What's the news?
No surprise, but still an exciting piece of news that Aston Martin is to make a Roadster version of the sublime V12 Vantage S. Not only that; it's no limited production model, unlike the 2012 V12 Vantage Roadster.
Exterior
Not that Marek Reichman, Aston's Director of Design, had a lot to do. Up front, there's a new grille design in carbon fibre, with black or titanium silver mesh. The prominent bonnet louvres are carried over from the coupé too. Other than that many of the add-ons shown in the images here appear to be optional, including the stunning forged alloy ten-spoke wheels. An exterior carbon pack scatters the black lightweight material around liberally, while buyers can also go for what Aston describes as 'bold graphics', by opting for a painted carbon front grille, front grille lipstick (Aston's choice of words...) and tailgate panel.
Interior
Inside there is new trim as standard, though Aston clearly expects most buyers to opt for the Interior Carbon Pack, which brings with it black pedals as well as carbon fibre for the door pulls and facia. Even more tantalising options can be found in the 'Q by Aston Martin' customisation brochure, including body coloured carbon bonnet louvres; a red tint or satin finish to the carbon fibre elements on the exterior and interior; a full carbon fibre centre console, black anodised and machined rotary controls and a steering wheel with a leather on-centre stripe in the chosen interior accent colour.
Mechanicals
As a point of reference, the V12 Vantage Roadster had to contain 517hp and 570Nm of torque. It hit 190mph and did the 0-62mph thing in about 4.7 seconds. The S is even quicker, thanks to the latest development of the sonorous 6.0-litre V12 engine. Peak outputs are 573hp at 6,750rpm and 620Nm of torque at 5,750rpm. That latter figure may sound (deliciously) high, but Aston tells us that there's 510Nm produced at just 1,000rpm as well. The results? A top speed of 201mph and a 0-62mph time of just 4.1 seconds.
Helping those figures along is the standard Speedshift III transmission, a seven-speed hydraulically actuated automated manual gearbox with paddle shifts. It's 20kg lighter than the old manual unit apparently.
Three-stage adaptive damping is included in the price, which alters the power steering assistance as well (over two levels). There's also a three-stage stability control system and even two different calibrations of the anti-lock brakes within that. Separately to all that a Sport button allows the driver choose two different levels for throttle response, gearshift strategy and exhaust note.
Anything else?
Marek Reichman told us: "The new V12 Vantage S Roadster not only looks the part, but has been engineered and built to showcase the ethos of Aston Martin: power, beauty and soul.
"We believe that it is a truly exceptional sports car, with the capacity to set pulses racing just by its sound alone. The authentic appeal of its style, performance, quality and craftsmanship ensure its stands head and shoulders above others in its sector and delivers that most precious of experiences - fun - in abundance!"
Shane O' Donoghue - 16 Jul 2014
