Drop-top to be little heavier than this
Following a well-trodden path, Aston Martin is set to launch the V8 Volante -- a drop-top version of a car dubbed "the 911-killer", and which many commentators see as the best-looking car on sale. The Volante -- Aston's traditional name for its convertibles -- is currently being engineered for production and is due on sale in 2007, according to a report in Autocar.
The canvas roof will fold flat under a hard hinged cover and will look speedster-ish, even though the windscreen isn't cut down, with the roof providing a lower line than that of the coupé's hard-top.
Stiffened of course, it weighs just 30Kg more than the coupé, which is impressive and performance shouldn't suffer much if at all. The main problem Aston has often had is ensuring the body is stiff enough, as criticisms of the DB9 Volante have centred round its alleged body flexing.
Meanwhile, buyers of the V8 Vantage over on the Aston Martin Owners Club forum are complaining loud and long about delays in delivery of the coupés, the first of which was due to start very soon but which may not happen until November.