Aston Martin DBS Volante: Fusing Open Top Motoring With the Ultimate Luxury Sports Car

Aston Martin DBS Volante

The ultimate open air motoring experience
Lightweight fabric hood preserving DBS’s purity of lines and beauty
Class leading handling characteristics and torsional strength
At home in the town or city as on country roads

GAYDON, Warwickshire : February 25, 2009 - Aston Martin will premiere the DBS Volante at the Geneva Auto Salon on the 3rd March 2009. Completing the DBS line-up, the new Volante will afford customers the combination of the DBS’s already-established benchmark sports car characteristics with all the thrills of open-air motoring.

Broadening the DBS’s character, the DBS Volante will appeal to drivers who wish to combine the excitement of driving a finely-tuned sports car with the invigorating feeling of being open to the elements. This juxtaposition of ultimate performance and openness stirs the senses on any drive whether an exhilarating jaunt on favoured roads or cruising on lengthy journeys. ‘Volante’, meaning ‘moving with light rapidity’, perfectly defines the performance potential and the dynamic characteristics of the DBS Volante.

Featuring a motorised retractable fabric roof, the DBS’s beautiful profile is preserved whether up or down. When the roof is closed, it provides a warm comfortable ambience and when open, it neatly disappears behind the new tonneau cover at the touch of a button.

Aston Martin’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “The DBS Volante delivers the utmost relaxed driving experience with the hood up or down. It combines engineering excellence with design perfection.

“The DBS Volante offers a subtle mix of power and performance. Adding to this, the fine craftsmanship – it is an unparalleled ownership and driving experience.”
Conceived as a Volante from the outset, Aston Martin engineers opted for a fabric hood to closely follow the silhouette of the DBS coupe and due to its lightweight properties, minimise overall weight gain. Fully retractable in only 14 seconds and at up to speeds of 30 mph (48 km/h), the roof will automatically stow under the newly sculpted tonneau, maintaining the DBS Volante’s perfect form – hood up or down.

Power is provided by Aston Martin’s hand-built all alloy 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque with a top speed of 191 mph (307 km/h) and 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 4.3 seconds. The nature of the V12, and in particular the torque available at all engine speeds, serves to provide effortless driving in all situations.

Aston Martin’s 16th convertible in 95 years, the DBS Volante draws on the marque’s extensive experience in designing iconic ‘Volantes’ and is a 2+2 featuring two occasional rear seats, ideal for young people or extra luggage. In standard specification, the DBS has a rear-mounted six-speed manual gearbox, while an automatic six-speed ‘Touchtronic’ option is also available. As with the coupe, the Volante is offered with carbon ceramic brakes as standard providing exceptional stopping power. Benefitting from materials derived from the motorsport and aerospace industries, the bonnet, front wings and boot lid are made from carbon fibre all helping to reduce weight.

The DBS Volante also comes with Bang & Olufsen’s renowned ‘BeoSound DBS’ in-car entertainment system, featuring 13 speakers as standard equipment. The BeoSound DBS has been expertly tuned by Bang & Olufsen’s Tonmeisters and Aston Martin’s acoustic engineers specifically for the Volante resulting in a system that senses when the roof has been retracted and adjusts the sound stage to compensate for extra wind noise, providing an unrivalled automotive audio experience.

The DBS Volante will be built at Aston Martin’s global headquarters at Gaydon, Warwickshire with customer deliveries expected to commence during quarter three 2009 and prices will be confirmed at the Geneva Auto Salon.

Aston Martin DBS Volante Specification :

Body

Two-door convertible body style with 2+2 seating
Bonded aluminium VH structure
Aluminium, magnesium alloy and carbon-fibre composite body
Extruded aluminium door side-impact beams
High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlamps (main beam)
LED rear lamps and side repeaters

Engine

All-alloy, quad overhead camshaft, 48-valve, 5935 cc V12
Compression ratio 10.9:1
Front-mid mounted engine, rear-wheel drive
Fully catalysed stainless steel exhaust system with active bypass valves
Max power: 380 kW (510 bhp / 517 PS) at 6500 rpm
Max torque: 570 Nm (420 lb.ft) at 5750 rpm
Acceleration: 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 4.3 seconds
Max speed: 307 km/h (191 mph)

Transmission

Rear-mid mounted, six-speed manual gearbox. Rear-mid mounted ‘Touchtronic 2’ six-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wire control system
Alloy torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft
Limited-slip differential
Final-drive ratio 3.71:1 (manual) 3.46:1 (Touchtronic)

Wheels and Tyres

Front: 8.5’’ x 20’’ Pirelli P Zero 245/35
Rear: 11’’ x 20’’ Pirelli P Zero 295/30

Steering

Rack and pinion, Servotronic speed-sensitive power-assisted steering, 3.0 turns lock-to-lock
Column tilt and reach adjustment

Suspension

Front: Independent double wishbone incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
Rear: Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers
Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Track mode

Brakes

Front: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 398 mm diameter with six-piston callipers
Rear: Ventilated carbon ceramic discs, 360 mm diameter with four-piston callipers
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Track mode
Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)
Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)
Traction control

Images : ASTON MARTIN DBS Volante