Aston Martin recently announced its fourth CEO in as many years. Adrian Hallmark will join after six years as boss of Bentley, where he presided over strong sales and record financial results. Hallmark is also credited with steering Bentley through the Covid crisis, embracing diversity and pioneering the ‘industrialisation of personalisation’ to boost profitability.
These have been turbulent times for Aston Martin – now a publicly traded company on the London Stock Exchange – and nobody should underestimate the challenges ahead. Hallmark is unquestionably the right person for the job, though, and he’ll inherit the most convincing range of cars in Aston Martin’s history. The future for one of Britain’s best-loved brands looks bright.
The current lineup starts with the Vantage (facelifted soon, we drive the new one next month) and goes via the DBX SUV all the way to the £2.5 million Valkyrie. A replacement for the brawny DBS – rumoured to be called Vanquish – and the mid-engined Valhalla supercar both arrive later this year.
Premium Bond in a DB12
At the core of everything, however, is the DB12. It’s the kind of sporting GT car that has defined Aston Martin ever since 1964, when Sean Connery first drove a DB5 in Goldfinger. Launched last summer to glowing reviews (we called it ‘a sumptuous grand tourer in the best tradition’), it’s a worthy rival to the Ferrari Roma and Bentley Continental GT.
Now, the DB12 has gone al fresco with a Volante version. Volante means ‘flying’ in Italian, but is Aston-speak for a convertible. Priced from £199,500, the drop-top DB12 has an eight-layer fabric roof available in four colours, which folds beneath the rear deck in 14 seconds. It also operates at speeds up to 31mph and ‘into a 31mph headwind’. Perfect for a blustery day in the Cotswolds, then.
The spec of my Volante is more Miami Beach than olde Oxfordshire, thanks to deep Caribbean Pearl blue paint and a dazzling white interior. Aston Martin had another car in Bond-style silver and tan leather that was more to my taste, but let’s not nitpick; either way, this is an exceptionally handsome car.
Indeed, I wouldn’t normally dwell on how a car looks, but the Volante is so arresting that you might buy it on that basis alone. Its body has clearly evolved from the DB11, but has bulked up on gym sessions and protein shakes. From its hungry grille to its kicked-up beltline and muscular haunches, it’s surely a strong candidate for the best looking car on sale.
Stirred, not shaken
The DB12’s interior is almost as alluring – unless you happen to be bent double in the tiny rear seats: more useful as luggage space to supplement the small 262-litre boot. Up front, it feels snug but comfortable, with a nice mix of touchscreen tech and tactile physical controls. Aston Martin’s clear and quick-to-respond media system is a vast improvement on the dated DB11, and my car also had the 15-speaker Bowers & Wilkins audio upgrade. With the roof down and volume up, it could probably be heard in Buckinghamshire.
Still, who needs music when you’ve got a 4.0-litre V8? The twin-turbo engine beneath that long bonnet is hand-built by Mercedes-AMG and serves up 680hp and 590lb ft of torque. In the 1,796kg Volante (a dry weight, without fluids – 111kg heavier than the DB12 coupe) that means 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 202mph. It might be a luxurious grand tourer, but the Aston Martin is supercar-quick.
Rain is spitting from the slate-grey clouds, so I set off with the roof in place. Driven this way, the Volante is scarcely any noisier than its hard-top sibling, while its rigid bonded aluminium platform and adaptive suspension cope calmly with the brutal potholes lurking in the verges Cotswold lanes. In default GT mode, progress is easygoing and effortless.
Aston Martin, bring me sunshine
Twist the dial on the centre console to Sport or Sport Plus and the car tightens its sinews. Its non-isolated steering column and stiffer front axle (+140 percent versus the DB11) offer a precise and predictable response, along with taut body control. Where some older Aston Martins could get flustered, the DB12 kept calm and carried on.
Eventually, the spring sunshine breaks through, so I open the Volante to the elements. With the windows up and the wind deflector in place, the cabin stays quiet and free from buffeting; you can have a conversation even up to motorway speeds. Don’t expect to fly under the radar, though. Even in affluent Chipping Norton – home to Jeremy Clarkson, David Cameron and Alex James – a Caribbean Pearl DB12 still swivels heads.
With the roof down, you can also hear more from that mighty V8. In truth, it’s quieter and less theatrical than in many AMG applications, and while you do get the occasional crackle from the twin exhausts, I’d welcome a bit more sturm und drang. A shame, then, that Aston Martin has already ruled out a V12 version of the DB12.
A dash of glamour
Heading back to the launch venue with the afternoon light fading to a golden glow, I have one of those journeys where everything seems to align. I switch off the sat-nav and take the back roads, travelling briskly but not rushing, and enjoy the sorted chassis, plentiful shove underfoot and chilly breeze skimming over my head. It’s hardly Miami Beach, but the DB12 Volante adds a dash of glamour to any location.
In truth, I’m not usually a fan of convertibles. The car is my sanctuary from the outside world, a place I can escape from the office, the kids and (to some extent) my mobile phone. But if I was Adrian Hallmark, this is probably the company car I’d choose. It would be invigorating on the morning commute, then relaxing after a tough day at the office. And it epitomises the kind of sophisticated sports car Aston Martin does best.
Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research
Aston Martin DB12 Volante
PRICE: From £199,500
POWER: 680hp
0-62MPH: 3.7sec
TOP SPEED: 202mph
FUEL ECONOMY: 23.2mpg
CO2 EMISSIONS: 276g/km