Aston Martin DBS Volante: A well-heeled beauty

The $366,000 DBS Volante works its magic – even when it's kept on a short leash

Oct 03, 2009

Special to the Star

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was like any other car nut trying to get a test drive in anything with four wheels. A particular low point was driving around Hamilton in a Kia Rio with a salesman who could have been the understudy for Robert De Niro in Raging Bull.

So when I was handed the keys to an Aston Martin DBS Volante this week, I felt once again that this car review stuff is as magical as being in the big top with Cirque du Soleil.

Aston Martin DB9 a grand coupe

Big value from smallest Aston

The Volante was parked at Grand Touring Auto in Toronto. Before I could take it out, I had to wait for Quebec hip-hop star Marie Corriveau to finish her own version of a show-and-shine on the DBS.

That gave me time to chat up Aston Martin sales specialist Frankie Attard.

"How much will this cost?" I asked through recently whitened teeth.

"Oh, about $366,000 give or take," beamed back Attard.

Grand Touring was dangling the Volante for its best customers this week. When the well heeled weren't melting into the Volante's redskin peanut coloured seats, then the media stood in line for a drive like hungry homeless at a soup kitchen.

The California-based Volante was on a short tether. "You can drive it 50 miles (90 km), not much more," cautioned Attard. "Take it to Yorkville, that's where most of our customers come from."

Before I could squeeze the convertible out on the street, Attard showed me a few barely visible nicks, scratches and chips on the sensuous sheet metal. The unspoken message, "Don't add any more."

"I can't emphasize enough how low this car is," he said as he wedged the toe of his shoe under the suave front fender. Low enough, I deduced, to scrape gum off the pavement.

Though I was briefly terrorized, once the DBS flew down the street, I started to enjoy its beauty and brawn.

The V12 makes marvelous music. I could hear it thwacking off Toronto's expensive architecture. The Touchtronic six-speed gearbox can go it alone, or be managed using paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel. The self-guided method is most rewarding since it's like conducting your own orchestra.

Up a ramp to the Gardiner Expressway, the Aston Martin rips through shifts with great snorts of exhilaration. The hand-built 6.0-litre engine puts out 510 horsepower and nails 0-to-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds.

All that raw energy is contained in a beautiful skin. Perfect proportions, from the wide-mouth front end to the delicate upturned sweep of the rear, make the Volante one of the most beautiful cars on the road.

Strange, then, when the DBS was throbbing at stoplights, that most people shuffled right by it without a second glance. The Audi R8, by contrast, caused frothing, drooling and head-snapping the last time I drove it.

I took the car to lunch and worried about it sitting with the riff-raff in the parking lot. I worried driving it down a street with traffic calming humps, and worried when it sat idling underneath an RR bridge as a GO Train slammed overhead. I almost swooned on a side street in Mississauga when a demented squirrel launched an acorn onto the hood as I shot photos.

The Aston was returned unscathed and, as requested, with a full tank of gas (though I passed on the 7-11 petrol in favour of Esso).

"It's the most comfortable driving sports car there is," Attard offered after the Volante floated into Grand Touring.

"Yes, it was a 50-mile riot," I thought.

Freelance writer Kathy Renwald can be reached at kathyrenwald.com

 Aston Martin DB9 a grand coupe

Big value from smallest Aston

Toronto Star