Hard out, soft-top in Aston Martin debuts facelift Vantage Roadster

With just shy of 12 months having passed since the debut of the facelift Vantage, Aston Martin has taken the wraps, and indeed the roof, off of the revised Vantage Roadster.

Hard head becomes soft

Similar in appearance to the coupe, the drop-top’s main exterior tweaks involve the canvas roof that opens and closes in a Z-pattern at up to 50 km/h in a claimed 6.8 seconds.

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A design said to be lighter than a traditional K-pattern, the Roadster ticks the scales at 60 kg heavier than the coupe, according to Aston Martin, as an added result of the rollover protection system being made from aluminium.

Changes underneath

More extensive are the Roadster’s changes underneath its now DB12-inspired skin to compensate for the roof’s removal structurally.

Aside from stiffer mounting points where the body meets the chassis, the rear suspension dampers have been retuned and the mounts for the gearbox made stronger to cope with the change in roof design.

Also revised are the software for the dampers themselves, the Electronic Stability Control system and the traction control.

Sporting a 49:51 weight distribution, the Roadster comes standard with the adaptive Bilstein DTX shock absorbers, albeit revised to make up for the roof’s removal, steel or optional carbon ceramic brakes taken from the coupe, and model bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 5 S tyres.

Inside

As with its coupe sibling, the Roadster’s interior gets the same DB12-derived makeover by benefitting from the same steering wheel and affixed paddle shifters, restyled centre console, the new Pure Black 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and slimmer air vents.

In addition, buyers are offered a choice of two sound systems; the standard 11-speaker with 390-watts, or the optional Bowers & Wilkins with the same speaker count.

Smidgen more V8 power

Up front, the Vantage Roadster keep hold of the upgraded Mercedes AMG-made 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 outputting 490kW/800Nm.

Sending the amount of twist to the rear axle once again falls to the ZF-developed eight-speed automatic gearbox.

As for performance, the Roadster will get from 0-100 km/h in 3.6 seconds, a tenth slower than the coupe, and hit the same 325 km/h top speed.

Not yet approved for South Africa

On-sale from the second quarter of the year in Europe, pricing and availability for South Africa weren’t disclosed, though expect sales to commence around the same time.

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