2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante Is So Beautiful And So Fast It Doesn't Matter That It Costs More Than A House

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

There are immoderate cars retired location that are truthful beautiful, it doesn't really matter really they drive. They're much for illustration a portion of creation than an existent car. Sometimes, though, you get a car that is astir adjacent parts gorgeous and bully to drive. Enter the 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. Between its velocity that melted my encephalon and its looks that melted my heart, there's an statement to beryllium made that nan Vanquish Volante is 1 of nan champion vehicles connected waste coming — and it amended be, because it costs much than a house.

Full Disclosure: Aston Martin invited maine down to its very fancy showroom successful Midtown, Manhattan, fed maine and paid for my parking, each truthful I could thrust nan Vanquish Volante.

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Without a doubt, nan centerpiece of nan Vanquish Volante is its gem of a motor. Shared pinch nan coupe, the twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V12 pumps retired a mind-bending 824 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That mammoth magnitude of powerfulness is sent done an Aston-tuned ZF 8-speed automatic transmission to nan rear wheels. That staggering magnitude of powerfulness being routed to nan conscionable rear wheels is, let's say, overwhelming.

The Vanquish Volante knows this, and that's why nan powertrain is successful a changeless conflict pinch nan physics differential and traction and stableness power systems to support nan driver connected nan consecutive and narrow. In default GT mode, nan car's ECU cuts powerfulness successful gears 1 done 4 conscionable truthful you don't accidentally extremity up successful a tree. Flip it into Sport mode and nan driver gets afloat power. That doesn't matter excessively overmuch since nan traction power will do its champion to limit wheelspin, but it's a losing conflict for sure. Regardless of what mode nan driver is in, nan Vanquish Volante holds nan title of nan fastest front-engine convertible successful nan world pinch a apical velocity of 214 mph, and — if you tin get nan grip — it'll rocket from 0 to 60 mph successful conscionable 3.4 seconds.

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With nan V12 howling, nan turbos spinning and nan upwind blowing, I white-knuckle nan leather-wrapped steering wheel. The champion measurement I tin picture nan sensation of driving nan Vanquish Volante is "so much." There is conscionable truthful overmuch going connected astatine each times. It's a car I could ne'er get saturated aliases tired of, because if I blink for a 2nd excessively long, I cognize I'll go incredibly good acquainted pinch immoderate happens to beryllium connected nan broadside of nan road. It's invigorating.

Aston Martin worked difficult to make nan Volante conscionable arsenic nosy to thrust arsenic nan coupe. To dress up for nan mislaid rigidity of a roof, engineers somewhat stiffened nan rear springs and beforehand anti-roll bar. Despite that, nan car isn't unpleasant to cruise in. If anything, it feels a spot softer than nan DB12 coupe I tested a small while back. I tin surely envision myself covering full continents successful nan Vanquish Volante without overmuch issue, successful portion because of its Bilstein dampers. However, I'd person to extremity for state alternatively often. The EPA rates nan Vanquish Volante astatine 13 mpg city, 20 mpg road and 16 mpg combined, but if you do immoderate spirited driving astatine all, expect acold worse numbers.

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For arsenic bully arsenic nan Vanquish Volante is successful a consecutive line, it's besides a batch of nosy successful nan corners. Of course, you've sewage to beryllium careful. It surely tends toward understeer, but that tin beryllium easy fixed pinch a boot-full of throttle — conscionable not excessively overmuch aliases you're soon going to find retired what was down you arsenic you rotation around. Still, erstwhile I've mastered nan state pedal, I find that nan electrical steering container does a beautiful bully occupation astatine communicating what's going connected astatine nan beforehand end. It's not nan astir talkative unit, but nan steering feels very precise connected center, and astir of nan clip I'm conscionable holding connected for beloved life anyway.

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Quite simply, this is nan best-looking caller car connected waste today. Everything astir it is perfect. The truth that it moreover drives half arsenic bully arsenic it looks is simply a testament to nan engineers. Compared pinch the aged DBS, nan Vanquish has been stretched by a spot complete 3 inches, and astir of that came betwixt nan beforehand axle and nan dashboard. When sitting successful nan car, it feels for illustration nan hood goes connected forever, and it benignant of does. I mean, nan full motor is down nan beforehand axle, aft all.

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The coupe was already a fabulous-looking vehicle, and to me, nan Volante is moreover better, accentuating nan already melodramatic lines of nan Vanquish. One of my favourite creation elements is nan full rear-end treatment. The very untraditional taillights do a awesome occupation of widening nan vehicle, arsenic does nan "shield" betwixt nan taillights and nan 4 monolithic exhaust tips. Good lord, this point is pretty.

Aston Martin

Inside nan Vanquish Volante, location are only 2 seats — capable for nan driver and a rich | buddy. Those 2 are going to bask an interior that's almost second-to-none erstwhile it comes to materials and quality. Absolutely everything is covered successful immoderate benignant of rich | leather, c fibre aliases aluminium. The layout of nan interior is reasonably intuitive, pinch a bully operation of difficult buttons and 2 10.3-inch screens serving arsenic a gauge cluster and infotainment screen. The highly adjustable 16-way heated and ventilated seats are a beautiful spot to walk time. If I were a pickier man, I'd opportunity that these seats should person a massage function, but who americium I to complain?

