Aston Martin Vantage Roadster arrives in Oz
Exotic 306km/h British convertible takes on Mercedes-AMG GT C, Porsche 911 Cabriolet and Ferrari Portofino drop-topsThe new-generation Aston Martin Vantage Roadster has arrived in Australia… Well, one of them has.
The first local example of the new entry-level Aston Martin convertible sports car arrived in Sydney this week, ahead of customer deliveries from early 2021.
Priced at $314,635 plus on-road costs, the Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is touted as a rival to more expensive drop-tops such as the Ferrari Portofino ($398,888), Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster ($362,435) and top-end versions of the Porsche 911 Cabriolet (from $258,200).
Powered by a fiery Mercedes-AMG 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (375kW/685Nm), the Vantage Roadster accelerates to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. That's plenty fast.
Top speed is an astonishing 306km/h with the roof raised.
The folding fabric roof mechanism is pretty quick too, lowering in 6.7 seconds and raising and 6.8 seconds. The folding roof can be operated while on the move too, at speeds of up to 50km/h.
Adding 60kg of weight over the Vantage coupe due to body reinforcements to account for the lack of a fixed roof, the Vantage cabrio also adds around $15,000 to the price of the coupe for the privilege of being able to smell the roses at warp speed.
Along with all the goodies found on the Aston Martin Vantage coupe, such as performance brakes, adaptive suspension, an electronic rear differential and dynamic torque vectoring, the interior is finished in high-quality leather and gets hand-stitched seats and dual LCD screens for the infotainment and instrument panel.
The control layout is designed to be intuitive and, as with most high-performance sports cars today, there are various drive modes, including Sport, Sport+ and Track settings.
The Aston drop-top also has a 200-litre boot, which is claimed to big enough for a full-size golf bag.
Patrik Nilsson, Aston Martin Asia-Pacific president, said the new Vantage Roadster is an important part of the British car-maker's range, with Vantage models making up around a third of all Aston sales.
“Vantage represents huge volumes for us and of course is one of the most important cars we have. For the brand it's massive. For me, the Vantage Roadster is a fantastic cabriolet.
“The drama, the way it sounds, it’s an engaging drive. There’s something in there where you’re more connected to the outdoors and the V8. It’s a cool thing.”
Speaking from Singapore, Nilsson noted that Australia is an important market for Aston Martin.
“The fan base there is incredible. My bosses love coming to Australia because there’s such a fantastic vibe around cars, the hobby of cars, the collecting of cars. It’s a fantastic country when it comes to anything that has to do with cars.
“We have continued to see significant interest from Australian customers for our open-top Aston Martin models, and we are therefore anticipating strong local appeal for this new addition to the range,” added Nilsson.
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