You will not buy the new Aston Martin Vantage Roadster because the convertible roof retracts 15 seconds faster than any other convertible hood in the history of convertible hoods. You will buy the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster because it is an Aston Martin Roadster. The fabric roof features an ultra-compact mechanism with a sub-7 second operation. That is, in and of itself, perhaps the most innovative and notable piece of engineering Aston Martin has ever managed to achieve. 

So the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster, is it worth the starting price of £126,950? If I was rich enough to acquire such a vehicle I could hide behind a cowl of pressed metal and glass and lord it over the general public without being recognised. But I would never consider buying the Roadster because I would always go for the coupe… but I can’t do either because… I … am… a… motoring… journalist. The shame never leaves you.

That being said, this new Vantage Roadster has hit the sweet spot between excellent drop-top looks while retaining that sports car stance. But that’s the problem with a roadster, it’s always about the looks. And when you chop off the roof of a car and re-sell it as a cabriolet/roadster you lose structural integrity. Which means you lose handling and ride performance which is what you are buying into right?

Aston Martin will say that the chassis has been strengthened to account for the loss of structural integrity. That’s a classic PR sales pitch to reassure you everything is fine. Boosting the structure adds weight, 60kg in this case, which in turn will affect the overall performance. So what do you get for the £126k GBP asking price?

You get Aston Martin’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo 510PS/685Nm V8 engine, mated to an 8-speed ZF automatic transmission. The Vantage Roadster will accelerate from 0-60mph in just 3.7sec and is capable of 190mph with the roof raised. The roof can be lowered or raised lowered in 6.7 or raised in 6.8 seconds at speeds of up to 50kmh/31mph.

The Vantage Roadster carries over technologies handed down from Mercedes. As standard, the Roadster will adopt Adaptive Damping, Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Torque Vectoring, and Electronic Rear Differential. These include a bespoke tune for the rear dampers, Adaptive Damping System software and ESP calibration.

The Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is available to order now with first deliveries beginning in Q2 2020.