New Aston Martin Vanquish Volante revealed – more expensive, better looking than Ferrari’s 12 Cilindri Spider
New Vanquish Volante completes Aston Martin’s range rejuvenation of its front-engined cars ahead of the mid-engined Valhalla launch in autumn 2025.
As night follows day, so too the Volante version of the latest Aston Martin Vanquish follows in the footsteps of the coupe. Powered by the same 5.2-litre, twin-turbocharged V12 producing 823bhp and 737lb ft, this 214mph convertible is the fastest, most powerful open top series production car Aston Martin has produced. The first deliveries start in Q3 2025 with the Volante expected to carry a circa £40,000 price premium over the coupe’s £350,000 list price.
Costing nearly £400,000 will position the new Vanquish Volante above its rival from Maranello, the £366,500 12 Cilindri Spider. But while the price points are as close as you can expect at this level, the execution of the two is very different with Aston Martin’s V12 relying on a pair of turbochargers, the Ferrari’s natural aspiration. Neither want for performance and both want your attention although to these eyes the Brit has the advantage over the Italian, which has to be the first time Italian design has been outdone by the British.
In terms of powertrain the Vanquish Volante’s remains untouched from the coupe, with the V12 mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission complete with an e-diff. It means that, despite its 95kg weight increase over the coupe’s 1835kg, this latest open-top Aston matches the coupe’s top speed and is only a tenth slower to 62mph from zero (3.4sec). Drive modes – GT, Sport, Sport + – retain the same mapping, which means the engine’s mountainous torque is capped in the first six gears in GT mode, with peak torque arriving at 2500rpm in Sport and Sport +.
Development in unison with the Vanquish coupe means an inherent stiffness was engineered into the chassis and body, negating the need to add considerable and heavy strengthening to compensate for the lack of a roof. While the Vanquish family’s underpinnings are loosely based on the DBS Superleggera, the Vanquish Volante is 70 per cent stiffer than the soft-top DBS.
The changes to the Vanquish’s roof to complete the Volante transformation include the fitment of a ‘K-fold roof’ mechanism, that folds away under a rear retractable hardtop tonneau behind the storage area between the seats and rear bulkhead. Naturally, it can be opened and closed on the move (if you’re travelling no faster than 31mph that is), with the former procedure taking 14 seconds, the latter 16.
Software changes have been made to the Bilstein DTX dampers to take into account the weight increase but the same AML spec Pirelli P Zero 21-inch tyres are taken from the coupe. The double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension is as per the Vanquish coupe, so too the standard carbon-ceramic brakes.
Deliveries are due to start in quarter three 2025, with the Volante making up a proportion of the 1000 Vanquish models Aston Martin will produce each year at its Gaydon facility. This latest Vanquish model also completes the model line-up update, following the introduction over the last 24 months of the refreshed Aston Martin DBX707 and the new DB12, Vantage and Vanquish coupe models that, with the Vanquish Volante, are now also available in convertible form.
