Just like that last February day with temperatures in the 50s, occasional showers, and faint low clouds here and there, the 2024 Aston Martin DB12 Volante looks like a refreshing anomaly and a departure from the increasingly soulless norm high-performance cars in the 2020s.
Of course, the world may still be getting used to the concept of an Aston Martin SUV or an electric SUV powered by Lucid. But this new convertible embodies Aston’s duality as a manufacturer of exclusive cars that are both sumptuous and luxury cars. Quintessentially British sports cars.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
From the beginning it was perfectly clear to me that the DB12 had a German engine. Like its predecessor, the Aston Martin DB11, the Aston Martin DB12 is powered by a 4. 0-liter twin-turbo V8, assembled separately through Mercedes-AMG at its own production facility. Here, it makes 671 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque thanks to larger turbos and a more competitive cam profile. And his personality includes the kind of bark that was once reserved for Lamborghinis or the more edgy muscle cars.
I’ve been stuck in a world of EV launches for the past few years and haven’t driven the DB11, so my knowledge of Aston can be traced back to the DB9 sedan and Rapide S. So it’s my first dose of an Aston Martin powered by an Affalterbach V-8.
It’s a shock. In its most recent version, the engine is much stronger than that of any Aston V-12, so the only thing it potentially lacks is to make a song and have bragging rights. You probably won’t miss it either.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
Aston boasts a 0-60mph time of 3. 6 seconds, and a fast run on the driest road I can locate suggests there’s plenty of rear-wheel drive locking the seat at any speed, not just from a boot state like in EVs. This is made imaginable through ultra-fast downshifts from the rear-mounted ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, which remains in one position in the lowest gears if you choose Sport or Sport modes from the swivel wheel around the engine start button. Overall explosions are limited by the traction available from the traditional Michelin Pilot S five tires, which have fairly good grip and good sound insulation from the road.
This drive mode dial has a wonderful tactile feel and could be everything you want to replace the habit of the DB12 Volante. It’s on the centre console, with genuine transfer buttons for transferring between adjustable stability, exhaust and shock settings (the colour is shown in orange and red with increasing degrees of sportiness). There are also dials to adjust the temperature and volume. Right in front of all this, in a thin strip and just below the screen, are other hard buttons for weather purposes and door locks. It sounds a little dated but also modern, accurate and refreshing, and I hope Aston doesn’t try to offer everything on screen in the future.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
Let’s get back to the sound of the V-8: it’s addictive, uplifting, and the best thing for the car. At around 4,100 rpm, the DB12 gains urgency. Go much further and temporarily lift the throttle and you’ll get just the right amount of overtaking. It sounds brutal but not wild in its maximum vocal modes, sings through gear settings and is especially delightful with maximum sense down. It’s tricky to replace the whole -up and my driving as long as there are winding roads and hairpin turns.
The engine has a duality in its personality that suits it well, as it matches the way the car freely switches between the traits of a luxury coupe and an ambitious supercar. When seated, the V8’s idling is incredibly smooth and has a silky quality and remote purr as it accelerates smoothly in its comfort-focused GT mode.
While the engine helps outline the personality, the guide is what makes this car click. It’s a very wide car, and yet I had no problem locating it exactly in its lane and avoiding road debris when driving through narrow roads and canyons. The fast gear never leaves you off guard, the large idler is very off-center and doesn’t pull sideways when the most sensitive part of the road changes.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
Unlike other features and prestige models today, the DB12’s indicator cluster is as undeniable as you need it to be. With the customizable left and right modules, you can cram a lot of data in there or, like I did, stay in something akin to a classic-caliber organization with a touch of superior contrast.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
The DB12 Volante I drove, at Magneto Bronze, far exceeded its base value of $265,000 to a net source of revenue of $327,100, adding destination fees of $3,400. The nearly $60,000 features also included carbon-ceramic brakes, bronze calipers and smoked taillight lenses. , a glossy black bottom panel, a special and welcoming color and 21-inch forged wheels with a satin platinum finish.
The DB12 is increasingly differentiating itself from the DB11, but it’s a little sharper up front, more technical in its appearance with the new headlight design, and bolder with its larger grille. It may not be the same as its predecessor, although below it has options. On the same aluminium frame structure glued together to perfection – the key to this softtop convertible’s solid, uncompromising feel and lack of jerky vibrations. According to Aston, innovations in several key structural elements of the lower frame, as well as a transverse reinforcement in the engine compartment, assistance that increases torsional inflexibility, and the Volante has its own spring and shock absorber values.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
Inside, it’s a more radical new version with an in-depth overhaul of the infotainment formula, screens and much of the equipment, while retaining the same must-have packaging. The infotainment formula is now supported by a beautiful Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration, on a colourful 10. 3-inch display that uses an interface developed in-house by Aston Martin. It’s temporarily responsive and quite intuitive; VW deserves to take notes.
A Bowers sound system
The DB12’s seats are widely adjustable and look great while being luxurious. But the DB12 highlights an odd Aston Martin trait that goes back generations: a seat that doesn’t have low enough compatibility. I’m 6 feet 6 feet tall, and while I didn’t have any trouble sliding or finding enough headroom, I felt like if I was an inch or two lower, I’d be driving with the middle of the car rocking rather than the most sensitive part. Aston pointed out to me that the available carbon fiber functional seats would necessarily provide that.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
As I felt more and more confident in the car’s dynamics, the slight splashes turned into larger droplets hitting the windshield, and I looked up at the thin leather with growing concern. The next time I had the chance, I stopped and climbed to the top, and found that there was still a decent backward view, thus fixed.
The comfortable top of the DB12 Steering Wheel is covered with a sumptuous curtain that helps keep the Volante Duro quieter at highway speeds, even in the wet. It shuts down under a hard barrel in a few seconds (16 to close, 14 to open). Aston says it can even run at up to 31 mph and a headwind of 31 mph. While there are some symbolic rear areas that can be used for additional passengers, it’s hard to understand how they fit; This area is most productive for the wind deflector.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
Then, the skies opened up and completely overflowed, bringing even more torrential rain that had already peppered my journey with serious dangers along the way. I once remembered that this is not a supercar for the good weather.
Descending the eerily vulnerable Encinal Canyon Road, a clever part of a dry test trail, I felt momentarily vulnerable as the tail broke loose from the jets of water on the road and small landslides on the steep slopes.
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
2024 Aston Martin DB12 Steering Wheel
But I activated the Steering Wheel’s Wet mode, with its smoother throttle and tighter stability program, and all to master it reassuringly.
The DB12 is a little unfamiliar as an exotic car and a little flashy as a luxury travel coupe for everyday driving, but it’s surely in a position to play any role. Elija. De any way, it reminds us that bright, luxurious, and charismatic sports cars still exist, but in today’s screen-centric standard, they’re on the fringes. And staying off-screen sometimes makes the days the most inspiring of all.