifluous idle that is refined and restrained yet undeniably ominous. Aston put its own signature on this exhaust; AMG’s blaring, farting and popping histrionics just wouldn’t do. Still, it belts out a bodacious report when caned in sport or sport plus modes. Our full-throttle blasts though some of the tunnels punctuating our mountainous drive likely loosened a few tiles.
This is a wide car, feeling one size too large for some of the mountain switchbacks inland from Nice, but once the roads opened up, the Volante came into its own. The lads in charge of its suspension tuning deserve knighthood. In standard drive mode, the Volante has a superb ride, yet there is nary a millimetre of slack in body control nor vagueness in the electric steering.
A nice touch is the separation of suspension and drive settings so one can have the engine and eight-speed ZF auto in full attack while still maintaining a smooth, controlled ride — or vice versa. Cycle through sport and sport plus modes and the car’s aggression ramps up significantly, but not at the expense of civility. That said, with its standard limited-slip differential and ridiculous torque, it’s not hard to have the back end step out at high velocities. The transmission is smooth and smart, but happy to relinquish control to the column-mounted shift paddles.
Aston had to beef up the DB11’s structure for convertible duty. There are thicker sill extrusions plus strengthened windshield surround, front suspension cradle and front and rear bulkheads. These changes, along with the roof and its mechanicals, add about 110 kilos — not that you’d notice with this masterpiece of a V-8. Over the rougher road surfaces we encountered, the Volante’s structure felt as stiff as a week-old baguette.
Wind management with the top down, windows up and rear wind-blocker in place is impressive. It was cold, yet with all the heaters on duty — cabin, seats, steering wheel — we were toasty warm even at speed.
Aston Martin delivers an interior in step with the times and price point. It’s beautifully designed, obsessively rendered and fitted with Mercedes’ intuitive Comand interface. But the tiny rear seats are best reserved for wee humans, people you don’t like or your day ’s haul from Tiffany’s.
There’s a lot going on at Aston Martin these days, and the DB11 marks the dawn of a new age. New product is coming down the pike, including an SUV, and for the first time since the start of the decade, Aston turned a profit last year.
While the 2019 Volante is quite possibly the most beautiful grand tourer money can buy, it’s also a dynamic gem that wafts as it should yet engages, excites and shines when pushed on a challenging road. Factor in that lag-free ballistic V-8 and you have an Aston Martin that is modern, fully sorted and, as always, dripping with elegance and emotion.
The 2019 DB11 Volante will arrive in Canada in June, with a starting price of $248,795.