Droptops are possible, but V12s are not.
Aston Martin’s Vantage coupe was introduced in January 2018. Now, the company has announced that its droptop version will be revealed in the months to come. Aston Martin’s chief creative officer, Marek Reichman, confirmed that the roadster was “all done” during an interview with Car Advice at a Victoria media event.
This is the good news. Unfortunately, a V12 variant is not likely to be on the horizon. At least not at the moment. Reichman was asked about the possibility of a Vantage with four additional cylinders. However, he said it would be “too expensive” although he is open to the idea of a V12 version. The much-anticipated manual gearbox is still unknown, so buyers will be stuck with the eight-speed automatic transmission.
The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster will be powered by the same twin-turbo, 4.0-liter V8 engine that powers the coupe. It is a Mercedes-AMG engine that produces a healthy 503 horsepower (685 Newton-meters), and 505 pound-feet (685 Nm) of torque. The roadster’s slightly heavier weight than its fixed-roof sibling will make it a little slower to accelerate to 60 mph (96 km/h). McLaren recently demonstrated that a convertible does not necessarily have to be faster than its coupe counterpart. It should reach speeds similar to the Vantage standard, which is around 195 mph (314 km/h), although it may be a bit slower.
Aston Martin is busy putting the final touches to the DBX. This will be the first SUV built by the company. The Vantage roadster and high-riding Vantage are just two examples of the mid-engined family that includes the Valkyrie and AM-RB 003, as well as the Vanquish.