Behold: the glorious beauty of the DB11. We weren't sure about the Pearl Blonde paint job, especially with the blue top, but in about 15 minutes I was loving it. The weather in New York City was ideal for a convertible.
The shape is classic GT, and although it's broken slightly by the convertible top, the sinuous, athletic lines and flowing curves of the Aston are unmistakable. The entire design fits together like a muscular animal drawn from nature.
Pure sculpture: long, low, and wide. There's just enough exterior detail — vents and scoops and cuts-ins — to keep matters lively.
With that much hood up front, the risk for the DB11 Volante is that it would fall out of proportion. But it doesn't. The bold read haunches keep the design in balance.
The rear is stunning — an achievement, given that the back end has to accommodate the top when retracted. Note how the tail lights and headlamps are proportional in terms of graphic mass without resembling each other too much.
There's also some tech back there.
"One of the major triumphs of the DB11's design is the new AeroBlade system, which creates a virtual spoiler using jets of air directed through discrete ducts located on the decklid of the car," Business Insider's Ben Zhang noted in his review of the DB11 coupé last year.
"This allows Aston to deliver great downforce without the need for a large and unsightly spoiler. There is a small retractable spoiler, but that's only deployed at high speed."
Do you agree that the DB11 Volante makes just as stunning an impression with the top dropped? To be honest, I think it looks sharper — and better than the coupé!
The forged alloy wheels will run you $5,400 extra. And the brake calipers? $1,600. In total, our tester came with just under $60,000 in options.
The door sill plaques reminds you that the DB11 is England-made. Well, 66% anyway. The engine and transmission are German, from Mercedes-AMG.
Mercedes owns 5% of Aston, which is small, private carmaker in a world of big conglomerates. The company brings in only about $1 billion a year and can't push nearly as hard as larger concerns, so it has to join up with others to make a go of it. In 2017, Aston sold 5,100 vehicles.
Oh my. I mean, c'mon. You're encased in luxury. Having a bad day? Then just go sit in your Aston Martin DB11 Volante for a few minutes to decompress, cheer up, be pampered.
The view from the modest rear seats. Yes, the blue gives the DB11 Volante a bit of a Frank Sinatra edition vibe, but I dug it.
Adult in the back seats? Maybe. More likely, pre-teens. Or just a $2,000 linen sportcoat and an Hermès handbag.
The DB11's interior is ultra-mega-premium and relatively uncluttered. The gearshifts are handled by buttons in the center stack, and 8-speed transmission can be manually operated using paddles behind the steering wheel.
The infotainment system is borrowed from Mercedes, operated via a touchpad between the seats. It generates no problems: audio, navigation, Bluetooth pairing, USB/AUX inputs — all check. If you need contemporary infotainment tech in your throwback GT car, you won't be disappointed.
These speakers rise from the dash. The Bang & Olufsen BeoSound audio system is an $8,300 options. It sounds pretty good, but to be honest I've never been blown away by the audio setups in any Aston. I think it has something to do with the snug design of the cockpits. Doesn't provide a great acoustic environment.
The key fob. My biggest complaint about the car. It's a lightweight piece of cheap plastic. Not a great place to cut corners, Aston!
In days of yore, a lovely crystal key had to be inserted in the dashboard to start the car. No more. Now we have a plastic fob and a push-button. Sigh ...
As much as the DB11 is about aesthetics, this is a sports car, so let's examine the Mercedes-AMG-sourced engine tucked beneath the hood.
That's a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, making 503 horsepower.
What, no V12?
Right. As Ben Zhang noted when reviewing the DB11 coupé, pop the hood on that sucker and "you'll find a sublime 5.2 liter, twin-turbocharged V12."
That engine serves up 600-horsepower and a 3.9-second 0-60 mph sprint, with a 200 mph top speed.
The V8 can manage just 187 mph. But the 0-60 mph run happens just a whisker slower, in about 4 seconds.
So what's the verdict?
Ben and I agreed that we like the Volante better than the coupé. Nothing wrong with the hardtop — a trained killer in a Savile Row suit, according to Ben— but it's sort of the same thing I feel about the V6 Jaguar F-Type versus the F-Type R. The bigger engine and more stonking power doesn't necessarily provide a superior driving experience.
The V8 is a German motor, of course, and the V12 is Aston-made. But while a massive V12 looks good on paper, a V8 offers ample power and relieves Aston of the burden of dealing with regulatory hurdles associated with dinosaur propulsion. To a degree. We're still talking about just 20 mpg combined here.
The DB11 Volante doesn't feel lighter or friskier than the Coupé — it has that same extremely purposeful vibe, supremely confident going fast in a straight line accompanied by a throaty roar of combustion through the dual exhaust pipes, supremely confident diving into corners, supremely confident racing away from semis on the highway, supremely confident just cruising through the New Jersey suburbs (well, as supremely confident as a car can be in that environment).
The Aston, then, is pretty much in its element no matter what the circumstances. This makes for an endlessly blissful experience, and it should, given the price tag. You very much get what you pay for. The old knockabout convertible being less thrilling to drive than hardtops doesn't apply. The Volante serves up a rush that's equal to the coupé, even with almost 100 less horsepower on tap.
So as much as I love the old DB9, I might have a new favorite Aston.
