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2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

Recently, a fellow editor at AOL asked me to choose "the most beautiful car on the road" for a story he was preparing. I was allowed to choose any vehicle, at any price, as long as it was a model currently in production and offered for sale. The well-oiled gears in my head only needed to turn about half a revolution before I had an answer: The 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. My decision was simple and my logic sound, because the two-seat Volante is jaw-droppingly gorgeous – whether in pictures or in person. Its long, slender chassis is covered in an artfully sculpted carbon-fiber skin that reeks of sexiness, power and exclusivity. In my mind, there's nothing on the road today with such exquisite lines. But a seductive appearance is meaningless if there's no substance beneath the skin. To allay my concerns, Aston Martin invited me to Palm Springs to spend a couple of days with the car. The region's desert topography promised nice weather and spectacular drive opportunities – that is, if I could stop staring and climb behind its wheel. The insulated triple-layer cloth on the Aston will expose the sky in about 14 seconds. Aston Martin launched its all-new 2014 Vanquish Volante at the last August's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey as the successor to its DBS Volante. This two-seater is physically and mechanically identical to the Vanquish coupe, but the fixed carbon-fiber roof of the coupe has been replaced with a power-operated retractable soft top for open-air motoring. Before you question employing a soft folding roof on a $300,000 vehicle, let me remind you that such designs actually offer major advantages over today's folding hardtops. They are invariably lighter, far less complex, and their much more compact nature makes them easier to package without compromising a car's aesthetics. When engineered and executed properly, as is the case with the Volante, few will miss solid panels. The insulated triple-layer cloth on the Aston will expose the sky in about 14 seconds at the push of a switch, and it will rise or retreat at speeds up to 30 mph. Unlike its previous open-air executions, this is the first time that Aston Martin has built a convertible with a full-height windscreen, which means the front glass runs all the way up to the fabric roof for a much cleaner transition. The Volante, like all of its Aston Martin siblings, shares the automaker's Generation 4 VH platform, which is company-speak for an all-aluminum monocoque chassis.

Mercedes to offer SL, GL platforms to Aston Martin?

The agonizingly slow courtship between Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz has been a regular topic of conversation ever since the 2009 Lagonda Concept debuted, riding on a Mercedes GL chassis. Beyond that one polarizing concept, though, nearly every other attempt to pair the two brands up in a major way has fallen through. Only the technical partnership between Mercedes and Aston for certain components from AMG, which was negotiated back in July, has held up so far.
That may finally be set to change, according to an excellent profile of the two brands' relationship from Automobile, which claims that two platforms will unite the Germans and Brits. The first tie up is, not surprisingly, a sports car.
As Aston Martin's VH platform - which underpins every car that comes out of Gaydon - continues to age, the pressure will well and truly be on Aston to find a next-gen replacement to underpin the successors to the Vantage, Vanquish, DB9 and Rapide. Automobile claims Mercedes has just such an architecture, in the form its new modular sports car platform. This new platform is slated for the next-generation SLK and SL and is still in its design infancy.

Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato set to dazzle Villa d'Este

Aston Martin and iconic Italian design house Zagato teamed up to create a striking carbon-fiber-bodied concept set to debut at a glitzy concours on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, this weekend. The Vanquish Zagato will be on display at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, marking the fifth time that Aston and Zagato have collaborated on a car over five decades, beginning with the DB4 GT Zagato in 1960. The Vanquish Zagato concept has taillights that use traditional Zagato styling, but also use the bladed LED technology from the Vulcan supercar. The rear styling evokes the DB11 and features a quad-exhaust system and retractable rear spoiler. A carbon-fiber sill runs around the body. The roof has a double-bubble profile that's a hallmark of Zagato design that dates to the 1950s. The cabin is loaded with more carbon fiber and leathers, and the seats have a Z quilted stitch pattern with more Zs in the headrests and the center console. Power comes from a naturally aspirated V12 uprated to 592 horsepower. "We pride ourselves on our strong partnership, and the creation of the Vanquish Zagato concept was a true shared experience," Zagato CEO Andrea Zagato said in a statement. "It represents the essence of an important design relationship that dates back over 50 years." Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato View 10 Photos Design/Style Aston Martin Coupe Performance Supercars aston martin vanquish concorso deleganza villa deste aston martin vanquish zagato