Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster 2015

Cars of this ilk are thirsty, fragile and, of course, preposterously expensive. In the US, the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster starts at $199,495, and the China Grey example you see here, replete with black-painted forged alloy wheels and carbon fibre trim pieces tinted red to match its canvas soft top and seat stitching, commands close to $227,000. To put such a sum in perspective, $227,000 equates to four years at Harvard University plus a Corvette Stingray. (Common sense – who needs it?)
Unlike Sir Roger, however, the Vantage has benefitted from continual aesthetic and mechanical improvements along the way, not the least of which was the near-miraculous insertion of Aston’s 6-litre V12 engine in 2009. And, with a nod to the company’s then-design director, Henrik Fisker, the car still looks sensational, every inch of it.
The 2015 V12 Vantage S Roadster follows on the heels of Aston’s 2014 V12 Vantage S coupe. But despite the cars’ obvious mechanical similarities, they are decidedly different approaches to the same last hurrah.
Acknowledging the Roadster’s boulevard bias is not to suggest that the car is a cream puff. Despite an extra 175lbs of servomotors and structural bracing, the droptop is plenty quick: zero to 60mph in a raucous 3.9 seconds and a top-down top speed of 201mph – just two-tenths of a second and 4mph behind the coupe. And though the 565hp, 6-litre V12 weighs a not-inconsiderable 190lbs more than the V8 engine the Vantage was designed carry, the car remains remarkably agile, and with good reason. Ten of the engine’s 12 cylinders sit behind the front-axle line, which contributes to an exemplary 51/49 fore-aft weight distribution.