2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster Debuts As A 690-HP Hair Dryer

Throughout Aston Martin's history, the luxury British brand has offered V12 power with roofless motoring. The vehicle you see here, however, represents something new. This is a Vantage Roadster, but for the first time, you can get it with the boosted V12 engine. As such, say hello to the (big breath) 2023 Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster.

It's a big name, but there's big power to back it up. It makes use of the same twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter 12-pot from the hardtop V12 Vantage, and we're happy to say that nothing is lost in the transition to convertible. It still pumps out 690 horsepower (515 kW), handled by an eight-speed automatic transmission mounted at the rear of the car. It still sprints to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, and provided your hair can stand the breeze, it will still reach a top speed of 200 mph.

What does Aston Martin do differently on the V12 Vantage Roadster, aside from installing a convertible roof? The company isn't forthcoming with details, save for a bespoke tune on the Roadster's adaptive dampers. As the images clearly show, the drop-top also lacks the big rear wing used on the solid-roof model. However, should a Roadster buyer want it, the wing is available as an option.

The rest comes through as standard-issue V12 Vantage, though there's really nothing standard about such a vehicle. Body panels in front are made from carbon fiber, as are the side sills. At the back, the deck lid and rear fascia are made of a lightweight composite material. It shares the widebody stance of the hard top, which is 1.6-inches wider than the V8-powered Vantage. The Roadster stops courtesy of aggressive ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers in front, four-piston grippers at the back. They sit behind 21-inch wheels wearing sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires.

"We have worked extremely hard to ensure the V12 Vantage Roadster possesses the same potency and dynamism that characterizes the V12 Vantage Coupe while surpassing it in terms of raw sensory excitement that you only achieve with roof-down driving," said Aston Martin Chief Technical Officer Orberto Fedeli. "With more power and torque than any Vantage Roadster before it, a wide-track chassis with precisely tuned suspension calibration, and up to ten times the downforce of the series production Vantage Roadster, this is a breath-taking machine created for our most enthusiastic customers."

Unfortunately for the masses, there will be only 249 such customers. That's all the Roadsters Aston Martin will build, but even if you have the funds to get one, you're too late because each is already sold. For those select buyers, production begins in the third quarter of 2022 with deliveries commencing by the end of the year.

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