With a row of automobiles lined up and the Palm Springs desert serving as their backdrop, Aston Martin’s Govt Vice President and Chief Inventive Officer, Marek Reichman, begins his walk-around. A designer by commerce, Reichman strikes shortly across the Vantage Roadster parked on the fringe of the lot. He highlights its varied creases and curves, his phrases swiftly portray the imaginative and prescient he and the model’s design workforce had for it. His tone, nevertheless, says one thing else.
It’s regular for automakers to work in a little bit of fluff when presenting a brand new automobile, however Reichman’s remarks are temporary and to the purpose. He’s not attempting to persuade us that the car {that a} dozen different writers and I are about to drive for the primary time is a handsome machine. His tone conveys a way of certainty, as if to say: “This automobile is beautiful. I do know it, and so do you.”
It’s an identical story as Simon Newton, Aston’s Director of Car Efficiency, breaks down the roadster’s mechanicals. Newton explains that, by creating it alongside the coupe, he and his workforce might implement focused options to make sure its torsional rigidity from the start. As such, the convertible will get away by being simply 132 kilos heavier than the coupe, added structural elements and folding high included.
From there, Newton’s presentation wraps up in a couple of minutes. Just like the coupe, the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster develops 656 horsepower from a 4.0-liter V8. It rides on the identical suspension setup, together with Bilstein’s DTX adaptive dampers; the one distinction is a retune to account for the convertible’s added weight within the rear. And whereas its 3.6-second time to 60 mph is a tenth slower than the coupe’s, it tops at 202 mph simply the identical. “Nicely, it drives identical to the coupe,” Newton concludes. And as I stroll out to my assigned automobile, that’s a prospect price getting enthusiastic about.
Not way back, Aston Martin sang a totally completely different tune. Since 2015, at least 4 CEO’s have referred to as Gaydon residence, with Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll taking possession and becoming a member of as Govt Chairman in 2020. On the time, the carmaker had a lineup with loads of visible attraction, however one which didn’t ship a world-beating driving expertise or provide the most recent tech.
The turning level got here in 2023 with the arrival of the DB12. This grand tourer didn’t simply re-establish the British model as aggressive, however propelled it to the highest of the ultra-luxury meals chain. The DB12 Volante, the refreshed DBX 707, and the Vantage coupe carried the torch, every making comparable leaps when it comes to efficiency and attraction.
On the transfer, I be part of the freeway heading west out of Palm Springs with Idyllwild’s woodsy winding mountain roads as my vacation spot. Whereas the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster proudly wears the sports activities automobile title, it’s a stellar grand tourer. Its fabric high opens or stows in 6.8 seconds at as much as 31 mph, which means it’s fast. Extra importantly, its hushed cabin confirms Aston’s claims of matching the coupe’s noise and vibration ranges at freeway speeds.
Given its sports activities automobile positioning, the Vantage doesn’t provide a softer Consolation setting for high-speed cruising. As a substitute, it begins in Sport, transferring to Sport+ and Monitor, with Moist and Particular person serving as alternates. Nonetheless, as you’ll study later, this automobile’s stiff construction doesn’t should lean on overly agency suspension, permitting Sport to behave as a comparatively plush pseudo GT mode.
As with the refreshed DBX 707 and the DB12, this open-top Vantage makes a considerable leap ahead when it comes to inside high quality. It sports activities an virtually solely leather-wrapped cabin, and on this tester’s case, is contrasted by matte carbon fiber trim and aluminum accents. Whilst you’ll nonetheless discover loads of plastic buttons, those you work together with most frequently are bodily, not touch-sensitive. In the meantime, very important contact factors akin to its A/C controls, drive mode wheel, and equipment selector all make use of steel development.
Aston’s tech suite was as soon as its Achilles heel. Nonetheless, because of the introduction of a configurable digital instrument cluster and a ten.25-inch central show, that’s now not the case. The latter runs an in-house developed infotainment system that’s thoughtfully laid out and simple to function on the transfer.
New for the roadster, the carmaker up to date its cluster graphics, relocating the gear indicator away from the tach’s decrease edge to the place it ought to’ve been within the first place: proper within the center. Coupe house owners might be blissful to study that Aston Martin plans to roll out this up to date format as a part of an over-the-air software program replace.
Coming down the freeway off-ramp, I swap to handbook mode and spin the drive mode selector into Sport+. Simply earlier than I get to the winding street past the timber, a well-placed stopped signal provides me the seconds wanted to stow the highest because the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster fills the air with crackles from its valved exhaust.
The figures are downright absurd. Whereas Aston doesn’t try to hide this twin-turbocharged V8’s AMG origins, bigger turbochargers, the next compression ratio, and revised camshafts permit it to supply 153 hp and 85 pound-feet of torque extra than within the earlier roadster. At 4.0 liters, its displacement is unchanged. Nonetheless, that doesn’t cease its output from rising to 656 hp and 590 lb-ft. In different phrases, that’s why the convertible is just a tenth off the coupe’s time to 60 mph regardless of lugging round an additional 132 lb.
