New Aston Martin Vantage Roadster Just Set A Weird New Record

What you’re looking at here is the ‘brand new’ Aston Martin Vantage Roadster. Yes, it’s gorgeous, but that’s not the main headline. What you’re looking at here is now officially the fastest powered folding roof mechanism available on the market today…

…well we think it’s interesting anyway.

The new roof mechanism, which features a more simplified ‘Z-fold’ configuration, can be lowered in just 6.7 seconds and raised in 6.8 seconds, and at speed up to 50kph. For context, that’s just over three seconds faster than a BMW Z4, puts the Jaguar F-TYPE’s positively languid 12-second (ish) time to shame, and is almost half the time required of the hard-top Mazda MX-5 RF.

Added bonus, said mechanism only adds 60kg to the Roadster’s overall dry weight (1,628kg to the coupe’s 1,568kg). Hence Aston’s dedication to “its mission of delivering precise, agile and expressive handling dynamics combined with stonking straight-line performance.”

Of course, if you insist on discussing matters other than the roof mechanism, both the Roadster and the Coupe can be sourced with an optional ‘vane’ front grille, a nod to the 70^th anniversary of the Vantage’s nameplate.

As far as aesthetic tweaks go, that’s pretty much it. Still, another constant is the coupe’s 4-litre twin-turbo V8, which sends 510PS (503bhp) and 505lb ft / 685Nm of torque – identical to the coupe – to the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Thanks to the weight shaving, the Roadster will hit 0-100kph in 3.7 seconds, identical to the coupe, and a teeth chattering 306kph top speed.

Prices start from £126,950 in the UK, €157,300 in Europe and $161,000 in USA, with deliveries expected to begin later this year.

*Images courtesy of Aston Martin