// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Aston Martin say? It had a volante desire.

Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante
1966 Aston Martin "Short Chassis" Volante
Overview
Manufacturer	Aston Martin
Production	1965–1966 37 produced
Assembly	United Kingdom: Newport Pagnell, England
Body and chassis
Class	Grand tourer
Body style	2-door roadster
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	4.0 L (3,995 cc) Marek DOHC I6
Transmission	5-speed ZF manual 3-speed BorgWarner automatic (optional)
Chronology
Predecessor	Aston Martin DB5
Successor	Aston Martin DB6

The Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante (also known as the Short Wheel Base (SWB) Volante) was the first Aston Martin to be called an Aston Martin Volante ('Volante' means 'Flying' in Italian). As it was the first Aston Martin to be called a 'Volante' any 'drop-head' version of the DB4 and DB5 series should therefore be called a 'Convertible' and not a 'Volante'.

Rear view

The car is a cross between the DB5 (same chassis) and DB6 (bumpers, rear church/TR4 lights, oil cooler, leather stitching), but is closer to a DB5. 37 cars were ever built, constructed on the last DB5 chassis', between October 1965 and October 1966. Calling it a "Short Chassis" is a bit of a misnomer; it is a unique Aston model. The "short" comes from comparing it to the subsequent DB6, which had a longer chassis. When compared to the DB5, it is not "short" but rather the same size.