AGENCIES, Gaydon: For a low volume niche car manufacturer like Aston Martin, a new product or variant hitting the markets in two years would be considered as a milestone achievement and even more if it’s got the Vantage tag on it.
Aston Martin has lopped off the roof of the Vantage and introduced it without the “Volante” label for the first time. Boasting impressive performance figures, the drop-top is powered by the same AMG-Mercedes sourced twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 (as the coupe) and comfortably churns out 503hp and whopping 685Nm of torque. Power is transferred through an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission to the rear wheels. The Vantage Roadster does the 0-96km/h sprint in 3.7 seconds, 0.2 seconds slower than the coupe. Top speed is 306 km/h.
Besides the usual Aston Martin packaging, the manufacturer takes pride in introducing a unique and lightweight “Z-Fold” roof mechanism. The mechanism actually adds 60kg to the car’s weight over its fixed-roof counterpart. However, Aston claims it’s the fastest roof operation of any automatically folding convertible on sale. It takes 6.7 seconds to drop the roof and 6.8 seconds to raise it back up again at speeds of up to 50km/.
Among driver aids, there’s adaptive suspension, torque vectoring, and electronic rear differential which are also available in the coupe. As a road going car, there’s a choice of three personalities at the flick of a button — three driving modes: Sport, Sport + and Track.
Aston claims that for 2021, the entire Vantage range has been updated as it celebrates 70 years since the nameplate debuted. As a signature design element, both the convertible and coupe come with an optional “vane” grille – or, horizontal slats that pay homage to classic Astons.–That’s not all. A range of new wheel designs and colour options are also available. Besides, there’s now an optional seven-speed manual throughout the range which till last year was limited to the exclusive AMR model. Pricing starts at $161,000 in US, which represents a $8,000 premium over the coupe model.
