Aston la vista, baby

The convertible version of the twin-turbo V12 grand tourer is heavy and huge, but it is also hugely enjoyable

- Story: C J Hubbard

IT IS THE WARMEST DAY IN YORKSHIRE SO far this year and, despite the ventilated seats, I am a hot mess in an Aston Martin convertible.

Luckily, anyone with any sense only has eyes for the car. Nearly five metres of matte silver and carbon-fibre, draped over a bonded aluminium structure that suffers precious few compromises due to being developed in parallel with the coupé, the Vanquish Volante looks delicious in real life.

Riva speedboat vibes, somehow, and unignorably vast, cocooning me deeply enough inside to make my appearance comfortably irrelevant.

But it is not just for posing in; it is an Aston, so you expect it to be pretty special to drive. At first, pushing the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor is proving hard to imagine, let alone follow through. Not because the Volante feels unwieldy, very far from it, but because the twin-turbo V12 tucked between the front axle and the bulkhead makes it so ridiculously fast.