There are some cars out there that are so beautiful, it doesn't really matter how they drive. They're more like a piece of art than an actual car. Sometimes, though, you get a car that is nearly equal parts gorgeous and good to drive. Enter the 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. Between its speed that melted my brain and its looks that melted my heart, there's an argument to be made that the Vanquish Volante is one of the best vehicles on sale today — and it better be, because it costs more than a house.
Full Disclosure: Aston Martin invited me down to its very fancy showroom in Midtown, Manhattan, fed me and paid for my parking, all so I could drive the Vanquish Volante.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
Without a doubt, the centerpiece of the Vanquish Volante is its gem of a motor. Shared with the coupe, the twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V12 pumps out a mind-bending 824 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That mammoth amount of power is sent through an Aston-tuned ZF 8-speed automatic transmission to the rear wheels. That staggering amount of power being routed to the just rear wheels is, let's say, overwhelming.
The Vanquish Volante knows this, and that's why the powertrain is in a constant fight with the electronic differential and traction and stability control systems to keep the driver on the straight and narrow. In default GT mode, the car's ECU cuts power in gears one through four just so you don't accidentally end up in a tree. Flip it into Sport mode and the driver gets full power. That doesn't matter too much since the traction control will do its best to limit wheelspin, but it's a losing battle for sure. Regardless of what mode the driver is in, the Vanquish Volante holds the title of the fastest front-engine convertible in the world with a top speed of 214 mph, and — if you can get the grip — it'll rocket from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.
With the V12 howling, the turbos spinning and the wind blowing, I white-knuckle the leather-wrapped steering wheel. The best way I can describe the sensation of driving the Vanquish Volante is "so much." There is just so much going on at all times. It's a car I could never get bored or tired of, because if I blink for a second too long, I know I'll become incredibly well acquainted with whatever happens to be on the side of the road. It's invigorating.
Aston Martin worked hard to make the Volante just as fun to drive as the coupe. To make up for the lost rigidity of a roof, engineers slightly stiffened the rear springs and front anti-roll bar. Despite that, the car isn't unpleasant to cruise in. If anything, it feels a bit softer than the DB12 coupe I tested a little while back. I can certainly envision myself covering entire continents in the Vanquish Volante without much issue, in part because of its Bilstein dampers. However, I'd have to stop for gas rather often. The EPA rates the Vanquish Volante at 13 mpg city, 20 mpg highway and 16 mpg combined, but if you do any spirited driving at all, expect far worse numbers.
For as good as the Vanquish Volante is in a straight line, it's also a lot of fun in the corners. Of course, you've got to be careful. It certainly tends toward understeer, but that can be easily fixed with a boot-full of throttle — just not too much or you're soon going to find out what was behind you as you spin around. Still, once I've mastered the gas pedal, I find that the electric steering box does a pretty good job at communicating what's going on at the front end. It's not the most talkative unit, but the steering feels very precise on center, and most of the time I'm just holding on for dear life anyway.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
Quite simply, this is the best-looking new car on sale today. Everything about it is perfect. The fact that it even drives half as good as it looks is a testament to the engineers. Compared with the old DBS, the Vanquish has been stretched by a bit over three inches, and most of that came between the front axle and the dashboard. When sitting in the car, it feels like the hood goes on forever, and it sort of does. I mean, the entire engine is behind the front axle, after all.
The coupe was already a fabulous-looking vehicle, and to me, the Volante is even better, accentuating the already dramatic lines of the Vanquish. One of my favorite design elements is the entire rear-end treatment. The very untraditional taillights do a great job of widening the vehicle, as does the "shield" between the taillights and the four massive exhaust tips. Good lord, this thing is pretty.
Aston Martin
Inside the Vanquish Volante, there are only two seats — enough for the driver and a rich buddy. Those two are going to enjoy an interior that's almost second-to-none when it comes to materials and quality. Absolutely everything is covered in some sort of rich leather, carbon fiber or aluminium. The layout of the interior is fairly intuitive, with a nice mix of hard buttons and two 10.3-inch screens serving as a gauge cluster and infotainment screen. The highly adjustable 16-way heated and ventilated seats are a lovely place to spend time. If I were a pickier man, I'd say that these seats should have a massage function, but who am I to complain?
In most ways, it's the same interior as the hard-top Vanquish, but now we're working with a roof that can disappear in 14 seconds and reappear in 16 seconds. That means it's better. When you drop the top, you get nearly unfettered access to the wonderful sounds of that 5.2-liter V12. Oddly enough, Aston does pump in a small amount of sound to make up for some of what's lost with all the emissions gubbins, but the engineers did a masterful job of blending it altogether. There's no real way to tell there's synthetic noise in here. If that noise isn't for you, don't worry. Turn up the lovely sounding Bowers and Wilkins stereo with double amplifiers and enjoy your tunes.
Space for two isn't an issue, either. I don't feel cramped in either of the seats while in the Vanquish Volante, and there's more than enough room for a weekend's worth of crap to take on a trip. Aston says the Volante has 7.7 cubic feet of trunk space with the roof closed and 6.6 with it open. If that's not enough, there's plenty of space behind the two seats, and you can get custom luggage that can either match or contrast with your interior choices. Oh, to be wealthy.
The Vanquish Volante is also one of the first vehicles to get Apple CarPlay Ultra. Aston has ceded its infotainment to Apple for iPhone users, and it's all the better for it. Old systems the automaker produced were never particularly good, so CarPlay Ultra picks up the slack. If you prefer to use Android or just don't want your car to be that connected, there's a regular Aston Martin OS beneath it.
Sure, there's still some lag, but there are a myriad of gauge cluster faces and information to choose from, including a full-screen map and even a full-screen audio player. The infotainment is a bit surreal, though. In my mind, it feels kind of odd and incongruent to be scrolling through the vehicle settings using an Apple UI. Luckily, like all Apple products, it's incredibly easy to use, so the learning curve is a quick one.
Like most modern cars, the Vanquish Volante comes with a whole suite of safety features beyond the ones meant to keep the driver on the straight and narrow. As standard, the Vanquish gets adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, auto high-beams and traffic sign recognition —not that anyone who owns a Vanquish Volante is going to care about speed limits.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
There's no getting around it, the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante is one expensive-ass piece of machinery. Just to get in the driver's seat, you're going to have to give the British automaker a cool $489,700 (including a gas guzzler tax and destination). That's a delta of more than $50,000 between the coupe and convertible, but you only live once, so you should get the 'vert.
Then you get into the pricey world of options. Add in things like $20,000 for Q Satin Paint, $11,200 for an even nicer leather interior, a $14,900 titanium exhaust system (which you need), $18,000 in carbon-fiber trim and a few other very pricey odds and ends, you get to my car's as-tested price of $595,300. That's good enough to get you a decent-size house in most of America, but ask yourself: can your house do 214 mph? Does your house have swan doors or a V12? I didn't think so.
One thing you're not getting in a Vanquish Volante — no matter how much money you spend — is a front axle nose-lift system. Aston tells me they skipped out on it to save weight at the front and keep the handling characteristics of the car from being compromised. They argue that the Volante has enough ground clearance to get over most bumps and ruts. I'm just glad I'm not the one paying for that front splitter.
Part of what you're paying for here, of course, is exclusivity. Aston says it's going to build just 1,000 Vanquishes every year. It expects about 30% of those to come to the U.S., and 40% will be Volantes, so you're going to be hard-pressed to see another one driving down the street.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
I know the 2026 Vanquish Volante costs a hell of a lot of money, but at the end of the day, it's a hell of a lot of car. Even if it drove like utter crap, which it doesn't, its looks alone are nearly worth the price of admission. I'm not going to sit here and tell you this car is a smart purchase or anything like that, but if you're the sort of person who appreciates the pinnacle of looks, V12 speed and open-air driving, it's hard to fault the Vanquish Volante. It's in a class of its own when it comes to things like that.
The Vanquish Volante is for those who get it, and if you don't, there's nothing I can say to change your mind. You're just going to have to get behind the wheel, because if you have the means, I seriously suggest picking one up.
