2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante Review

As secret agent 007, Sean Connery drove the Aston Martin DB5 in the 1965 action flick "Goldfinger," but today we presume he'd drive the 2010 Aston Martin DBS Volante. We had a chance to impersonate him with our lightning-fast silver bullet with an all-chancellor red interior. We were somewhat disappointed not to find the switches for the machine gun, bullet-proof screen, or oil spreaders installed by Q, but due to its awesomeness and power, this ride is sure to outrun most of its would-be attackers...and that's also where our disappointment stopped.

Aston Martins have always been fantasy cars, but thanks to the manufacturer's recent activities—including a Toyota-engineered concept called the Cygnet—soon anyone will be able to drive an Aston Martin-badged automobile: a micro-car in this case! However, the DBS Volante has evolved the true Aston Martin DNA for a new century. Acceleration and top speed are perfect for James Bond-style pursuits and outrunning most on the on-ramp, but bad for points on your driver's license, so take it easy or you'll get frustrated in most large cities' 21st-century traffic. Of course, you can expect the ride to be sporty, and therefore a bit harsh; but you could almost make a case for this car to be a daily driver, scraping the front end regularly in the process. Crank the specially-tuned BeoSound Bang & Olufsen 13-speaker in-car entertainment system and go. As you might guess, there is not much room to be had for extra people or luggage, but enough for a model-quality female spy and her purse. Whether she is wearing a scarf or not, you have up until 30 MPH to decide if you want the roof up or down—although there is still no ejection seat button. The car is well made and stiff enough for all of your activities; however, should you desire more performance in an open-top automobile, you had better put a bid on Lewis Hamilton's F1 car from last year.

Read a review of the 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster