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The DB11, Aston Martin's consummate sporting luxury GT, is even more desirable in open-topped Volante form. And it was stiffer, more sophisticated and even more beautiful than its DB9 predecessor. Like its Coupe counterpart, it's primarily a consummate sporting luxury GT, but can also be dynamically rewarding whenever you need it to be. It's very desirable indeed.
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History
We've had Volante-badged Aston Martins ever since 1965. But back in 2017, the company reckoned that this DB11 Volante was the most elegant one yet.
You might already know a little about the DB11. At its launch in 2016 as a coupe, it was heralded as the most important car in Aston's history, the first to use the stiffer, more sophisticated aluminium underpinnings designed to take the marque's future models into a new era. There was plenty else that brand buyers had never seen too - things like electromechanical power steering, multi-link rear suspension and torque vectoring. The car was, in Aston Martin terms anyway, a radically-orientated engineering step forward.
One of the coupe model's most important roles was in introducing the 4.0-litre V8 twin turbo engine that Aston Martin could have as part of its modern-era partnership with Mercedes-Benz. Well in this Volante version, launched in the Spring of 2018, that was the only engine you could have. Arguably, it's the only one you need: 510PS is quite enough to take on this car's exotic segment rivals from this period and the powerplant's relatively light weight contributes hugely to the deft handling that was claimed to be nearly as sharp as this model's coupe stablemate - and a big step forward from the old DB9 Volante.
Of course, there's much else that also accounts for the dramatic improvements in product appeal that were made here. The brand tried to re-imagine what an Aston Martin Volante should be. Hence a whole range of design and engineering improvements, including a clever new electric hood that stows more neatly into the body work, improving the looks and freeing up a small amount of extra space in the back and in the boot. The result of all this could be a car you'd want not just because it was an Aston Martin but because it's quite simply the best luxury GT convertible you can buy from the 2018-2023 period. Is that the case? Let's check out the used proposition offered by this DB11 Volante, which sold until mid-2023, when they were replaced by the DB12.
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What you get
Back in 2018, we wondered whether this was the most beautiful Aston Martin yet made. Some would say so. Even with the roof up, a DB11 Volante will attract admiring stares. And when the hood is down? Well the top is retracted either by pressing a centre console button or by using buttons on the key. It takes just 14 seconds to lower or 16 seconds to close and on the move, can be operated at speeds of up to 31mph. The hood has 8 layers and folds into an incredibly small sandwich, which allowed stylist Miles Nurnberger to make the rear deck particularly low, short and sleek. Just as significantly, beneath the sweeping panel work sits a structure that's a massive 50% stiffer than that of the old DB9 Volante
And inside? Well it's a big improvement from what was served up by previous Aston Volante models. Exquisitely-stitched leather combines with intricately-fashioned design highlights to attract your attention and the different construction of the aluminium monocoque has freed up more interior space too. As usual Aston borrowed parts from another brand - in this case its technical partner Mercedes; the stalk off the steering wheel and the 8.0-inch centre dash infotainment screen for example. There's also a digital instrument binnacle screen to replace the usual dials, with a central virtual rev counter that changes its graphics to suit the particular driving mode you've chosen from the two steering wheel buttons.
You get a pair of rear seats too - the kind of thing that some segment competitors make you do without. The brand insists that these are more accommodating than the pews provided by previous Volante models (which is true) and has fitted them out with Isofix child seat attachments for the first time. But they're still pretty cramped and you get 23mm less leg room than you would in the back of a DB11 Coupe. Ultimately, as usual with a 2+2 sports convertible, this space remains suitable for small children, jackets or designer shopping bags only.
Finally, let's consider the boot. The exact amount of room you get depends upon the position of the roof. When it's down, a boot separator will also be down to fence off space for the folded roof sandwich. That reduces capacity to just 160-litres. When the roof is up, you can push up the roof separator and increase capacity to 206-litres.
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What to look for
This DB11 Volante was much better built than its predecessors, but you still need to be careful - and insist on a fully stamped-up service history. You don't expect a hand-crafted car of this kind to be faultless as it ages - and the DB11 very definitely isn't. If you want something closer to perfection in this segment, buy something German.
