2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. Understated Aggression

Aston Martin Vanquish Volante.
Style & Speed In Stunning Wrapper. 

SPECS

Base price:  $297,995
Drivetrain:  6.0 liter V12
Power:  565hp, 457lb/ft
Transmission:  Six speed automatic
Performance:  0-60mph 4.1 sec

KEY POINTS

We like: 
Prettiest convertible on the market. 
Love that V12
Cons: 
It's a cruiser, not a sports car.

ASTON MARTIN VANQUISH VOLANTE

This car making business is not complicated. Build a beautiful car, stuff it with massively powerful engine and make sure it goes around corners.

Aston's new V12 is the key to this model. While it uses the same block as the outgoing V12, 75% of the internals are new. Improvements include fully variable intake and exhaust valve timing, hollow shafts, CMC-machined combustion chambers and larger throttle bodies, allowing the engineer to generate. 565hp and 457lb/ft of torque. It keeps the six speed automatic gearbox.

The chassis has been equally upgraded, but is still based on the aging VH frame. A mix of extruded aluminum box sections, stamped floor plans and added carbon fiber components and body parts complete the body upgrades. The soft top retracts in under 14 seconds. The interior is typical Aston Martin beautiful, way more charming than its competitors, they just know how to do it well.

The driving experience gives you that wind in your hair awesome feeling. The sound from the hunking big V12 is rather quiet at low speeds, but get aggressive with the throttle and those bypass flaps open in the exhaust to wake the entire neighborhood. Not a frenetic Ferrari wail, but a deeply satisfying V12 rumble that has a nice metallic rasp to it. Acceleration is quick with the automatic, but most oft he fun is in the higher rev ranges where's things really come alive.

The steering is tight and communicative and combined with the Volante's electrically adaptive suspension it is definitely tuned for convertible cruising rather than all out race track hooliganism, which suits this car perfectly.