NEW YORK CITY — Aston Martin has once again pulled off what only it can: build a surreally beautiful, topless grand touring car with a ferocious 5.2‑liter twin‑turbocharged V-12 engine that begs to be driven on your favorite open road.

It’s the 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, boasting 824 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque that’s fed through an eight-speed automatic to the rear wheels. This is not a car in the way that a Toyota Camry is a car. The Camry is a soulless mobility tool. The Vanquish is an indulgence, a promise of memories yet to be, albeit one that requires the disposable income of a Saudi prince. Pull up anywhere and you’ll be greeted by stunned silence and impressed stares — even in Manhattan. You’ll also get more than a few thumbs-up from Toyota drivers, thanks to the Vanquish Volante’s poised profile, graceful lines and long-hooded couture.

You sit deep in this car, coddled by leather so fine you’ll swear these cows went to finishing school. The controls — physical knobs and switches — are refreshingly low-tech in a time of overabundant tech-bro touchscreens. Nevertheless, the new Apple CarPlay Ultra system is slick. And while Aston’s onboard navigation proves just as good as Apple’s, you’ll probably never use it. After all, the whole point of this car is to get lost. And, yes, there’s a symphony-worthy Bowers & Wilkins audio system, but its sound plays second fiddle to the mechanical music this car emits. Besides, if you’re fiddling with Spotify while driving an Aston, you’re not qualified to own one.

Hit the starter button, and suddenly everything else — the carbon trim, the leather-lined cabin, even the visually refined Apple CarPlay Ultra software — fades. The V-12 is the only thing that matters. Few turbocharged mills sound this expensive; you’d swear it has a trust fund. Zero to 60 mph requires about 3.3 seconds on its way to a top speed of 214 mph. But those numbers don’t capture its sensation of speed, the sound of its fast‑spooling turbos or the satisfying surge after downshifting on a highway. It’s a machine built for experiencing life, not trips to Costco, one with a top that lowers in 13 seconds.

This isn’t a hardcore sports car, it’s a GT in its purest sense. The chassis comes courtesy of the Aston Martin DB12 and Vantage, with the wheelbase stretched ahead of the firewall to accommodate its sizeable engine and its lovely, lengthy bonnet. Shod with fat Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires and adjustable Bilstein dampers, it offers a ride that's surprisingly compliant, yet composed and confident when asked to rise to the occasion. Braking, shifting, steering — it all works in quiet harmony, like the raffish gentleman it is. The ZF eight-speed gearbox delivers the smooth responsiveness you’d expect, whether shifting manually or leaving the Vanquish to its own devices.

Of course, acquiring the 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante requires at least $483,700, with the test car’s price climbing to a rarified $610,300 with options, or about enough reset your alimony payments to zero. Surely, the 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante is not rational, nor is it intended to be practical. It’s meant to be unremittingly romantic. It’s for the enthusiast who adores its curvaceous electrifying sexiness and requires the roar of cylinders and the thrill of top-down speed. It’s unapologetically exciting, wonderfully noisy and infinitely British.

The 2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante is for those who can afford to ignore convenience and logic. Loud, long and glorious, it's the final peacock of the pre-electric era, one last V-12 war cry before a faceless future in which cars hum instead of roar.

2026 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante

Base price: $483,700

Engine: Twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V-12

Horsepower/Torque: 824/738 pound-feet

EPA rating (combined city/highway): 16 mpg (estimated)

Fuel required: Premium

Length/Width/Height: 193/81/51 inches

Ground clearance: 4.7 inches

Payload: Not available

Cargo capacity: 6.6-7.7 cubic feet

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