ASTON MARTIN V8 Volante Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Aston Martin introduced a V8 Vantage in 2006 24 h of Nurburgring race and finished it on the 24th place overall, driven by the company's employees.

Any endurance racer knows that to cross the finish line is a remarkable achievement for a car, and the Aston Martin proved to be race-worthy even though it was a slightly modified street-legal vehicle. It barely missed the podium for its class, but that mattered less. Aston Martin won in front of its customers. Soon after, the British carmaker started to work on a unique project named N420, which led to a special edition built as a coupe and a roadster.

The Vantage N420 Roadster was a car designed to remember the big success achieved by the team in 2006. It was based on a standard Aston Martin Vantage. The standard Vantage offered 420 hp, the same as the special edition. But the N420 featured some carbon-fiber elements that helped decrease the total weight by 27 kg (60 lbs). Behind the cabin, a tonneau covered the retractable roof with a double-bubble design.

Inside, there were options for street, comfortable yet bolstered seats, or carbon-fiber seats. The car featured standard Bluetooth connectivity and parking sensors. On the door sills, there was a carbon-fiber decal with the Vantage N420 logo on it. The same logo was noticeable on the headrests and the center console, next to the parking brake handle.

Aston Martin installed a 4.7-liter V-8 engine under the hood, which provided 420 hp to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual or an automatic gearbox. A Sport Pack suspension was fitted as standard for both N420 versions.

It was the last Aston Martin launched under Ford's management and enjoyed the success of new technologies found outside its owner.

The V8 Vantage always was a thrilling vehicle, and Aston Martin didn't want to lose that. While the motorsports purists said that a convertible is heavier and not as stiff as a coupe, the marketing department knew it was a much-needed car. Half of the V8 Vantages were sold as Volante or Roadster.

From the outside, the carmaker didn't feel the need to change anything. It was the same car, but it was available with the new standard and optional 20-spoke 19" light-alloy wheels. Its roof was power-operated and could disappear in 23 seconds at speeds of up to 48 kph (30 mph).

The interior was heavily modified and resembled its bigger brother, the DBS. It featured a new center stack with a slot for the key. It provided an unusual starting procedure of plug-in and push system. More uncommon than that was the use of Ford buttons and stacks on a luxurious GT.

But the real changes happened under the bodywork. Aston Martin increased the engine size from 4.3-liters to 4.7-liters by increasing the bore. It produced 11% more power than its predecessor and was paired to a standard six-speed manual produced by Graziano. A six-speed automated was on the options list. Magneti-Marelli developed the gearbox's controlling system, and unlike its predecessor, it could offer smooth gear changes.

In 2006, Aston Martin was still linked with Jaguar and Ford. But it was still a luxurious GT car that featured a different approach to its customers and to a different market segment.

At the 2006 Los Angeles Auto Show, the roadster version for the Vantage was unveiled. It was based on its platform, named VH from the second generation. The car featured a twin grille design, with the upper side in the traditional Aston Martin shape and a wide one on the lower part of the bumper. The headlights featured the daytime running lights on the inside, with a twin bulb design for the low and high-beams. Two air-vents were noticeable on the hood, closer to the windshield. The rear design showed the muscular arches of the quarter panels. The two, round exhausts were going through the lower side of the bumper. The horizontal V-shaped taillights were a specific styling element of the car. The Volante (roadster) was heavier by 100 kg (220lbs) than the coupe.

The luxurious GT offered leather-covered sport-bucket seats. The dashboard used the same unusual tachometer that went counter-clockwise. But, with some buttons carried over from some Ford models.

Under the hood, there was a 4.3-liter engine hand-built in Cologne-Germany by Aston Martin engineers. It featured a dry-sump lubrication system so the engine would support hard driving conditions. The powertrain was tested for 12.000 miles in Dubai. A 6-speed automatic gearbox was offered from the launch and it was mounted in the rear, in a transaxle system.

The V8 Vantage Volante LWB was the longest and heaviest Aston Martin built to that date, and it was the most practical continental touring car.

Aston Martin introduced the long-wheelbase version of its V8 Vantage convertible at the 1997 London Motor Show. Since it was more expensive than a Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, there were only 63 customers for it. That made it a scarce vehicle. It was also the last car built at Newport Pagnell, the former home of Aston Martin.

The British carmaker tried to make a vehicle suitable for long trips with four adults onboard by enlarging the standard wheelbase from a V8 Vantage Volante with 200 mm (7.9"). It kept the front fascia with its triple-headlamps under a clear cover and the same silver mesh-grille from its standard wheelbase version. The design team installed an air-vent behind the front fenders, which extracted the air trapped in the wheel-well. Thanks to its longer wheelbase, the carmaker could move the rear seats backward, and thus it added significant legroom for the backseat passengers. In the rear, the carmaker installed round taillights, with big turn-signals on the outer side. The reversing light was installed very low into the skirt. A power-operated double-lined roof ensured a quiet ride and good thermal comfort.

Inside, Aston Martin didn't spare a dime to make one of its most luxurious cabins ever. Wood-trims accompanied the Connely leather-wrapped seats and door panels. The only plastic parts were for the buttons and a few switches.

Under the hood, Aston Martin installed a supercharged V8 paired to a 4-speed automatic transmission provided by Chrysler.

While his hard-top cousin V-8 Vantage gathered all the glory as a company car for an MI-6 employee named Bond, the Volante version got the attention deserved by a luxurious convertible.

Aston Martin had a long history with open-top vehicles and even patented its own designated name for them: Volante (flying – Latin). The British carmaker tried to convince its customers that the V-8 model was, in fact, a Grand Tourer and not a sports car. It was shown in the opening scene of “The Living Daylights” movie. But that was not its only good side.

From the outside, the British Grand Tourer featured a low height, a long hood with a bulge in the middle, that differentiated it from the other Aston Martin V8 (Series 3) model. In the front, it featured two round headlights and two additional fog-lights. Its canvas-roof was retractable behind the rear seats/parcel.

The exclusive interior design featured a mix of wood and leather. While the front bucket seats with high-bolstered areas promised a good, comfortable ride in the back, the carmaker offered an option for two individual seats or a parcel to store more luggage for a very long trip. When retracted, the roof was protected by a vinyl cover.

Under the hood, there was a 5.3-liter engine that offered 305 hp when it was introduced. With a different set of carburetors, that was able to provide up to 403 hp after 1986. The early models featured a 5-speed manual, while the later ones received a 6-speed manual.