As I return to the throttle on the way in which out of the primary of many corners with a lush forest consuming the desert surroundings, the Vantage solutions with brutal acceleration. It responds with no momentum misplaced to lagging turbos as a wave of low and mid-range torque kicks in. It’s an eight-speed computerized, a ZF-sourced unit, that rips by gears shortly as you lean on the accelerator. And whereas downshifts can generally take a cut up second, it’s fast sufficient to make the roadster really feel fast.
But as spectacular as its straight-line efficiency is, nothing outshines this drop-top’s blaring engine be aware. It’s characterful, filling the air with genuine crackles and burbles as you come off the throttle. Get again on it, nevertheless, and also you’ll encounter a V8 sound not like any AMG on sale at the moment. Aston’s distinctive quad-tipped exhaust system permits it to tune the notes’ traits, barely elevating its pitch and making it sound extra unique than most burbly Mercs.
Just like the coupe, the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster isn’t only a grand tourer with a strong engine. The British carmaker envisions it as a sports activities automobile, and that’s exactly what it’s. Its suspension pairs a double-wishbone setup within the entrance with a multi-link rear axle, with all these elements carrying over from the coupe unchanged. The identical goes for its Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers. Nonetheless, they make use of up to date tuning to account for the roadster’s added weight within the rear.
This added heft comes courtesy, partially, of this automobile’s new rear construction. Aston Martin modified how the physique attaches to the roadster’s again finish to make sure its torsional rigidity. This pairs with further structural reinforcements to stiffen its construction to compensate for its open-top nature. Moreover, the carmaker reworked its roll-over bars to make sure they’re as sturdy as mild as potential. Like its fixed-roof twin, this convertible counts on a bonded aluminum chassis and a transaxle out again to realize its near-perfect 49:51 weight distribution. Nonetheless, a pair of up to date transmission mounts was mandatory to make sure its trip stays constant from roadster to coupe.
On the street, all meaning is that chassis actions are virtually undetectable behind the wheel. Extra importantly, the Vantage doesn’t should depend on rock-hard dampers. And as I click on out of Sport+ and into the highest Monitor setting, its suspension hardens, however by no means to the purpose of spoiling the trip.
The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster touts a lightest potential dry weight determine of three,670 lb, which is to say it’ll are available a lot nearer to 4,000 lb in combating kind. That mentioned, what you are feeling in tighter corners is that this automobile’s dimension, not its weight. Just like the coupe, the roadster has a widened entrance and rear observe. It rides on 21-inch wheels as customary, wrapped in 275/35 and 325/30 Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 rubber. That’s an equivalent setup to what you’ll discover on the bigger DB12.
Its grip ranges are astounding, and because of its well-controlled physique motions, it stays steady between bends, feeling solely a contact under-damped over massive undulations at velocity. Like most fashionable sports activities automobiles, its electrical energy steering is ultra-quick and responsive, however not overly communicative. That’s even with this automobile’s use of a non-isolated steering column. And, though a brisk drive on a mountain street isn’t sufficient to overwhelm this automobile’s customary set of metal brakes, Aston Martin affords carbon-ceramics as an optionally available additional.
But, as fabulous a sports activities automobile because the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is, its price is probably going its foremost disadvantage. As of writing, pricing for this automobile has but to be introduced, with the principle contributing issue being current tariffs imposed by the U.S. authorities on foreign-made automobiles. Whereas a current settlement reached with the British and the American authorities sees that responsibility shrink from over 25 % to 10 %, we nonetheless don’t but understand how a lot this roadster will price.
For context, the coupe I drove final 12 months carried a base determine of $194,500 and an as-tested worth of $291,000. The roadster will doubtless begin above the $200,000 mark, though by how a lot stays to be decided. Regardless, paying over $300,000 for Aston’s open-top sports activities automobile is an actual risk as soon as optioned.
As I head again in the direction of Palm Springs, the supply of Reichman and Newton’s confidence is evident. The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster wants no fluff or excuses as a result of it delivers. It’s beautiful, carrying one of the evocative shapes on 4 wheels. Powered by a rowdy powerhouse of a V8, it’s as thrilling on a again street as it’s fast. Think about its structural enhancements, and also you get an open-top sports activities automobile that’s simply as thrilling as its coupe counterpart whereas additionally sporting an equally excessive stage of refinement.
Nonetheless, provided that the brand new Vantage coupe already obtained a worth enhance of over $45,000 because it entered its newest technology and the roadster is anticipated to do the identical, additional tariff-fueled hikes might make an in any other case stellar machine an unpalatable one.
