Geneva show: Aston reveals DBS convertible

ASTON Martin has lifted the roof on its flagship model and will reveal the DBS Volante convertible at next week’s Geneva Auto Salon.

The British-based but Kuwaiti-owned company will announce pricing at the Geneva show and will commence deliveries to customers in the third quarter of 2009.

Virtually identical below the waistline to the DBS coupe – James Bond’s latest car of choice – the DBS Volante gains a fabric roof similar to the units fitted to the DB9 and V8 Vantage Volante models.

Aston Martin claims the motorised retractable fabric roof of the 2+2 preserves the “purity of lines and beauty” of the coupe thanks to its shape and a new tonneau under which it is stored.

The insulated roof of Aston Martin’s 16th convertible model in 95 years opens and closes at the touch of a button in just 14 seconds – at speeds of up to 48km/h.

Company CEO Ulrich Bez said the Volante name – which apparently means ‘moving with light rapidity’ – defines the performance potential and the dynamic characteristics of the DBS Volante.



“The DBS Volante delivers the utmost relaxed driving experience with the hood up or down,” said Dr Bez.

“It combines engineering excellence with design perfection and offers a subtle mix of power and performance. Adding to this, the fine craftsmanship – it is an unparalleled ownership and driving experience.” Despite the fact that the convertible weighs about 115kg more and is powered by the same hand-built all-alloy 6.0-litre V12 engine, which develops 380kW of power and 570Nm of torque, Aston Martin curiously claims the convertible matches the coupe’s 0-100km/h acceleration time of 4.3 seconds.

Top speed is listed as 307km/h, which is 5km/h shy of the sleeker coupe.

Like the coupe, the DBS Volante has a rear-mounted six-speed manual gearbox or an optional six-speed automatic, standard carbon ceramic brakes and carbon fibre bonnet, front wings and bootlid.

Aston Martin claims the DBS Volante’s roof system is its quietest and most refined to date, including a new five-piston hydraulic pump that has been cocooned in a noise and vibration enclosure to reduce noise when raising and lowering the hood.

A rear hump ahead of the carbon-fibre bootlid houses two roll bars that automatically deploy in a rollover to protect the occupants.

Read more:

First look: Aston slots V12 into Vantage