Aston loses its lid with Vanquish Zagato Volante

ASTON Martin has again recruited Italian coachbuilder Zagato to produce a limited-run Vanquish Zagato Volante – a drop-top version of the duo’s most-recent offering – which was revealed over the weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Built by Aston Martin in its Gaydon, England factory before being tweaked by Zagato, the Vanquish Zagato Volante features a new rear deck lid with twin cowls to house the folding roof which “blend into the leading edge of the luggage compartment”, giving a seamless transition from interior to bodywork.

Aside from the removable roof, the Vanquish Zagato Volante also features the same Vulcan-inspired “bladed” tail lights, carbon-fibre rear diffuser, front splitter and side skirts, quad exhaust outlets and sculpted rear end of the coupe. However, Aston Martin has had to do away with the retractable spoiler to accommodate the folding roof.

Inside, Aston Martin has adorned the Vanquish Zagato Volante with herringbone carbon-fibre, anodised bronze detailing and Bridge of Weir leather, as well as embossed seat headrests with Zagato’s trademark ‘Z’ – the same pattern quilted onto the seats and door cards.

Like its Vanquish Zagato coupe counterpart, the Volante will be limited to just 99 cars worldwide and is powered by the same 441kW 6.0-litre naturally aspirated V12, which enables a projected zero to 100 kilometre acceleration time of 3.7 seconds.

Aston Martin executive vice president and chief creative officer Marek Reichman said that although the Vanquish Zagato Volante loses its roof, it retains to same desirable silhouette of the coupe.

“Just like the coupe, we have emphasised the way surfaces change and intersect to create a muscular form,” he said.

“We’ve endeavoured to create an elegant, flowing shape that really works to emphasise the car’s sculpted rear haunches.”

Mr Reichman also said Aston Martin’s latest offering strengthens the tie between the British car-maker and Zagato.

“The Vanquish Zagato Volante illustrates the ways in which Aston Martin design can evolve in collaboration with such a trusted and long-standing partner,” he said.

“Vanquish Zagato Volante continues Aston Martin’s new century of innovation and creativity, strengthening the association between these great automotive marques in the process.”

While pricing for the Volante is yet to be confirmed – expect a pricetag north of the £500,000 ($A983,000) Vanquish Zagato coupe – an Aston Martin spokesperson has confirmed to GoAuto that "a limited number will come to Australia" to go alongside the two or three coupes bought by well-heeled local buyers.