Aston Martin heavily revised its high-performance Vantage coupe for the 2025 model year. So you knew this was coming. But here it is, and the sight of it makes you pause all the same – the 2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.
Aston says deliveries will begin in the second quarter. The company hasn’t announced prices, but we expect them to start north of $200,000.
Not an Afterthought in Development
The coupe and convertible versions of the Vantage, Aston Martin says, “were designed and engineered in parallel rather than in sequence, the Roadster, therefore, being a fully developed model in its own right, allowing the team to implement features and attributes that result in zero compromises to performance, ride and handling and excessive additional weight.”
Related: Aston Martin Builds A New V12…in 2024
Organic Look, Quick-Folding Roof
Like its coupe counterpart, the Vantage Roadster retains the classic Aston shape but has a leaner form and seemingly more organic lines.
Torsional stiffness is the biggest challenge in convertible design. Without a roof adding to the rigidity, convertibles risk a loose feeling that compromises crisp handling. Engineers redesigned the body’s connections to the frame at the rear of the car to add additional stiffness.
But Aston Martin claims the roadster version of the Vantage is stiffer than its coupe counterpart, thanks to “weight-optimized shear panels…added in strategic positions to laterally stiffen the structure further even than the coupe.”
The low grille is larger than before, and a deep character line in the flank seems more pronounced. The roof “comes in ‘Z-fold’ configuration, which is both faster and lighter than a traditional ‘K-fold’ roof and removes the requirement for a tonneau cover, further saving weight and lowering the center of gravity.”
It takes just 6.8 seconds to fold and can be opened or closed at up to 31 mph.
Entertain Yourself by Driving
Inside, seats made of padded carbon fiber shells look almost skeletally lean. A single touchscreen, 10.25 inches, runs an infotainment system created in-house. Aston Martin says it offers “full online connectivity” but doesn’t bother to dwell on the screen as a feature.
Instead, this car entertains you through the driving experience. Aston retained physical switches and buttons “for the key mechanical operations of gear selection, drive selection, heating, and ventilation. There are also control switches for Chassis, ESP and Exhaust, Active Safety System settings, and Park Distance Control, ensuring the most used controls can be operated intuitively and without the need to take your eyes off the road.”
656-hp V8, 3.5 Seconds to 60 mph
Under the hood, a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 makes 656 horsepower. Larger turbochargers push torque to 590 lb-ft — 85 more than the last generation. Power runs to the rear wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.
Aston claims a top speed of 202 mph and a zero-to-60 time of 3.5 seconds – just 0.1 seconds slower than the hardtop Vantage.
Engineers didn’t quite manage perfect 50:50 weight distribution with the Roadster — it’s 49:51, the company says. But a “race-inspired” suspension, including unequal-length double wishbones at the front, a multi-link rear axle, and Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers, should prevent you from noticing any imbalance.
The car’s 21-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tires were “specially developed by Michelin and tuned by Aston Martin with a compound tailored to the specific requirements of the Vantage. These provide not just superlative grip in both dry and wet conditions but also outstanding steering feel and progressive breakaway characteristics,” the company says.
The Vantage Roadster has few natural enemies. High-performance luxury convertibles in its price bracket have become rare. We’d compare it to a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet and the recently redesigned Maserati Gran Cabrio.
