This is the all-new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster | GRR
Two years after the launch of its Vantage Coupe, Aston Martin has expanded its sportscar range with the exciting new convertible, which boasts the world’s fastest fully automatic soft-top: the new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.
As you might expect the Vantage Roadster shares the Coupe’s 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8, which is mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. 0-62mph takes just 3.7 seconds, and the Vantage Roadster will keep on accelerating all the way to a 190mph top speed.
Incredibly, the Roadster weighs just 60kg more than the Coupe thanks to clever chassis reinforcements and an incredibly light fabric roof, which can fold up or down in 6.8 seconds (at speeds of up to 31mph). Six point eight seconds. Despite being super compact, however, the Roadster’s boot space does suffer, dropping from 350 litres for the coupe to 200 litres for the drop-top.
Aston Martin has promised that the Roadster “retains the strong dynamic ability” of the Coupe, with the lack of roof structure proving “no compromise to feel or refinement”. The ultimate proof will be in the driving, but Aston has tweaked the rear dampers, Adaptive Damping System software and ESP to keep the Roadster as close to the Coupe as possible.
As with any sportscar worth its metal nowadays, this latest Aston features three powertrain modes: Sport, Sport + and Track. Note the lack of any ‘standard’ or ‘comfort’ mode – this is a sportscar, not a convertible cruiser.
With first deliveries anticipated from the middle of this year, prices for the Roadster will start from £126,950, £12,000 more than then entry-level Vantage.
Of the new model, Aston Martin’s CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “Open-top Aston Martins are always firm favourites with our customers, so it’s very exciting to introduce the Vantage Roadster. For many, driving with the roof down is the true definition of the sportscar experience as it truly brings your senses to life. Vantage has always delivered the purest of thrills, but in Roadster form that adrenaline rush is set to go to the next level”.
Matt Becker, Aston Martin Chief Engineer, added: “Convertible sports cars are often seen as compromised when compared to their Coupe equivalents, but the Vantage Roadster remains absolutely dedicated true to its mission of delivering precise, agile and expressive handling dynamics combined with stonking straight-line performance. And of course, there’s the added dimension of driving a great-sounding sports car with the roof down”.
In conjunction with the Roadster’s reveal, Aston has announced a series of range-wide updates, including a selection of optional alloys, and the introduction of the marque’s manual seven-speed manual transmission as an option in the Coupe. In celebration of the 70th year of the Vantage nameplate, the iconic ‘vane’ grille will now be an option for both the Coupe and Roadster.