Overall rating:

Just 101 lucky buyers will ever get to own the Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster. It's just as you'd expect: a 517hp V12 engine from the coupé in the open-topped body. Somehow it's even more thrilling than it sounds - not that it matters what we think, as the short production run is already sold out.

Key Facts

Pricing: £150,000
Engine: 6.0-litre V12 petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Body style: two-door roadster
Rivals: Ferrari 458 Spider, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder, Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet
Top speed: 190mph
0-60mph: 4.5 seconds
Power: 517hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm at 5,750rpm

In the Metal:

It doesn't take an avid Aston Martin spotter to tell the V12 Roadster apart from its V8-engined brethren. For starters, carbon fibre is used extensively, as in the coupé, for the side strakes, front splitter, rear diffuser, door mirror caps and even within the rear lights. There are also forged 19-inch alloys wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber, and topping it all off is a redesigned rear boot lid with an integrated 'flip' spoiler to help with the aerodynamics at speed.

The interior hasn't changed as much (unless you go for the optional carbon fibre trim package), though among the new glass switches is a Sport button that allows the driver to select a sharper throttle map. This mode also holds the exhaust bypass valve open more of the time, resulting in cackles and bangs in the exhaust on the overrun - we'd recommend pressing this button by default once you're away from built up areas...

Of course, the biggest difference between the Roadster and the regular V12 Vantage is that you can drop the roof in the former. It's a quick operation, though we were surprised at how much buffeting there is at speed in the cabin, even with the side windows up. Saying that, the temperatures were sub-zero on our test. We braved the conditions for as long as possible, and thanks to heated seats and a silly warm hat it was bearable enough. However, the design of the air vent nearest the driver's right hand means it's impossible to flow warm air directly at the hand, which in the end meant we raised the roof. For shame.

Driving it:

As mentioned above, road conditions were not ideal for testing a rear-wheel drive sports car with 517hp at its disposal. However, they did help reveal a few aspects of the dynamics that may not be picked up on at normal road speeds in the dry. Such as the relatively aggressive rear differential lock-up. It is surprisingly easy to initiate a rear-led slide in this car, though I guess we shouldn't be too surprised given the engine under the bonnet. Thankfully the steering communicates what's happening and it's easy to control, but it's best to leave the traction control turned on unless it's a fine day.

There's little to choose between the Roadster and coupé at sane speeds. Both are firmly damped and body control is excellent. No doubt the hard-topped car would lap a circuit quicker, but really, who cares? Especially when the Roadster allows unimpeded access to the stirring exhaust note. This is a thrilling car to drive no matter what speed you like to drive at - it's a real sense of occasion.

What you get for your Money:

Admittedly, the price is a moot point given that Aston Martin has already managed to sell every example of the V12 Vantage Roadster it plans to produce. For your £150,000 or so you could have a Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet or an open-topped Lamborghini Gallardo - both of which are quicker and feature four-wheel drive - but then again neither will be as rare.

For the record, the price includes a decent level of standard equipment, such as parking sensors, carbon ceramic brakes, electrically adjusted leather seats, climate control, cruise control, satnav, Bluetooth, auto lights and wipers and a tracker.

Worth Noting

Along with the unique bodywork, Aston Martin saw fit to revise the chassis of the Roadster in order to compare better with the V12 Vantage coupé. The rear damper set-up and spring design are new in a bid to improve traction, while the damper valve tuning has been altered front and back. The Roadster is 80kg heavier than the coupé in all.

Summary

We can't really see why anyone would choose the hard-topped Aston V12 Vantage over the Roadster. Unless of course they weren't quick enough to get their name down for the latter...