The Aston Martin Vantage is the smallest car in the current Aston range and it was created to be a more entertaining sports car with a cheaper price point when compared to the GT cars like the DB9->ke210. The car was lauded for its looks and handling abilities, but many felt the standard V-8 lacked the proper grunt for a car like this. Aston Martin->ke13 rose to the challenge and created the V12 Vantage by cramming the 12-cyliiunder engine from the DB9 into the engine bay of the smaller car. Just last year, Aston turned up the wick even farther with a faster, lighter, and more exciting V12 Vantage S model. The big issue with the V12 Vantage S is that is only available in hardtop form, not the seductive roadster. Until now, anyways.

That’s right, Aston has just announced a drop-top version of the V12 Vantage S, and it is as amazing as it sounds.

Functionally the new V12 Vantage S Roadster is identical to its hard-top sibling. That means powerful V-12 engine, reduced weight, increased torque, and a top speed of more than 200 mph.

Click past the jump to read more about the 2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster.

Exterior

Visually, the new V12 Vantage S Roadster shouts its performance level to the world. Most Aston Martins are tastefully refined, but the Vantage looks like it’s the crazy relative nobody talks about. The silver slatted finish that dominated every Aston grille for the last several years is gone, replaced with an aggressive collection of carbon fiber and mesh. It looks very similar to the grille on the Aston Vantage race car. More than adding to the aesthetics, that new nose increases airflow to the engine.

A close will notice that while the car sits on the same footprint as the older car, the new machine has subtly flared wheel arches that will fit quite nicely over the new forged alloy wheels. The hood has the same crazy vents and slats as the V12 S Coupe, and if you want more carbon fiber, there is an exterior carbon pack available. For the most crazy of owners, you can get the tailgate, carbon grille and front grille “lipstick” painted in a different color.

Whatever your choice, the V12 Vantage S Roadster is the craziest and most aggressive road-going Aston you can buy today, and that makes it extra awesome.

2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster - Exterior Dimensions

Interior

Considering what Aston did to the outside of this thing, I half expected the interior to come with steel studs in the dash and flame throwers for seat heaters. Thankfully, Aston turned their stereo down from 11, and has given us a traditional luxurious cabin. The door panel design has been changed, and there are now options for lightweight carbon fiber buckets, but most everything is still covered in acres of dead cow skin. While the new seat choice is great, I really like the standard Sport buckets with their cool leather racing stripe that runs up the center.

Some of the standard niceties include Piano Black trim, Bluetooth, navigation, and more. If that Piano Black doesn’t fit your tastes, you can opt for carbon fiber instead. While much of the interior comes in only black or a dark blue, Aston does give you plenty of color choices when it comes to seat leather, carpet color, door panel trim, and the contrast stitching. They even let you choose if you want silver pedals or black pedals.

Standard Features

- Full-grain leather interior

- Piano Black fascia trim, center stack and door grabs

- Leather-trimmed sports steering wheel with Black airbag ring

- Electrically adjustable sports seats with side airbags

- Memory seats and exterior mirrors (three positions)

- Dual-stage driver/passenger front airbags

- Carbon fiber front grille

- Titanium front grille and side strake meshes

- Powerfold exterior heated mirrors

- Heated rear screen

- Automatic temperature control

- Organic Electroluminescent (OEL) displays

- Trip computer

- Cruise control

- Bluetooth® telephone preparation with audio streaming capability

- Satellite navigation

- Auto-dimming interior rear-view mirror

- Garage door opener (USA and Canada only)

- Rear parking sensors

- Reverse parking assist camera (USA and Canada only)

- Tyre pressure monitoring

- Alarm (with volumetric and tilt sensor) and immobilizer

- Remote control central door locking and boot release

- Glass ECU

- Glass switches

- LED map reading lights

Drivetrain

The drivetrain of the V12 S Roadster is likely going to be many people’s favorite part. With a 12-cylinder engine that makes 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque, this Aston is one fast machine. IT will hit 60 mph in less than four seconds, 3.9 to be exact, and it will rocket all the way to 201 mph. That is the same top speed as the legendary Ferrari F40.

To make sure the car is more enjoyable and easier to drive, Aston spent a substantial amount of time on the torque curve. Most sports cars in this range have incredible horsepower and speed, but they lack low rev grunt and can feel sluggish at slow speeds. That won’t be an issue for this car, as the V12 S Roadster has a full 376 pound-feet of twist available at just 1,000 rpm. That’s basically diesel performance.

Like all Vantage cars before, all that power is sent exclusively to the rear wheels, but this is where things get sad for me. Yes, the car has all the torque in the world, and it is RWD, but the new V12 Vantage S Roadster is only available with the new Sportshift III ASM transmission. There is no option for three-pedals. The previous V12 Vantage Roadster was the last mass produced V-12 car that could be ordered with a manual transmission, and now it is gone.

Can I have a moment of silence for its passing, please?

