Aston Martin DB11 Volante returns as the Ultimate Convertible GT

As the summer winds up, global automakers have started to showcase drop-top convertible cars in the hope to increase anticipation for next year's warm weather and to give a sense of top-down driving. Similar has been the case with British sportscar manufacturer, Aston Martin. The company has unveiled the Aston Martin DB11 Volante, which will join the DB11 Coupe that was launched in 2016.

The Aston Martins DB 11 Volante convertible is now lighter, stiffer and gets a new design as well as a V8 engine. It is powered by a new 4.0 litre twin-turbo unit that delivers 508 hp of power. The V8 engine is paired to an eight-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission. The DB11 Volante convertible is built on the all-new bonded aluminium structure that was first equipped in the DB11 Coupe. The aluminium structure makes the convertible lighter by 25 kg and stiffer by 5 percent.

The car is also equipped with three-stage powertrain and chassis mode as well as limited-slip differential with dynamic torque vectoring. The driver can also configure the Volante's responses and change the settings to suit the road and weather conditions. The creature comforts include a heated steering wheel and rear seat ISOFIX child seat, the first time in the Volante model.

The Aston Martin DB11 Volante convertible gets single-piece aluminium hood and new wood or carbon fibre veneer panels at the rear seat and fabric hood, which is available in a choice of Bordeaux Red, Black Silver and Grey Silver. The exterior also features ultra-slim ‘light blade’ C-graphic tail lamps and new forged alloy wheels. The roof of the DB11 Volante comes with all-new 8-layer roof protection that can withstand the extreme weather condition and also reduces wind noise. It takes 14 seconds for the roof to fold and 16 seconds to close and is operated remotely from the key.

The Aston Martin DB11 Volante convertible is priced at around Rs 1.37 crore (£159,900) in the UK and the deliveries for the open-top DB11 Volante is scheduled to start during the first quarter of 2018.