Aston Martin V12 Speedster 2021 Review

“The V12 Speedster came about when we were doing clay modelling for the Vantage Roadster,” explains Miles Nurnberger, director of design at Aston Martin.

Unable to make the windscreens in clay, the idea for a fully open car developed.

However, the 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster that resulted isn’t merely a Vantage without any roof or screen. It’s a great deal more than that.

The clue lies with the engine and its fitment – a 5.2-litre biturbo V12 compared to the new Vantage Roadster’s 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 – and the V12 Speedster’s unique dimensions dictated by the design department, all of which necessitated creating a new platform.

To achieve that Aston Martin has used modular elements of both the DBS Superleggera, DB11 and Vantage structures, and covered it with unique carbon-fibre bodywork.

Unveiled in March last year just as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold across the globe, the 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster is now available for order. But with just 88 examples being built worldwide you’ll need to be quick, as Aston has already found buyers for nearly all of them.

Hand-built by Aston Martin’s Q Division, the V12 Speedster joins cars like the McLaren Elva and the recent Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 models in offering wealthy buyers a fully-open experience. And compared to those rivals, the Aston Martin looks relatively affordable, at $1 million cheaper (or thereabouts).

The fully-open Aston Martin will also be more exclusive than the McLaren, as the production run for the Elva is set at 249 units – down from the 399 first targeted, then later revised.

Scratching an itch created by the spectacular 2013 Aston Martin CC100 Speedster concept – just two examples of which were built – Q Division insiders claim that customers have repeatedly been asking for such an extreme open car to be built. The 88 build number is a nod to Aston’s previous One-77 model, limited to 77 cars.

Aston Martin describes the V12 Speedster as a ‘living show car’, its shape inspired by a combination of the current range as well as historical models like the 1959 Le Mans winning DBR1.

Indeed, Nurnberger describes the V12 Speedster as something of a “greatest hits design”, taking elements from Vantage and One-77 among others, with some of its form also dictated by the V12 engine.

The engine’s proportions, and specifically its height, is why there’s a DB5-aping bonnet intake out front, that historical nod giving useful clearance for the V12 nestled underneath.

Power from the front mid-mounted all-alloy quad-cam 48-valve engine is quoted at 515kW, with 753Nm of torque. Mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission, the V12 Speedster has potential to reach 100km/h from standstill in 3.4 seconds, on its way to a 318km/h top speed.

We’d recommend you wear a helmet if you’re intent on testing anything approaching that V-max.

It’s not difficult to pick holes in such singular, compromised cars, but it’s also impossible not to be seduced by the V12 Speedster’s sheer presence.

It is stunning, with muscularity to its proportions, being squat and low, with the buttresses behind the cockpit being functional with space inside the rear for a pair of helmets, or luggage.

The lack of the windscreen not only results in a more visceral driving experience, but gives a far better view of the unique interior.

Structural satin carbon-fibre is used throughout, that modernity mixing with tradition with hand-crafted saddle leather, chrome and aluminium, the interior being beautifully finished throughout.

Aston Martin offers a pair of optional specifications with the V12 Speedster. Firstly, the historic DBR1 option is finished in Aston Racing Green with Clubsport white pinstripe and roundels, a satin silver anodised grille with Clubsport lipstick graphic and solid silver wings badges covered with clear enamel.

The interior for the DBR1 specification (as tested) is finished in Conker saddle leather and Viridian Green textile and Caithness leather. The removable leather bag in the top console doubles up as a glove compartment.

If you want your V12 Speedster with an aeronautical twist there’s also the choice of an F/A-18 specification pack. Paying tribute to the Boeing F/A-18 jet fighter, it’s finished in Skyfall Silver with contrasting satin black elements, satin dark chrome, machined aluminium and a black textile and leather interior.

Naturally, if neither of those choices suit, you can have your V12 Speedster finished exactly how you want it, the Q Division able to fulfil any combination of colours and trim material choices.

It isn’t just the lack of a windscreen that makes sitting in the 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster feel unique, but the structural spine of bodywork dissecting the cockpit between the driver and passenger.

Despite its open nature there’s a feeling of connection, of being cocooned, that’s helped by the buttresses behind the supremely supportive carbon-fibre seats’ head restraints.

There are elements of the interior that are familiar if you’ve been in a DBS, including, sadly, the cheap-feeling indicator stalk. It’s a real oversight in the otherwise cool, finely finished interior that blends fine leather and textured textiles with bare, matt carbon-fibre.

It’s indulgent in its detailing but functional like you might find in a powerboat.

The screen directly ahead displays a virtual representation of instruments, situated under a cowl which, usefully, has a pair of air vents perfectly framing it and pointing directly where your hands are on the steering wheel.

The wing mirrors protrude high, giving excellent rear visibility, which, given the lack of a central rear-view mirror, is ideal.

Over-the-shoulder visibility isn’t great due to those buttresses, which was exacerbated during our UK drive by piloting a left-hand drive model on right-hand drive roads. Usefully, there’s a parking camera for manoeuvring to spare your blushes parking outside whatever hotspot you’re wanting to be seen at.

The engine fires with the same rousing flare as it does in the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, only you’re closer to it, thanks to the lack of a roof.

You’ll need it in Sport+ mode for the exhaust to breathe more freely, though, with the engine and exhaust audible up until about 50-70km/h at high revs before it’s all but drowned out by the rush of air around your head.

Maximising the open feeling with just goggles and a hat, there’s no denying the V12 Speedster adds a unique element to the driving experience.

It’s a dominant one, too, as you’re all-too-aware of not just the air rushing by, but everything in it, be that water, leaves, insects, dust and dirt, occasional thrown-up stones and gravel as well as, briefly, hailstones (it being the UK, after all).

A full-faced helmet isn’t a necessity, but if you’re travelling at speed or any distance it’s perhaps prudent. Donning one, oddly, adds to the wind noise around your head, while further muffling the already muted notes of the engine, so during our drive we found ourselves swapping into and out of a helmet, depending on the road and traffic conditions.

Strangely, the V12 Speedster is best enjoyed at more sedate pace, which given it’s powered by a 515kW twin-turbo V12 might sound ridiculous, but instinctively you drive it slower than you might any of its roofed and windscreened relations.

That’s a quirk of its openness, which could be perceived as vulnerability, with the Speedster’s connection to the environment you’re travelling through being more like a motorcycle than a car.

While that exposure is unusual and not without issues, the reality is it’s something to be savoured.

The 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster is more experiential than its mere supercar alternatives, adding an element to the drive which, depending on your viewpoint, is either hugely entertaining or horribly compromised.

We’d lean to the former, not least because of your connection with everything around you. The drive is far more immersive, enjoyable and interesting, you don’t just drive the road, you feel, smell and see all of it, and everything around it.

It adds multiple layers to the driving experience that you’ll not find in anything else without a screen, though we’d love Aston Martin to make the engine more evocative in its sounds, with only the occasional pop and crackle able to be heard over the rush of the wind, even in Sport+ mode.

That Sport+ mode also changes the instrument cluster, adding some sporting red detailing, but it’d be more useful if the gear indicator and speedometer were far bigger and the rev-counter more obvious, too, especially since it lacks the aural cues you’d usually have driving this powertrain elsewhere in Aston Martin’s line-up.

There’s the ability to adjust the suspension, but on British tarmac anything more than the softest standard mode is too brittle to be enjoyable. The steering is well-weighted and direct, the brakes strong and the transmission absolutely seamless in its shifts – though with eight ratios to choose from, your fingers are busy pulling the nicely positioned and sizeable gearshift paddles on the steering column.

The expectation that the powertrain might be a bit raw and uncouth never materialises. Indeed, it’s remarkably cultured. Apparently, Aston Martin’s new boss Tobias Moers had input into its tuning, figuring it’ll be a car to drive slowly and be seen in, so it’s not edgy or raw and actually feels more civilised than its DBS relation.

The powertrain might not be shouty and overt, but you’ll still need to get used to being the centre of attention, because in the 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster you’re never anything other than obvious.

It’s an Aston Martin though, and, typically, cars from the British brand seem to attract adoration and respect, which isn’t always true of Aston Martin’s Italian or German rivals.

That’s true here, even in an Aston as overt as the V12 Speedster, so if you want to show off without putting people’s back up, this might be just the thing.

Yes, it can be seen as utterly pointless. Yes, it’s a rich person’s plaything. And yes, other, more conventional supercars are less compromised.

But anyone buying one will have a garage full of them, too, so it’s a moot discussion.

As such, it cannot be judged conventionally. As we race towards a future without combustion engines and with ever-increasing autonomy, shouldn’t such a joyously silly, indulgent, stunning-looking, beautifully built and hugely entertaining car be celebrated, while we still can?

Of course it should.

How much does the 2021 Aston Martin V12 Speedster cost?
Price: $2 million-plus (estimated)
Available: Second half 2021
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol
Output: 515kW/753Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: TBC
CO2: TBC
Safety rating: Not tested