I’m not sure whether to bother with the usual assessment this week. If you’ve got the means and inclination to spend £112,000 on an Aston Martin DB9 Volante what I say is likely to make little difference.

What you want to know is whether pedestrians dribble when you drive by and other road users risk life and licence to get a better view. Well, yes and yes.

This is a spectacularly dangerous car for everyone other than its occupants. Drive through town and it will be only a matter of time before someone breaks their nose on a lamppost. And to the bloke with the comb-over in the Audi A4 convertible who used three lanes and the hard shoulder of the M4 to get a better look at it — friend, you need driving lessons even more than a haircut.

“Aston Martin Volante”. How many people have sat in their baths rolling those words around their heads, dreaming of the day when this brand of automotive nirvana might one day be theirs? And a convertible DB9 — the soft-top version of Aston’s finest car for 40 years — what could be better than that?

A hard-top DB9 for one. I don’t wish to wrench you from the reverie but not even a DB9 can escape the rude realities of the real world, and physics dictates that by sawing the top off a car, you always lose more than a roof.

The spirited Nissan 350Z Roadster and Ferrari F430 Spider are the two convertibles that have lost least relative to their tin-top sisters and even they’ve suffered a little. Even Porsche’s newest 911 Cabriolet feels more woolly than the coupé.

And the same is true of the Volante, but to a still greater extent. Its structure jiggles over uneven surfaces and wind noise in the cabin is disappointing with the roof up. Is a folding metal lid too much to hope for when Peugeot provides one for £100,000 less?

Then again, the noise you get with the roof down is exactly the kind you want. The truth is, the Aston sounds even better than it looks, and I’m saying that about the best-looking convertible on sale. Give the 6 litre 450bhp V12 motor a dose of petroleum and you’ll be rewarded with a howl so rich, loud and exquisite it reminded me of the way Ferraris used to sound 30 years ago. It makes you drive like an idiot, slowing down just so you can give it another squirt.

Ideally, DB9 Volante owners will want to base themselves in postcodes where the car will be most envied. If they really want to get their money’s worth they should also have access to roads where the car can demonstrate what it does best — in addition to making them appear younger than they are.

Convertible Astons of all ages have rarely matched their looks with driving pleasure, but the Volante comes closer than most. Its performance (0-62mph in 4.9sec, top speed 186mph), is complemented by a chassis that offers good grip, strong braking and precise steering, though the thrill factor I experienced in the notably better-handling DB9 coupé has inevitably been compromised.

There are some compromises in other areas, too: the rear seats are leather-lined buckets designed by someone seemingly unaware that a large majority of human beings come equipped with legs. Space is tight in front, too. I’m tall but no freak, yet with the driver’s seat as far back as it would go, I had to drive in my socks to get comfortable behind the wheel.

Aston would have been better served by taking the same route Mercedes has with its rival SL and not bothered with useless rear seats. It could have used the space either to package a metal roof or offer decent front legroom.

There are other quibbles. Why, in a car Aston portrays as the ultimate grand tourer is neither satellite navigation nor cruise control standard? And why are the controls for said sat nav, the stereo and trip meters so fiddly and difficult to identify? Wait a minute, what am I saying? They look good, that’s why, as do the other beautiful and almost illegible instruments.

And that’s the point. The Volante is not so much a car as a mobile style statement boasting a label as coveted as any from Milan to New York. From the shape of its body, the smell and feel of its leather and wood to the sound of its exhaust, it is meant to induce total sensory overload in owner and onlooker alike. In these respects, it’s an unmitigated success. I stopped short of licking it but it probably tastes good too.

I’d prefer the coupé DB9 by far, not because it’s a little more practical but because it’s a lot better to drive. But I’m the last person the Volante is aimed at: my fashion sense makes Clarkson look like a style guru. But I know enough to suspect that those who’ve waited patiently for their Volantes — it was first shown in January 2004 — will be delighted with it. In the unlikely event that people with this kind of money have any close neighbours, they’ll be the envy of every one of them.

VITAL STATISTICS

Model Aston Martin DB9 Volante
Engine type Twelve cylinders, 5935cc
Power/Torque 450bhp @ 6000rpm / 420 lb ft @ 5000rpm
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Fuel/CO2 17.1mpg (combined) / 394g/km
Performance 0-62mph, 4.9sec / Top speed: 186mph
Price £112,000
Verdict The best-looking convertible on sale
Rating 4/5

THE OPPOSITION

Model Ferrari F430 Spider £127,050
For Has almost all the dynamic brilliance of the coupé
Against Its looks have suffered in the conversion

Model Mercedes SL 55 AMG £97,240
For Pulverising performance, folding steel roof
Against Lacks exclusivity of Aston Martin and Ferrari