Based on our ownership survey, here's some things to look out for when perusing used examples. Obviously check the workings of the powered hood (and maybe put it through a car wash). Examine the electrics carefully, especially on earlier models. We heard of a passenger window failure from one owner, requiring a new module. And the same owner had a 'bonnet open' warning light come on during a journey, which was traced to a faulty bonnet latch, plus there were several random alarm malfunctions. We've heard of various starting difficulties, usually caused by dead batteries, either the main one or the one in the key fob. Often, the spare key doesn't work, so make sure you check it. We've also heard of issues with the navigation system and the climate setup, so check those thoroughly.
Check the bodywork carefully, particularly the panel edges. Make sure you inspect the boot and the cabin carefully for damage to the trim and the leather. Otherwise, it's just the usual things - like scuff and scratches in the huge, expensive wheels.
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Replacement parts
(approx based on a 2020 DB11 Vantage Volante ex VAT - euspares.co.uk) Front brake pads are around £42. An air filter's in the £27-£58 bracket. Brake discs can sit in the £18-£40 bracket, but the pricier brands you'll probably want are in the £70-£125 bracket. A replacement headlight bulb is in the £57-£88 bracket. A starter motor is in the £274 bracket. A wheel hub's in the £102-£132 bracket. A shock absorber's around £20-£47.
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On the road
Engine and exhaust theatrics are one of the things that we think Aston Martin does better than any other brand. That race-ready rumble comes from the 4.0-litre twin turbo V8 that Aston borrowed from Mercedes for this car. It's the only powerplant that Volante buyers could have - the weren't offered the V12 from the Coupe model - but it's quite sufficient to make this car very fast indeed, offering 510PS and a thumping 685Nm of torque, developed from just 2,000rpm. That's enough to hurl this convertible to 62mph from rest in just 4.1s on the way to a top speed of 187mph. As for efficiency, well it's not catastrophic. Thanks to its engine's clever use of cylinder deactivation, this car manages 28.3mpg on the combined cycle and 230g/km of CO2.
With the roof down, you can enjoy this magnificent engine all the more. Should the weather turn inclement and you need to raise the hood, you'll find that highway refinement is pretty close to the standard you'd get in the equivalent fixed-top model. Both DB11 variants were marketed as 'GT'-style sports cars rather than track-tamed road burners but this model line did at last have a sportscar-style CV. Multi-link rear suspension, near-perfect weight distribution, the adoption of torque vectoring and a far stiffer chassis than the previous DB9 Volante certainly all bode well for this DB11's prowess in twistier tarmac territory. And, sure enough, it handles better though the turns than any GT sports convertible weighing the best part of two tonnes has any right to. You'll start to feel that weight a little more on particularly tight secondaries, but even then, the seemingly endless reserves of engine boost mask that mass very cleverly.
The steering could use a touch more feel 'in extremis' but otherwise it's brilliantly feelsome and is one of the parameters you can alter to suit your preferences via the 'GT', 'Sport' and 'Sport+' settings of the driving mode system. There's also a three-stage Bilstein adaptive damping system too. And overall? Well it's true that there are better cars you could choose in this segment from this period for track day heroics. There are few though, we'd want over this one if, say, late at night at an exclusive party in Cannes we suddenly realised we needed to be in Paris at daybreak. For such a jaunt, this DB11 would be, well, just about perfect.
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Overall
And in summary? Well there have been three basic eras in Aston Martin's existence. The early one, which lasted from the time that Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford established the brand in 1913 until the late Sixties, a period when its products were at the cutting edge of what a classic GT sports car should be. Then there were the Seventies, Eighties, Nineties and Noughties, when this famous nameplate traded on its heritage and produced sports cars the motoring press eulogised over but which in truth weren't very good.
In the last decade though, the company has returned to being the kind of business its founders would recognise. We don't care that the marque has needed some help from Mercedes to do it - and nor should you. The DB11 coupe showed us that Aston once again had a place at the top table of grand sports car design and this Volante version confirmed that impression. For us, at its launch in 2018, it was the finest sporting convertible the brand had yet made. And that makes it very desirable indeed.
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