Aston Martin DB12 Volante debuts with gorgeous looks, fabric roof

The Aston Martin DB12 coupe was revealed as the world’s first “super-tourer” a few weeks ago. It looked beautiful and instantly stole the soul of petrolheads around the world. Now, Aston Martin has turned the DB12’s beauty quotient up to 13 (because going ‘upto’ 11 won’t make sense for the DB TWELVE, right?) with the convertible model, known as the Volante model going by Aston’s nomenclature.

The big center of attraction is the roof which takes 14 seconds to go down and 16 seconds to come up while the super-tourer is moving at a speed of 50 km/h. If you’re within a 2 meter radius of the car, you can also remotely operate the roof. “To achieve a class-leading 260mm stack height,” the roof features a two-stage folding ‘K-fold’ mechanism.

To ensure that the cabin is as quiet as the coupe, the fabric roof has eight layers of insulation. A black roof is available as standard, red, blue, or black/silver options are available alongwith the usual loads of interior and exterior color combination. For maximum customisation, customers can approach Aston’s bespoke Q division to make their DB12 Volante.

Mechanically, nothing has changed with the DB12 Volante powered by a Mercedes-sourced twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 producing 671 horsepower and 800 Newton-meters of torque. The Volante reaches 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds, a second slower than its hard-top sibling. However, top speed is the same at 325 km/h.

All the power is sent to the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF gearbox working in tandem with a torque converter, an electronic rear limited-slip differential, and a carbon fiber prop shaft. 

For enhanced stopping power and weight-saving, carbon ceramic breakers are available as an option. The car sits on glorious 21-inch forged wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tires specifically made for the Aston Martin.

Step inside and you will find the British carmaker’s 10.25-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A Bowers & Wilkins 15-speaker, 1,170-watt setup is on offer as an optional extra though the ‘standard’ 11-speaker, 390-watt standard sound system should be no slouch either. 

The Aston Martin DB12 Volante will go into production in the third quarter of this year, with deliveries beginning in the fourth quarter of 2023.