Aston Martin DB12 Volante: driving report

Everything new Aston Martin. We recently celebrated the career of former Aston boss Tobias Moers DBX 707. But with the departure of the German genius, the British did not want to be returned to the second tier of the performance league.

This is how you got yourself out Ferrari Amedeo Felisa as the new boss, too McLaren The British took the opportunity and made a revolution through the German Andreas Bareis. Although not directly involved in development, he has experience at Lotus and in Formula 1’s strength training department Mercedes Bareis knows how to make fast cars.

First plants under new management: new Vantage and DB12. Today we are going through the Black Forest with the DB12 Volante. Country roads, hills, hairpin bends, just the right thing for a smooth convertible GT. Although, according to Aston Martin, this Volante should also be capable of doing sports. We will look into it.

behind, in front of melting inside. Sexy and correct Aston correct.

Photo: Aston Martin

Get in the car, introverts DB9 and DB11 I still know Volante. The 11-series had to do without the V12 and fly around the country with AMG’s four-liter biturbo. The Roadster stood above all as a smooth, gourmet car without any sporty air. And new? Exciting from the start.

The electronic rear axle differential celebrates its debut in the DB

Brave new world, finally. Modern tuning, well-designed information display, open center console, which is no longer integrated, above the touch screen. Even the gear selector lever sits easily in the hand. With a combination of good materials and a very low seating position. Under the hood is the well-known biturbo V8 of 4.0 liters, which the engineers brought to 680 hp, i.e. the standard V12 at that time. There is also an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission on the rear axle. And for the first time on the DB, an electronic rear axle differential.

You can already tell that things need to be more sporty than ever. This is also confirmed by other data: for example, the lower part strengthened by ten percent stiffer springs on the rear axle. The latter is an indication to compensate for the folding mechanism of the heavy roof. The aim was to achieve the same performance as the coupé, which is 100 kg lighter. Lets go.

There isn’t much missing from the Vantage

To turn on, the start button is pressed on the center console, the V8 it wakes up – what a pleasure to listen to even when standing, it is much more, and it can even be arranged in three levels. From white to yellow to red at the touch of a button When you turn it off, it has a louder sound than a clean sound. Off the highway, up the hill, on the bends.

And here’s a surprise, this DB12 Volante feels faster, more responsive and more precise than all of them in Sport modes. DBs originally. This is already in the vantage direction. It follows changes of direction firmly, moves in almost effortlessly as well as easily moves out of the roughest curves with smooth steering. Tiresthe chassis and brakes are perfectly coordinated, so that the end result is very pleasant, sporty balance and completely predictable handling.

Yes, the whole thing feels less than 1.8 tons somewhere, although the grant features still shine at the end. The eight-speed manual transmission really manages the balancing act between polished smoothness and blazing-fast speed than a dual-clutch transmission.

Shortly before the end of the test the rain comes, brakes to 50 and during driving the roof closes in just 14 seconds. Then it’s peace and quiet, the Webasto top cloth is very well placed, it’s like sitting in a coupe.

Technical data and price: Aston Martin DB12 Volante