RE: Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante unveiled

[Beefmeister]

DEAN7231 said:

Aston Martin please get rid of those rear seats. This car should of had a hatchback door like the F12. Theres no point in those stupid rear seats.

I have a 6yr old and she fits perfectly in the back seats of the DBS and DB11. So they're not pointless, they have a very valid point. Just because they don't suit your use case doesn't make them pointless.

And the boot on the DBS is massive, plus if there aren't small people there you can fit a lot of bags on those rear seats.

[PhantomPH]

Usual Hackett article that is too wordy for it's own good, but that's not what this is about - just look at that damn thing!!!! Holy sh...*spooge*

[jakesmith]

murphyaj said:

I think it might just be people failing to update their opinions. They assume because the cars from the 80s and 90s were unreliable they must be now, even though they aren't. The build quality on my V8V and DB9 are in a different league to the DB7 I had 10 years ago. The recent cars have been very reliable (although not perfect truth be told), but the DB7 had more problems in one year of ownership than the four years I owned the other two combined.

And also people repeating cliches that may or may not be anecdotal
My Maserati was more reliable than my 911 for example
My R8 has cost me more in maintenance than any of my other cars so far and I've only had it 6 months, and that's an Audi

[murphyaj]

Beefmeister said:

I have a 6yr old and she fits perfectly in the back seats of the DBS and DB11. So they're not pointless, they have a very valid point. Just because they don't suit your use case doesn't make them pointless.

+1, I often use the rear seats on my DB9 Volante. They're small, but in my experience passengers are quite willing to squeeze themselves back there to experience the V12 exhaust note. Try telling my 8 year old nephew they are pointless.

[seawise]

Amuses me how journalists always compare and contrast, such as ‘why buy this when you could have an 812, etc’ - with respect, i suspect very few potential Superleggera buyers have the option to purchase an 812 Superfast, nor vica versa would the Ferrari buyer desire the Aston. On paper they might appear competitors, in reality they actually seldom are, you can walk in a purchase a new Aston (which is nice), whereas the 812 is long sold out to all those except who FNE consider a VIP customer (which is slightly irritating). Speaking as someone who has opted for the latest V12 Ferrari (over 2 years ago prior official announcement), i never considered an Aston, pretty and able car that it might be, it’s just not what the doctor ordered (for me).

Edited by seawise on Wednesday 24th April 17:03

[DarylB]

I think that looks amazing and would love one.

To add to the reliability discussions - I have had my V8 Vantage for nearly 7 years and it has only cost £600 outside of standard servicing and I am pretty sure the cause was my own fault for not using it enough.

As someone else mentioned... I cant believe that 2011 DBS Volante is under £90k! Dangerously tempting.

[anonymous-user]

I'll go against the grain here and say I think it's a bit of a mess, particularly those vents, that rear, that interior. A poor choice of colour and wheels probably doesn't help.

[Simoncelli58]

A very handsome car no doubt . . . . . . . but the weight of the thing ! ! !

I know this isn't unique to Aston Martin but how do you make a convertible 2 seater sports car weigh over 2 TONNES . . . .

Ultima will build you an Evo Gtr with equal or greater power weighing 950 Kgs , yeah I know not exactly the same thing but assuming the engine/gearbox/brakes/wheels/suspension etc are similar . . . . more than twice as much ?

Apart from Lotus , do any of the modern sports car manufacturers really think about overall weight ?

[seawise]

Simoncelli58 said:

Apart from Lotus , do any of the modern sports car manufacturers really think about overall weight ?

Alpine-Renault have with the new A110, and rightly they have been praised for it. it's the way forward, no downside to going on a diet.

[Gameface]

Simoncelli58 said:

assuming the engine/gearbox/brakes/wheels/suspension etc are similar...

But none of those things are similar!

[Simoncelli58]

Sorry i meant those components were similar in weight . There can't be much in it .

[Gameface]

They won't be similar in weight either.

[Simoncelli58]

Gameface said:

They won't be similar in weight either.

Thanks for making the point for me . You obviously think 2 tonnes is perfectly acceptable for a 2 seat convertible , I don't .

[Gameface]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

However the things you mentioned are in no way comparable or similar in weight due to the vastly different nature of the vehicles.

[baconsarney]

Not seen the Volante in the flesh, but I have seen the coupe, in black, in the flesh, and it’s the finest example I’ve ever seen of making something look terrifyingly aggressive, like it’s going to eat you, and utterly beautiful at the same time. Judging it from photographs on the internet isn’t doing it justice, in the flesh it’s breathtaking... in my humble and slightly biased opinion....

[Simoncelli58]

Gameface said:

Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

However the things you mentioned are in no way comparable or similar in weight due to the vastly different nature of the vehicles.

Fair point . and I guess this is really a GT car . I'm just always surprised when I read the specs of new cars and see the weights listed . Nice car though

[Davey S2]

Dismissing the DB11 for 'only' having 510bhp from a 4ltr V8.

I'm old enough to remember when full blown supercars only had around 400bhp or so.

How times have changed.

[hornbaek]

Where the comparison between Aston and Ferrari ends is on residuals. Until Aston starts limiting its output and/or stops introducing new versions of the same car you really have to be an AML devotee to walk into the showroom and order one of these - sad really.

[Caseybramley]

The most overrated car company in the world. No way would Aston Martin get my money before Porsche or Ferrari the cars are boring

[LooneyTunes]

NFC 85 Vette said:

The script on the boot can be removed fortunately.

On the sound, it cant match the Vanquish S, but it's as good as a twin turbo V12 can be. Bearing in mind that Ferrari and Lambo have yet to explore turbocharging their V12's, it's all too easy to say it sounds lacking but that's not an apples vs apples comparison. In reality, Aston did a superb job of making it sound great, albeit just quieter than the N/A predecessor. Turbos just have a habit of taking away the noise sadly. The DBS on startup is a very particular noise, you can tell it's turbocharged, but it has a pissed off undertone similar to something like an F40, and that's no bad thing

For me, the difference in sound is less significant between the Vanquish S and DBSS, as it is between say a 458 and 488.

Makes sense... saw your other comment about previews - oddly I was invited to see the coupe, but not the Volante (which is the one I would buy).

As for saying that reliability is an issue, or that the back seats are pointless, mine’s been without fault and having the seats means it gets far more use that most (couldn’t do school drop off without them).