Aston Martin chops top off DB11

If it doesn’t look quite sparkly enough for that yet it’s because this is an engineering prototype caught while on testing duty nowhere more glamorous than the Midlands.

The car is still wearing light disguise, and the hood’s up, but it’s not difficult to imagine a pleasing shape within. A lot of the DB11 coupe’s design character is in the upper body (what design chief Marek Reichman calls the floating roof arch, and the AeroBlade “virtual spoiler”) so it will be interesting to see how the design stands up sans roof. One thing for sure, the new Volante was bound to have been designed and engineered alongside the coupe – with Volante versions traditionally accounting for around half of all DB sales it’s far too important a car for a last-minute tin-snips job.

When can we buy one? Not until spring 2018 says Aston, but then the DB11 coupe hasn’t reached its first owners yet (that happens in October). The Volante will likely have a show debut in Frankfurt next year. Aston is not going to Paris this year and the Geneva salon next March is thought to be reserved for other Aston goodies.  With new V8 Vantage, Lagonda sedan, DB-X SUV and Red Bull hypercar all bubbling away in the product pot, there are plenty of potential Swiss star turns for them to choose from.