British car maker Aston Martin said it has unveiled the new Vanquish Volante, a stunning new luxury sports car that brings the thrill of open top motoring to the super GT class.

 

Alongside its coupe sibling, launched to worldwide acclaim last autumn, the Vanquish Volante sits at the pinnacle of the luxury British car maker’s sports car line-up.

 

Benefitting from all of the technical, engineering and design advances present in the Vanquish coupe, the new Volante enhances the driving experience still further through the option of exciting convertible driving.

 

Announcing the launch, Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez 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,” he remarked. 

 

"Instantly becoming one of the most beautiful cars in its class, Vanquish Volante crucially retains the coupe’s dynamic character and sporting capability. It boasts the same new AM11 6.0-litre V12 engine as the coupe and the same blistering performance figures, meaning the 0-62 mph sprint is despatched in just 4.1 seconds (estimated) while the top speed stands at 183 mph," he added.

 

Vanquish Volante is the first fully carbon fibre-skinned Volante in the brand’s 100-year history, while also being the stiffest Volante body structure yet created by the engineering team at Aston Martin’s global HQ in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. The new car’s triple-skin lightweight fabric roof takes just 14 seconds to fold. 

 

Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman said: "Vanquish Volante is a sports car, of course, but more even than that it is the ultimate Volante. A car which follows a long line of elegant Aston Martin convertibles, this super GT is sculpted to convey sophistication as much as raw power."

 

"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," he added.

 

Under its curvaceous carbon fibre bonnet the Vanquish Volante comprises the latest generation AM11 naturally aspirated 6.0-litre V12 petrol engine which drives the rear wheels via a Touchtronic 2 six-speed automatic gearbox.-TradeArabia News Service