Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Aston Martin let it slip last year that a soft-top version of the DB11 is in the works. The British marque even shared a few photos of a mule, as well as a one-liner: “Coming Spring 2018.”
Now, though, development of the DB11 Volante kicks into overdrive as the automaker’s engineers took to the ‘Ring to sharpen the handling of the luxurious grand tourer. Just as it is the case with the coupe, the DB11 Volante exhibits a bit of body roll when pushed as hard as possible.
Bearing in mind this is not a sports car or a go-faster Vanquish, it’s a-OK for the British brawler to show off its soft side. At the end of the day, a respectable grand tourer is, in my mind, a perfect compromise between sportiness and comfort. Chopping the roof off also implies more reinforcement for the chassis and body shell.
This, in turn, adds weight. Color me surprised if Aston Martin manages to keep the weight under 1,800 kilograms (3,968 lbs), but then again, there are even heavier machines in this segment. And beyond the roof, remember that the automaker has to modify the DB11’s AeroBlade system to suit the aerodynamic singularities of the Volante.
When it wasn’t on the Nurburgring, the spy photographers caught the pre-production prototype out in the open, and in the presence of what appears to be the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster. And based on the amber-tinted turn lights, the German brute is a U.S.-specification model. Compared to the DB11 Volante, the GT C isn’t camo’d at all.
Don’t, however, think that Aston Martin will operate too many visual changes to the convertible derivate of the DB11. Based on what the adjacent spy photos reveal, it’s only the rear deck and rear quarter panels that will receive a bit of nip and tuck. As for what lurks under the hood, that’d be a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 tower-of-power.
There’s an AMG V8-powered DB11 in the pipeline as well, albeit Aston Martin told autoevolution that its debut will not happen at Auto Shanghai 2017.
Bearing in mind this is not a sports car or a go-faster Vanquish, it’s a-OK for the British brawler to show off its soft side. At the end of the day, a respectable grand tourer is, in my mind, a perfect compromise between sportiness and comfort. Chopping the roof off also implies more reinforcement for the chassis and body shell.
This, in turn, adds weight. Color me surprised if Aston Martin manages to keep the weight under 1,800 kilograms (3,968 lbs), but then again, there are even heavier machines in this segment. And beyond the roof, remember that the automaker has to modify the DB11’s AeroBlade system to suit the aerodynamic singularities of the Volante.
When it wasn’t on the Nurburgring, the spy photographers caught the pre-production prototype out in the open, and in the presence of what appears to be the all-new Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster. And based on the amber-tinted turn lights, the German brute is a U.S.-specification model. Compared to the DB11 Volante, the GT C isn’t camo’d at all.
Don’t, however, think that Aston Martin will operate too many visual changes to the convertible derivate of the DB11. Based on what the adjacent spy photos reveal, it’s only the rear deck and rear quarter panels that will receive a bit of nip and tuck. As for what lurks under the hood, that’d be a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 tower-of-power.
There’s an AMG V8-powered DB11 in the pipeline as well, albeit Aston Martin told autoevolution that its debut will not happen at Auto Shanghai 2017.
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