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In astir ways, it's nan aforesaid interior arsenic nan hard-top Vanquish, but now we're moving pinch a tile that tin vanish successful 14 seconds and reappear successful 16 seconds. That intends it's better. When you driblet nan top, you get astir unfettered entree to nan awesome sounds of that 5.2-liter V12. Oddly enough, Aston does pump successful a mini magnitude of sound to dress up for immoderate of what's mislaid pinch each nan emissions gubbins, but nan engineers did a masterful occupation of blending it altogether. There's nary existent measurement to show there's synthetic sound successful here. If that sound isn't for you, don't worry. Turn up nan beautiful sounding Bowers and Wilkins stereo pinch double amplifiers and bask your tunes.

Space for 2 isn't an issue, either. I don't consciousness cramped successful either of nan seats while successful nan Vanquish Volante, and there's much than capable room for a weekend's worthy of crap to return connected a trip. Aston says nan Volante has 7.7 cubic feet of trunk abstraction pinch nan tile closed and 6.6 pinch it open. If that's not enough, there's plentifulness of abstraction down nan 2 seats, and you tin get civilization luggage that tin either lucifer aliases opposition pinch your interior choices. Oh, to beryllium wealthy.

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The Vanquish Volante is besides 1 of nan first vehicles to get Apple CarPlay Ultra. Aston has ceded its infotainment to Apple for iPhone users, and it's each nan amended for it. Old systems nan automaker produced were ne'er peculiarly good, truthful CarPlay Ultra picks up nan slack. If you for illustration to usage Android aliases conscionable don't want your car to beryllium that connected, there's a regular Aston Martin OS beneath it.

Sure, there's still immoderate lag, but location are a myriad of gauge cluster faces and accusation to take from, including a full-screen representation and moreover a full-screen audio player. The infotainment is simply a spot surreal, though. In my mind, it feels benignant of overseas and incongruent to beryllium scrolling done nan conveyance settings utilizing an Apple UI. Luckily, for illustration each Apple products, it's incredibly easy to use, truthful nan learning curve is simply a speedy one.

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Like astir modern cars, nan Vanquish Volante comes pinch a full suite of information features beyond nan ones meant to support nan driver connected nan consecutive and narrow. As standard, nan Vanquish gets adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, car high-beams and postulation motion nickname —not that anyone who owns a Vanquish Volante is going to attraction astir velocity limits.

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There's nary getting astir it, nan Aston Martin Vanquish Volante is 1 expensive-ass portion of machinery. Just to get successful nan driver's seat, you're going to person to springiness nan British automaker a cool $489,700 (including a state guzzler taxation and destination). That's a delta of much than $50,000 betwixt nan coupe and convertible, but you only unrecorded once, truthful you should get nan 'vert.

Then you get into nan pricey world of options. Add successful things for illustration $20,000 for Q Satin Paint, $11,200 for an moreover nicer leather interior, a $14,900 titanium exhaust strategy (which you need), $18,000 successful carbon-fiber trim and a fewer different very pricey likelihood and ends, you get to my car's as-tested value of $595,300. That's bully capable to get you a decent-size location successful astir of America, but inquire yourself: tin your location do 214 mph? Does your location person swan doors aliases a V12? I didn't deliberation so.

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One point you're not getting successful a Vanquish Volante — nary matter really overmuch money you walk — is simply a beforehand axle nose-lift system. Aston tells maine they skipped retired connected it to prevention weight astatine nan beforehand and support nan handling characteristics of nan car from being compromised. They reason that nan Volante has capable crushed clearance to get complete astir bumps and ruts. I'm conscionable gladsome I'm not nan 1 paying for that beforehand splitter.

Part of what you're paying for here, of course, is exclusivity. Aston says it's going to build conscionable 1,000 Vanquishes each year. It expects astir 30% of those to travel to nan U.S., and 40% will beryllium Volantes, truthful you're going to beryllium hard-pressed to spot different 1 driving down nan street.

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I cognize nan 2026 Vanquish Volante costs a hellhole of a batch of money, but astatine nan extremity of nan day, it's a hellhole of a batch of car. Even if it drove for illustration utter crap, which it doesn't, its looks unsocial are astir worthy nan value of admission. I'm not going to beryllium present and show you this car is simply a smart acquisition aliases thing for illustration that, but if you're nan benignant of personification who appreciates nan pinnacle of looks, V12 velocity and open-air driving, it's difficult to responsibility nan Vanquish Volante. It's successful a people of its ain erstwhile it comes to things for illustration that.

The Vanquish Volante is for those who get it, and if you don't, there's thing I tin opportunity to alteration your mind. You're conscionable going to person to get down nan wheel, because if you person nan means, I earnestly propose picking 1 up.

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik

Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik