Feast your eyes on the SOLD OUT 200mph Aston Martin Vantage Roadster

Aston Martin has unleashed the most powerful new Vantage Roadster in history as the British car-maker celebrates the prowess of its mammoth V12 petrol engine in the face of the looming electric revolution.

It is the first Vantage Roadster to be powered by a massive new 700 horsepower 5.2 litre V12 twin-turbo powertrain linked to an 8-speed automatic gearbox, allowing the two-door two seater soft-top to accelerate from rest to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds up to a top speed of 200mph.

Bosses say it is the ultimate expression of style, sound and speed and offers ‘monstrous performance’.

Excited? You should be. But don’t all rush to get your chequebooks at the ready because Aston Martin has already sold all the examples its due to build before unveiling the open-top motor the public.

‘Monstrous performance’: The new Vantage Roadster is most powerful version of Aston Martin’s flagship open-top sports car yet

The new flagship Vantage, costing from around £372,000 (£310,000 plus VAT), is to be one of the British stars at the Monterey Car Week in California where it will be on display among the rich and famous visitors at Pebble Beach.

Only 249 are to be sold globally and order books have already closed due to ‘unprecedented demand’. Production is to start in late summer with first deliveries in Autumn and early winter.

The canvas Z-fold roof opens in 6.7 seconds and closes in 6.8 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph.

With a dramatic wide-body design, Aston said the new V12 Vantage Roadster fuses ultimate performance with open-air thrills noting: ‘Every squeeze of the V12 Vantage Roadster’s throttle leads to an unforgettable adrenaline rush. ‘

It said: ‘Outputs of 700PS and 753Nm make this the most powerful Vantage Roadster ever’

‘Wide-track suspension provides pinpoint handling; aerodynamic package generates up to 216kg of downforce.’

It is the first Vantage Roadster to be powered by a massive new 700 horsepower 5.2 litre V12 twin-turbo powertrain linked to an 8-speed automatic gearbox

The soft-top sports car can accelerate from rest to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds up to a top speed of 200mph

The new Vantage costs from around £372,000 (£310,000 plus VAT)

Aston Martin said: ‘The new V12 Vantage Roadster is a uniquely exciting and ultra-exclusive limited production model which combines the thrilling performance of the most powerful Aston Martin Vantage ever made with the freedom and sensory stimulation of roof-down driving.’

Will it fit in my garage? Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster

Style: Two-door roadster 2-seater

Seats: 2

Price: from around £372,000 (£310,000 before VAT)

Limited production: 249 globally

On sale: Sold out

Length: 4,514mm

Width (exc mirrors): 1,982mm

Height: 1,274mm

Wheelbase: 2,705mm

Engine: 5.2 litre V12 twin-turbo petrol

Power: 700 horsepower

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

0 to 62mph: 3.6 seconds

Top speed: 200mph

CO2 emissions: 315g/km

Roof opening time: 6.7 seconds

Roof closing time: 6.8 seconds

Roof opening/closing top speed: 31mph

Kerb weight: 1,855kg (inc lightweight options)

Wheels: 21 inch (with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres)

Brakes: Front – ventilated carbon ceramic discs: 410mm diameter Rear – carbon ceramic discs: 360mm

Fuel tank: 73 litres

Boot volume: 200 litres

‘It boasts a compelling combination of dramatic wide-body design, ground-hugging wide-track suspension and – for the first time in a Vantage Roadster – the mighty 5.2-litre Twin-Turbo V12 engine.’

Impressive straight-line speed and the roaring ‘howl’ of the engine ‘elevates the open-top driving experience to a scintillating new level’, it says.

Aston Martin chief technical officer Roberto Fedeli said the V12 Vantage Roadster shared the same ‘potency and dynamism’ of the hard top version ‘while surpassing it in terms of raw sensory excitement that you only achieve with roof down driving’.

He said: ‘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’.

Aston says the car possesses the purity and balance of a front-mid-engined rear-wheel drive layout. It shares the same suspension hardware as the V12 Vantage, but with bespoke tune for its adaptive dampers.

Maximum steering feel and quick response bring the car alive through corners and can be felt with every steering input, says Aston. It has powerful carbon ceramic brakes as standard.

Saving weight is key. The front bumper, clamshell bonnet, front fenders and side sills are made from carbon fibre, with the rear bumper and deck lid made from weight-saving composite material.

There are additional weight savings from a lightweight battery and a centre-mounted twin-exit exhaust system made from lightweight 1mm stainless steel. This new system weighs 7.2kg less than the hard-top’s exhaust and is tuned to ensure the V12 Vantage Roadster has a rousing voice.

Running on 21 inch wheels, the design of the Roadster helps boost its ‘monstrous performance’, says Aston: ‘The formidable physique of the wide-body design is necessary to accommodate the wide-track suspension, which is 40mm wider than Vantage.

Aston says: ‘The new front bumper design, complete with full width front splitter generates additional downforce and aerodynamic balance, while increased cooling is achieved by the reshaped front grille, which is 25% larger, and the ‘horse shoe’ engine vent in the bonnet.’

Just 249 examples will be produced for the global market. But don’t all rush to get your chequebooks at the ready just yet…

Aston Martin has already sold all the examples its due to build before unveiling the open-top motor the public

The new motor is to be one of the British stars at the Monterey Car Week in California where it will be on display among the rich and famous visitors at Pebble Beach

Aerodynamic performance is boosted by new sculpted single-piece sills and rear bumper, which comes with integrated diffuser. Its effectiveness has been improved by the way in which the centre mounted, twin tailpipe, exhaust system has been routed.

The V12 Vantage Roadster comes without the dramatic rear wing of the hard-top, though it can be specified as an option. But Aston said: ‘Those who choose the more understated look can do so in the knowledge that aerodynamic balance is maintained thanks to detailed management of underbody airflow. ‘

The 21in alloy wheels running on Michelin Pilot 4S high performance tyres are offered in two finishes: satin black or satin black diamond turned. Optional lightweight forged wheel options are also available, saving 8kg.

The canvas Z-fold roof opens in 6.7 seconds and closes in 6.8 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph

The flagship Vantage is fitted with Sports Plus seats trimmed in full semi-aniline leather and featuring ‘Wings’ quilt and perforation pattern as standard

The Vantage will be produced alongside the V12 Vantage coupe, though only in limited numbers

The flagship Vantage is fitted with Sports Plus seats trimmed in full semi-aniline leather and featuring ‘Wings’ quilt and perforation pattern as standard.

There’s also an optional dynamic carbon fibre performance seat with exposed twill carbon fibre shell and manual 6-way adjustment that saves 7.3kg.

The firm’s bespoke personalisation service, Q by Aston Martin, of extras including striking exterior graphics, woven leather and exposed carbon fibre.

Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman said he was inspired by the physiology an elite runner or thoroughbred racehorse: ‘For our drivers, we created this explicit open-top sports car for those craving excitement and drama.

‘The result is a living, breathing, driving sculpture with a level of control that sits at the fingertips’.

Earlier this week Aston Martin unveiled for the California show a stunning new 195mph two-seater open-cockpit DBR22 with a 715hp 5.2 litre V12 petrol engine and a near £2million price tag as a 21st century salute to the classic DB3S of 1953 and the DBR1 of later that decade.