Aston Martin · 1965–1966
Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante
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'. 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.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Aston Martin DB5 · Successor: Aston Martin DB6
All Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante
- Manufacturer
- Aston Martin
- Production
- 1965–1966, 37 produced
- Assembly
- United Kingdom: Newport Pagnell, England
- Predecessor
- Aston Martin DB5
- Successor
- Aston Martin DB6
- Class
- Grand tourer
- Body style
- 2-door roadster
- Layout
- Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
- Engine
- 3995 cc Marek DOHC I6
- Transmission
- 5-speed ZF manual, 3-speed BorgWarner automatic (optional)
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3627559CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_Martin_Short_Chassis_VolanteCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1377108161 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.