Issue:
January
2012

By Joel Levin
New Jersey Newspaper Group

Aston Martin’s newest toy for rapid transit, the DBS Volante

It was only an hour drive.  That hour, like the Aston Martin DBS Volante convertible itself, went very fast and left us wanting more.

Those 60 minutes of paradise were sufficient to leave an impression that the venerable and proper British carmaker is still among the top-ranked when it comes to building machines that awaken the envy factor even among the most jaded aficionados.

It’s obvious that much thought, engineering, and passion went into creating this marvel of aluminum, steel, magnesium, carbon fiber, lots of leather, and 12 cylinders, for this is a car for passionate people.

The DBS Volante is a tribute to discretionary spending.  Aston Martin will sell out its production of 200 or so to people who don’t “need” one of these.  Each will write a $285,000 check for a totally unnecessary vehicle. 

Yes, my dears, the sales tax on the Volante in many states will approximate $25,000.  And yes, it’s true that some people can buy an entire car for that amount, but that’s not the point.
 

Magnificent and totally unnecessary

The point is that this magnificent creation is totally unnecessary.  But it’s a very special badge that makes driver and passenger feel special, even privileged – which is what you are, of course.  Is it worth the price of, for example, three Jaguar XK soft-tops?  Well, what’s the value of exclusivity?

For the buyer seeking a comfortable vehicle with sporting character at this stratum, the choices are few.  Think Lamborghini and Ferrari, with the Ferrari the more comfortable and the Lambo the more outrageous.  Other expensive exotics, while thrilling, offer less in terms of practicality, dealer support, finesse, and pedigree.  And not one of the limited-production manufacturers we haven’t mentioned whispers heritage and good taste the way Aston Martin does.

Your Volante will require 250 hours to build.  Forty of those hours are devoted to achieving the smoothest paint job we have ever seen on a production auto.  Not one robot was used in the creation of this motorcar, proving that there’s no substitute for hands-on attention. What kind of obsessive detail do you get in an automobile that is supposed to make life easier?  You get a fully leather-lined console.  Order the smoker option and get treated to a clear and frosted Lalique ashtray which lifts out for cleaning.  Sorry but it’s not self-cleaning.  Smokers and non-smokers alike get a BlackBerry-sized caddy neatly within reach.  Ergonomics at work!

Wide-mouthed and curvy

A walk around the Volante shows a series of well-integrated curvaceous lines and Aston’s traditional wide-mouthed grille.  There are a few sculpted elements unique to this model, but nothing gratuitous.  The low side sills and chin are designed to direct air-flow smoothly for efficiency and to keep the car safely planted at the 191 mph it can attain.  The wider hips (on the Volante, that looks good) too are unique.  Also distinctive are  beautiful 10-spoke 20-inch wheels snugly filling the wheel arches.  The cutouts in the hood are purposeful as well as pretty; they help cool the engine by ducting hot air.

The interior is rich-looking but subdued.  Sumptuous, unblemished leather covers almost everything, even the entire dashboard all the way to the glass, and all seams are  hand stitched.  The windshield pillars and upper frame are upholstered in Alcantara, a  “suede” that betters nature.

There is a one-golf-bag trunk.  Don’t load your golf stuff in and you’ll have room for a large picnic or a few supermarket bags.  Going away for a weekend?  Better hope it’s a warm summer or your destination is a nudist resort. 

The saving grace is the beautifully-upholstered two-golf-bag back “seat” where your luggage can fly (“Volante” is Italian for “flying”) First Class.  Don’t fret about inconveniencing passengers because attempting to seat them would be futile anyway unless your friends are contortionist Munchkins.

It was easy to dial our favorite driving position via the usual adjustments and the tilting and telescoping leather-wrapped wheel.  And it was refreshing to get away from digital readouts and to see analog gauges instead.  The tachometer redline and the speedo’s top speed are at 12 o’clock, a format familiar to racers and possibly disconcerting to some, but not as distracting as seeing one needle move clockwise and the other needle going counterclockwise.  Sorry.

The instruments all have aluminum – not plastic – surrounds.  The standard Bang & Olufsen audio system is modulated by easy-to-twiddle rotary knobs.  The heat and A/C controls don’t require an onboard computer geek to operate.

Our test vehicle, graciously provided by New York state’s only authorized dealer, Roslyn-based Aston Martin Long Island, had the shiftable automatic transmission with perfectly located steering column-mounted magnesium shift levers or “paddles.”  We would have loved to have tried the six-speed manual transmission, but the Volante’s automatic exhibited only desirable personality traits.

A transmission that knows

When we were not in a hurry, it could tool around at a low 1200 rpm in top gear, but when prodded in automatic mode, it knew just how many ratios to downshift.  Better yet, the “adaptive” trans knew to stay in a certain gear without upshifting, when an upshift could have been unsettling to the car or one’s driving intentions. BTW, she downshifts faster than any human can with a clutch-and-stick transmission.

The ride quality, whether set for firm or firmer, was unobtrusive and not punishing.  Convertibles often shake laterally, weakened due to the missing roof, but that shake was absent on this Volante, even on some rutted roads.  Tough but gentle, the Volante is no wallower or cruise ship.  It has exactly the type of ride you want when your task is to control 510 eager horsepower. 

The luxury of having that many horses lies in the knowledge that you can bend this car to your will.  It goes where you want it to go… when you want it to.  See that space between cars up ahead?   Point your Volante, step on the right-hand pedal… and you’re there!  We longed for the confidence that would have come in the next hour so we could try some more aggressive driving but we did observe that she was great on fast, sweeping turns, leaving no doubt that she would be in her element on two-lane twisty roads.

The soundtrack to this point-and-shoot entertainment is equally rewarding, a rich tenor that is a little bit animal and a lot of refinement.  At a certain engine speed, a flap opens in the exhaust system to help the V-12 breathe more easily and bypass some of the muffler restriction.  Result:  a largely unmuffled song of the six-liter to make you smile and cause nearby traffic and pedestrians to take notice. Simon Rodd, partner in Aston Martin Long Island, said that acceleration is even faster with the manual transmission.

In our excitement of being at the wheel of the DBS, we forgot to lower the top, a task that would have been performed automatically in less than 20 seconds.  The real convertible top is fitted to maintain the graceful flow of the roofline, but in photos it sure looks great when down.  Certainly, open-air motoring would add another dimension to an already exciting ride.

Bottom line:  Own an Aston Martin DBS Volante and you own exclusivity.  You’ll be near the pinnacle of progress from a company with nearly 100 years of building race cars and luxury models.  Need room for children and large dogs?  You know what to do.  But keep the Volante; you deserve that special combination of roadworthy competence and frivolity.  Own a toy that works.

JOEL LEVIN, food & wine columnist, also covers entertainment, automobiles, and travel.

© October 2009 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.