Ultra-rare manual Aston DBS Volante for sale

It hasn’t been an easy start to the year for Aston Martin. The company recently posted losses of £189m in 2025, more than double that of the previous year, and reiterated plans to cut 20 per cent of its global workforce. Not only that, but the much-anticipated arrival of design genius Adrian Newey to its Formula 1 team – plus a works engine supply partnership with Honda – has so far resulted in a car that apparently shakes itself (and its drivers) to pieces long before completing a race distance.

However, escalating losses and a troubled F1 team aren’t an accurate reflection of the firm’s lineup. The DB12 and heavily reworked Vantage are vastly improved over their predecessors, while the Vanquish was hailed as “the best Aston Martin in modern history” by Matt B recently. That should tell you how good Aston’s current range is, because the company’s built some superb cars this side of the millennium. You’ll know how popular (and surprisingly attainable) pre-2017 Vantages are these days, and you’re getting one of the most characterful V12s of the 21st century in the likes of the DB9 and Vanquish. And what about the DBS? It’s still the bucket list Aston for many, especially one as tidy as this Volante.

When it comes to buying an old British performance car, most will suggest picking one of the later models as they will usually have most of the inevitable quirks ironed out. While the DBS arrived as a standalone model in 2007, it was essentially a heavily revised and sharpened-up version of the DB9. It was built on the same VH platform that underpinned a good chunk of Aston’s lineup during the ’00s and ’10s, and retained the same 5.9-litre (badged 6.0) V12 as the DB9, too. The upgrades were extensive, though, with a carbon fibre bonnet, front wings and boot contributing to a 30kg weight saving over the DB9, and it was the first Aston Martin to feature adaptive dampers. The engine, meanwhile, was dialled up from 456hp to 517hp, and paired with a Touchtronic auto or a six-speed manual – the latter being the standout item here.

We’d have to wait another two years to see the Volante, which introduced a retractable fabric top that could be lowered in 14 seconds. Not quite as rapid as the sub-seven-second drop tops Aston makes today, but the access you’ll get to the V12’s soundtrack will be well worth the wait. Obviously, a fair bit of strengthening was needed to compensate for the lack of room, so Aston dialled up the Volante’s chassis stiffness by 25 per cent over the DB9. That means it’s north of 100kg heavier than the coupe, though, again, you’ll be too busy listening to the 12-cylinder orchestra up front to really care.

It’s a real looker, too. Aston convertibles can be a bit of a mixed bag, but DBS Volante wears its soft top superbly, particularly in this glorious spec of Tungsten Silver over a Sahara Tan interior. What makes this example extra special is that the seller claims it’s one of just eight right-hand drive manual DBS Volantes ever made, and one of only seven built for the UK market.

So it’s finished in the right colour combo, has the right gearbox and looks to have been very well cared for by its three previous owners, too. Just 47,357 miles have been covered over the 15 years, and there’s a good chunk of Aston Martin service receipts to go along with it. You’ll need a spare £149,950 to get your hands on it, or £20k cheaper than a new Vantage with fewer cylinders and more nannying tech. Okay, so that’s hardly a fair comparison, but if you had to choose between the two, you’d be giving this the nod, right?