Luxury car maker Aston Martin has unveiled the Vanquish Volante, a new £200,000 convertible which features a body made entirely from carbon fibre.
Powered by the same 565bhp AM11 6.0-litre V12 engine as the Aston’s V12 GT coupé, on which the car is based, the Vanquish Volante should reach 62mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 183mph.
Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin’s CEO, said: “This car is what luxury super GT driving is all about. Great performance, fantastic style and exhilarating Volante motoring in one superb package. Aston Martin is celebrating 100 years of excellence in 2013, and the arrival of this new sports car – our ultimate Volante – underlines that our mission to make the next 100 years even more successful is starting perfectly.”
As well as saving weight, the carbon-fibre body is said to be the stiffest Volante shell in Aston Martin’s 100-year history.
Constructing a convertible based on a coupé design creates design and manufacturing challenges particularly due to the loss in body stiffness and structural reinforcements. However, Aston Martin has made “strenuous efforts” to keep the car’s weight down while maintaining a rigid structure. The company claims the Vanquish Volante is 14% torsionally stiffer than its predecessor, the DBS Volante.
Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s design director, said: “The aerodynamically shaped tonneau, the proportions of the folding fabric roof, the luxurious nature of the cabin – these elements have been pored over by the design team, working with our engineering colleagues, to ensure we deliver the aesthetic appeal for which Aston Martin is renowned around the world.”
