The new Aston Martin Vantage is undoubtedly one of my favourite luxury sports cars to come out in recent memory. But, while it’s not really for me personally – I’m more of a coupe kind of person – the new Vantage is missing one key element; a convertible sibling. Thankfully, this is one wrong that’s now been righted, with the unveiling of the Vantage Roadster. Best of all, a cabriolet or not, the new Vantage Roadster is an uncompromising open-top experience! With that in mind, it still carries over the same powertrain as the coupe model – a familiar 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo powerplant, cranking out a pretty mighty 665PS and 800Nm of torque.
Yet, the Vantage Roadster’s performance figures match the coupe perfectly, with a 0-60mph time of 3.5 seconds, and a top speed in excess of 202mph. This is unsurprising, given that the Vantage Roadster was engineered in parallel, alongside the coupe model, as Aston Martin is keen to prevent any compromises in handling, weight distribution, or performance. In fact, it actually got more upgrades over the previous model, with this current-gen Vantage Roadster gaining a meaty 155PS and 115Nm of torque. Some of the upgrades over its predecessor now include larger turbos, revised camshaft profiles, and an optimised compression ratio.
Open-Air Performance, Without Any Of The Compromises
Elsewhere, you might notice familiar bits of engineering with the coupe model, too. This new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, therefore, uses an 8-speed automatic transmission, and it’ll come paired with an E-Diff (electronically-controlled limited-slip differential) for an improved and more precise power distribution. To keep its handling sharp and retain maximal stability, the Vantage Roadster was engineered to keep a nicely balanced 49:51 (front-to-rear) weight distribution. It’s also impressive to know that Aston Martin ‘only’ added 60kg of extra weight over the coupe, thanks to its lightweight aluminium structure and composite body panels.
Moreover, there’s also their innovative ‘Z-Fold’ folding convertible roof design, which removes the need for a tonneau cover. Speaking of the roof, this new Vantage Roadster apparently has the fastest fully automatic convertible roof on sale today. To be specific, you could retract this roof fully in a mere 6.8 seconds, and it remains operable while driving at speeds up to 31mph. Nonetheless, with eight layers of acoustic insulation, you can enjoy the same quietness as the coupe model, alongside massive weight savings and a lower centre of gravity compared to an older ‘K-Fold’ folding roof design. There’s certainly a lot of motorsport influences, to boot.
Motorsports & Grand Touring, All In One Handsome Package
One of the racing-inspired add-ons that you could enjoy while driving this new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is most certainly the suspension. Here, you’ll find a double-wishbone set-up in the front and a multi-link axle in the rear. Plus, it comes with Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers, which have been custom-tuned just for the Roadster. Brakes-wise, the Vantage Roadster has a set of 410mm carbon ceramic discs and six-piston callipers, which should offer you exceptional braking performance. In addition, this newest Vantage Roadster wears bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tyres, engineered for maximum traction, without sacrificing comfort, either.
Tech is a noteworthy area when you’re looking at the Vantage Roadster’s performance, with a set of state-of-the-art six-axis sensors to monitor the vehicle’s behaviour, grip, and handling in real time. Besides that, thanks to Aston Martin’s ‘Adaptive Traction Control’ system, you could pick and choose between 8 selectable settings. Between all that performance and the plethora of customisation options, including new paints and unique roof colours, this new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is a fitting homage to 75 years of the Vantage, and you too could enjoy this speedy, dynamic open-top experience, with the first deliveries scheduled for Q2 2025.
