We’re massive followers of the brand new Aston Martin Vantage. It made it to the final rounds of our inaugural Cool Automobile Cup final yr, solely to be overwhelmed out by the 1,001 horsepower V-12 hybrid lunatic that’s the Lamborghini Revuelto. I voted for the Vantage; it is a driver’s supercar that threatens to float on command but in addition exactly carves up a canyon street. It is brutish, stunning, and well-calibrated.

Now, a yr into manufacturing, Aston Martin eliminated the Vantage’s tin high and made a Roadster—not a Volante, a time period reserved for its luxurious GTs just like the DB12 and Vanquish—only a Roadster. It has the identical spec sheet because the coupe: 656 horsepower and 590 pound-feet from an AMG-derived twin-turbo V-8, rear-mounted eight-speed ZF computerized transmission, and a bonded aluminum chassis. It is simply one-tenth of a second slower to 60 miles per hour, and it weighs 132 kilos extra.

All Aston has to do is make it drive just like the coupe. Which, in line with Aston Martin, wasn’t all that troublesome.

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The first problem with eradicating the roof of any automobile is rigidity; the automobile’s resistance to bending in varied instructions. Vehicles twist in an unimaginable array of how, and a automobile that’s extraordinarily inflexible on paper might need localized structural weaknesses—stuff like a versatile management arm bracket or a weak strut tower. With out correct construction, odd issues occur to the dealing with and journey high quality. A telltale signal of a flexy construction is body-on-frame jiggles and heavy suspension hundreds.

Simon Newton, the identical engineer who headed up the Vantage coupe, dealt with the Roadster—and he has fascinating concepts about rigidity. When the brand new Vantage coupe launched, he did not chase any headline rigidity numbers or share will increase. As an alternative, he proudly described stiffening the entrance firewall to enhance steering response and front-end grip, and described the significance of detailed reinforcement quite than an general quantity. Thus, the Vantage Roadster, because of its bonded aluminum construction and a bolstered rear suspension construction, has “largely the identical rigidity” because the coupe.

The Vantage group additionally specced barely completely different transmission mounts, particular to the Roadster, for higher journey high quality and drivetrain response. Most fascinating is what stayed the identical: The springs, dampers, adaptive damper calibration, and the array of sensors and controllers within the Bosch 6D-IMU all retain the identical state of tune. Newton says it is a testomony to how inflexible the Roadster’s platform is, as a result of “these programs are extremely delicate to even the smallest adjustments in automobile efficiency.”

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Execs: Drives Simply Like The Coupe, Quick Roof Mechanism, Quiet With The Prime Up

Aston accomplished the housekeeping with up to date gauge cluster and infotainment paintings (together with a single button to show off all driver’s help programs), addressing former complaints about illegibility. Finishing the Vantage Roadster’s mechanical bundle is a Z-fold, eight-layer fabric roof that opens or closes in 6.8 seconds, one thing I examined instantly.

With the highest down, a loop round California’s most interesting desert backroads, and a 2000’s-era Nice Recession music playlist, I sank deep right into a pool of “Vantaging”—a verb much like “Summering.” The Roadster does certainly really feel just like the coupe, simply and not using a roof. Experience high quality is first rate, if sporty, with a little bit of the Coupe’s rear damper stiffness nonetheless current. Compound bumps pack the rear suspension, but it surely figures itself out pretty shortly. Sharp cracks and edges do not shock the physique, and it stays steadfastly inflexible—no cowl shake right here.

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The Vantage’s exhaust, which sounds distinctly completely different from any AMG V-8, is much more current—and beautiful. Who may have imagined that much less roof makes for an excellent higher sound?

On the freeway, the top-down aero is a little bit missing. Whereas the general fatigue from the wind is low, it is only a noisy place to be. With a passenger at freeway speeds, it was troublesome to speak at a traditional quantity, although that is and not using a wind deflector. Even at greater speeds, the air does not completely redirect excessive of the Vantage effectively. However slowed to backroad speeds, all sins are forgiven.

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Cons: Noisy With The Prime Down, Most likely Dear

Dynamically, the Roadster is an identical to the coupe, all the way down to the nuances. The little rear wiggles it does beneath energy, the glued entrance axle, and the beautiful brake really feel all stay. Solely over the harshest bumps whereas cornering expose any type of cowl shake, however only for a second, and do not current any odd cornering behaviors.

It’s a gorgeously sorted Roadster. You would copy-paste my coupe overview and it could be correct, simply with added droptop dopamine. With the highest up, it is successfully as quiet because the coupe, save for some barely unacceptable wind leaks across the A-pillar.

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photograph by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The one snag is worth—will probably be costly, just like the coupe. And the value is not even often known as of publishing, because of tariffs upending the world commerce order. However, I nearly needn’t know the value when Vantage coupes simply crest into the excessive $200,000 mark, and the Roadster is at all times dearer than the coupe.

Aston pulled a neat trick right here. It is like Boxster versus Cayman. All it’s a must to do is select your taste and luxuriate in the remainder.