Behold the new Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster
But don't get too excited. Aston has already sold all 249 examples...
It’s all happening at Pebble Beach for Aston. It's made yet another announcement, and again it’s one we were waiting for: confirmation of the new V12 Vantage Roadster and all the juicy details.
The press release starts off with a typical Aston Martin flourish, tugging at the old emotional control unit: ‘Pebble Beach, California: Aston Martin is proud to introduce the new V12 Vantage Roadster – a uniquely exciting and ultra-exclusive limited production model which combines the thrilling performance of the most powerful Aston Martin Vantage ever made with the freedom and sensory stimulation of roof-down driving.’
Sadly, a key phrase there is ‘ultra-exclusive’. It seems everything is exclusive these days, and here just 249 customers from around the world will get the pleasure of ordering a V12 Vantage Roadster new. And they already have, because every build slot has been taken ahead of the car’s release. So this feels less like news and more like bragging. Still, well done Aston Martin; firstly for giving us one last the V12 Vantage Roadster and secondly for making such a success of it.
Predictably, it mirrors a lot of what we've seen with the earlier coupe version of the V12 Vantage. There are fatter arches draped over 40-millimetre wider tracks than the normal Vantage Roadster. It also develops 216kg of peak downforce from its aero package. Naturally, it has the same bruiser of a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 slotted in upfront as well. Except here you don't just get the full force of 700hp and 555lb ft to enjoy in a straight line, which equates to 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds and 200mph. You also get to revel in its undiluted, twelve-cylinder wail when the Roadster’s roof is down and the V12's screaming its lungs off at 7,000rpm. Sounds good just thinking about it, right?
The engine's pushing its drive through the familiar transaxle ZF eight-speed automatic gearbox and mechanical limited-slip diff at the rear. So in theory, it retains the front-mid-engined balance. That’s certainly the intention. As Roberto Fedeli, Aston Martin Chief Technical Officer, puts it: “We have worked extremely hard to ensure the V12 Vantage Roadster possesses the same potency and dynamism that characterises the V12 Vantage, while surpassing it in terms of raw sensory excitement that you only achieve with roof down driving”.
That philosophy extends to the steering and suspension hardware, which sticks with the hardtop V12’s components, although the Roadster has its own bespoke tuning for the adaptive dampers that allow for the slight differences in weight. That’s not quoted, by the way, but we do know that the V12 Vantage Roadster comes with a carbon fibre front bumper, clamshell bonnet and front wings. The rear bumper and boot lid are also lighter but here it's a composite material. Carbon ceramic brake discs knock off 23kg of unsprung mass, and an optional set of lightweight forged alloy wheels – available in satin black or satin black diamond turned – saves a further 8kg. A lightweight battery and centre-exiting, twin-exhaust system, built from steel that’s just one millimetre thick, saves another 7.2kg of overall mass.
There’s a 7.3kg weight-saving opportunity to be made inside, too. That’s if you swap the standard Sports Plus Seats, which come trimmed in perforated, semi-aniline leather with ‘Wings’ quilting, for the optional carbon fibre performance seats. These have an exposed carbon fibre shell and six-way manual adjustment instead of electric. That’s not all you can do to the interior or the exterior, of course. The brand's well-promoted Q by Aston Martin division will submit to your every whim, with colour-matched paint and individual graphics, to individually designed and woven leathers for the seats. Or you can leave sections of the car’s carbon fibre elements unpainted and simply lacquer them instead.
If you’ve got one of the first orders then we’re happy to report that it will go into production very soon, and it could be ready for delivery during the last quarter of this year. If you haven’t got one on order, then sorry. But we’re in the same boat.
The type of person that’ll buy into this wont be a car enthusiast, an Aston enthusiast at best, so his comment is probably very televant.
The type of person that’ll buy into this wont be a car enthusiast, an Aston enthusiast at best, so his comment is probably very televant.
The type of person that’ll buy into this wont be a car enthusiast, an Aston enthusiast at best, so his comment is probably very televant.
The type of person that’ll buy into this wont be a car enthusiast, an Aston enthusiast at best, so his comment is probably very televant.
I have driven the car, as have many journos and we are in agreement on what the car is like, a good investment (most likely) but not a brilliant car, being kind.
I have driven the car, as have many journos and we are in agreement on what the car is like, a good investment (most likely) but not a brilliant car, being kind.
I have driven the car, as have many journos and we are in agreement on what the car is like, a good investment (most likely) but not a brilliant car, being kind.
Any images with roof up?
As for 249, I presume that's the quickest way to get the cash in the till. It should be part of the range, not a limited special.
This is up against the Bentley Conti - know what I'd rather have. Another 6/10 car from AML.
This is up against the Bentley Conti - know what I'd rather have. Another 6/10 car from AML.
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