Now back to business. It may suck that you can only get an automatic, but Aston has some reasons for choosing this route. For starters it is easier to sell a car with an auto, and modern paddle-shifted cars are far faster than a normal cog-swapper. Aston also has a weight advantage. The new transmission is a full 44 pounds lighter than the old six-speed manual.

If you are like me, and just NEED a manual, I may have hope. I am looking into the possibility of bolting the old transmission to the new engine. I will keep you guy supdated.

2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster - Drivetrain/Specifications

Suspensions and Brakes

A lot of work went into the engine, but an equal amount went into the suspension and chassis tuning. With this much power, Aston Martin wanted to make sure that drivers could harness it well on the road and have thrown a large collection of tech and knowledge gained from the race-winning GT4 and GTE cars.

The suspension system itself features three-stage dampers, that when allied with a three-stage Dynamic Stability Control System and a two-stage ABS braking system allows the car to be tailored to your exact driving preferences. The car has three main settings; Normal, Sport, and Track. Beyond these three settings for the chassis tuning, there is also a “Sport” button mounted on the center console that modifies shift speed, exhaust tuning, throttle response, and more. I suggest just taping that button down.

To bring things down from speed, Aston has given the V12 S Roadster a set of massive Carbon Ceramic brakes that are nearly identical to the kit used on the bigger, faster Vanquish->ke1316. Even the exhaust has seen extra love and attention. Beyond the simple audio tuning that happens with the Sport button, the actual exhaust itself has been completely redesigned, and it is based off the system used in the One-77 supercar.

Steering

- Rack and pinion, speed-sensitive Servotronic power-assisted steering, 2.5 turns lock-to-lock

- Column tilt and reach adjustment

- Steering rack with 15:1 ratio

Wheels & Tires

- 19” 10-spoke forged alloy Graphite painted wheels with diamond-turned finish

- Front: 9 x 19” Pirelli P Zero Corsa 255/35 ZR19

- Rear: 11 x 19” Pirelli P Zero Corsa 295/30 ZR19

Suspension

- Front: Independent double wishbones incorporating anti-dive geometry, coil springs, anti-roll bar and monotube adaptive dampers

- Rear: Independent double wishbones with anti-squat and anti-lift geometry, dual-rate coil springs and monotube adaptive dampers

- Three-stage Adaptive Damping System (ADS) with Normal, Sport and Track modes

Brakes

- Front: Ventilated Carbon Ceramic Matrix discs, 398 mm diameter with six-piston monobloc calipers

- Rear: Ventilated Carbon Ceramic Matrix discs, 360 mm diameter with four-piston monobloc calipers

- Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) with Track mode

- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Track mode

- Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD)

- Emergency Brake Assist (EBA)

- Traction Control (TC)

- Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA)

- Positive Torque Control (PTC)

- Hill Start Assist (HSA)

Prices

We don’t have solid or official pricing yet on the new V12 Vantage S Roadster, but it obviously won’t be cheap. The base price of a Coupe hovers around the $180k to $190k range, so I would expect a small premium of $5,000 to $7000 dollars for the model with unlimited head room.

Competition

Jaguar Project 7

It may seem a little crazy to compare a limited run car like the Project 7 with a mass production car like the Aston, but hear me out. For starters, they are both British marques, have open-top designs and they make about the same horsepower. Also, Jaguar will be making a standard F-Type Roadster with this general powertrain, we just don’t have it yet.

All that covered, they actually match up pretty well. Both represent the absolute best of what their base cars can offer. Maximum power, maximum performance and maximum visual aggression. If history is anything to go by though, the Jaguar will be cheaper and it will hold its value a lot better. Aston Martin’s traditionally have some of the worst deprecation of any high end automaker.

Right now, I would be split between them. I think the Aston is prettier, but now that I can’t get a manual transmission, I am swayed by the Jaguar.

Porsche 911 Turbo Convertible

Let’s be honest, we can’t talk high end sports cars without mentioning the 911. This isn’t just any 911 either. For the near $200k asking price of the Aston, you can have the fastest convertible 911 ever created, the new Turbo S cabriolet. Horsepower from the turbocharged flat-six is about the same as the Aston at 560, but the 0 to 60 sprint happens in three seconds dead, nearly a second faster than the Vantage. The Vantage does hold the crown for top speed though, the 911 can only manage 197 mph.

Regardless, if you are looking for pure driving excitement and performance, the Porsche 911 is the benchmark. It may look frumpy compared to the Aston, but with two small rear seats, it is slightly more practical than the Aston, and just like the Jaguar before, the Porsche will hold its value a lot better than the Vantage.

Conclusion

The V12 Vantage Roadster has long been one of my favorite cars. It combines all the absurdity of cramming big engines into little cars with the luxury of a high-end automaker. When you slather all that in the design beauty and brand cache of Aston Martin, you have a winner. Now that Aston has made the thing lower, wider, lighter and more powerful with the S, there is a lot to love. I do hate that there is no manual transmission option anymore, but the new unit is said to be lighter and faster than ever before.

If I was going to get something to replace the Miata I just fell in love with, I would like to think it would be one of these.