Skip to main content

2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante unveiled, and it’s a stunner

How do you make the Aston Martin Vanquish look even better? Simple: cut its roof off.

Aston is ready to put the inevitable convertible version of its top V12 grand tourer into production and with looks like this, it can’t come soon enough.

The 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante shares its trademark styling with the Vanquish coupe, but adds the drama of a roofless profile. Underneath, though, the similarities continue.

The Volante comes with the same 5.9-liter V12 as the hardtop Vanquish, producing 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.

“Volante” is Italian for “flying,” and that’s no boast given this car’s estimated 183 mph top speed.

Despite the Vanquish Volante’s more relaxed “Super GT” billing, it should be pretty entertaining in the corners, too. Aston claims a near-perfect 51:49 front-rear weight distribution, and says the Volante is the stiffest of its convertibles to date. It’s also the first Aston Martin convertible to wear carbon fiber body panels.

Turning the Volante into a work of art is a three-piece power folding fabric top. The top can lower itself in 14 seconds at speeds up to 30 mph.

In an interesting design touch, the Volante’s windshield attaches directly to the top without the narrow strip of sheetmetal (or in this case, carbon fiber) normally seen on convertibles. For such a minor detail, it makes a big difference in the overall look of the car.

Like the Vanquish coupe, the Volante gets an appropriately luxurious cabin trimmed in leather, Alcantara, and satin chrome. For a high-tech touch, much of the center stack’s switchgear is capacitive buttons with haptic feedback, for a classier reinterpretation of your iPhone’s touchscreen.

If any car could inspire an early summer impulse buy, it would be the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, However, buyers will have to wait until next summer to drive their cars, because don’t begin until early next year. At least that will give people lusting after this rolling sculpture some time to save up the $297,995 needed to purchase it.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Kia EV4: everything we know so far
Kia EV4 Front

Kia is continuing to expand its electric car lineup. The EV6 and EV9 have both been out for some time now, and the company is in the middle of rolling out the EV3 in Europe, with a North American release expected next year. After that, it's likely the company will turn to the EV5. But what about after that? Well, that could be where the Kia EV4 comes in.

Kia announced a concept version of the EV4 at its EV Day in 2023, showing off a futuristic-looking hatchback that's seemingly a little smaller than the EV6, but keeps many design elements. Since then, Kia has confirmed very few details about it, though we have seen it shown off at other automotive events. Here's everything we know about the Kia EV4 so far.
Kia EV4 design
The Kia EV4, or at least the concept version of it, is smaller than the EV6, and much smaller than the EV9. It's actually closer in size to a sedan than anything else, though with its open trunk, it could be considered a hatchback. Regardless, it certainly blurs the line between the two. So much so, that in recent months we've actually seen a full hatchback version of the EV4 being tested -- and it's possible that Kia is pivoting the design of the EV4 entirely to be a hatch, or will be releasing both hatchback and sedan versions.

Read more
Hertz is selling used Teslas for under $20K, Chevrolet Bolt EVs under $14K
2018 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently nixed hopes of a regular Tesla model ever selling for $25,000.

But he was talking about new models. For car rental company Hertz, the race to sell used Teslas and other EVs at ever-lower prices is not only still on but accelerating.

Read more
Never mind slowing sales, 57% of drivers will likely have an EV in 10 years

Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have slowed globally over the past few years. But should EV makers cater more to the mainstream, it’s likely that 57% of drivers will have an EV in 10 years, consulting firm Accenture says.

Last year, nearly 14 million EVs were sold globally, representing a 35% year-on-year increase. But it was much slower than the 55% sales growth recorded in 2022 and the 121% growth in 2021.

Read more