Aston Martin Marks 60 Years Of Volantes With Stunning Special Editions

Did you know that Volante, the name Aston Martin gives to its bigger convertibles, is Italian for ‘Flying’? We don’t quite know why Aston opted for this name, but it’s been 60 years since it used it for the first time on the Short Chassis Volante, a mish-mash of DB5 mechanicals and DB6 looks of which only 37 were built in 1965 and ’66.

Car companies, as we know, like to roll out a good special edition to celebrate such anniversaries, and Aston’s come up with a couple of corkers for this one. They’re based on the marque’s two current Volantes, the DB12 and Vanquish (the smaller Vantage drop-top gets the Roadster name instead), and would you just look at them?

Officially (and slightly clumsily) named the 60th Anniversary of Volante Editions, they get a spec cooked up by Aston’s Q bespoke division. It consists of Pentland Green paint with a Westminster Green fabric roof, offset by accents in anodised bronze. Each one gets a set of Q-exclusive 21-inch wheels, too.

Things get a bit crazy on the inside, with seats in a tri-tone colour scheme of tan, black and white, complete with 60th anniversary embroidery. The cabin is topped off with more bronze accents and some achingly gorgeous open-pore walnut veneers.

No mechanical changes to speak of, which means the DB12 gets the same Aston-fettled version of AMG’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, making 671bhp and 590lb ft of torque. It’ll crack 62mph in 3.7 seconds and top out at a blustery 202mph.

The Vanquish, meanwhile, as Aston’s range-topper, gets the latest version of the company’s own 5.2-litre V12, churning out a mighty 824bhp and 738lb ft. It does 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds, and its top speed is a truly haircut-ruining 214mph.

Just 60 (natch) of each of the 60th Anniversary of Volante Editions will be made, with deliveries kicking off in the final quarter of this year.