Thread: First drive review: Aston Martin Vantage V12 Roadster

Storming V12 engine is a delight, but adds little to a car that is so good in standard V8 formUnusually for an Aston, especially one with a 12-cylinder engine, the V12 Roadster feels like it arrived in the office a little under the wire. Most likely this is because it was revealed in the summer at about the same time as the new Vanquish, and has consequently remained in its shadow. Nevertheless, theres no doubt it deserves at least as much attention as its bigger brother. Combining the Vantages droptop magnificence with the manufacturers flagship 510bhp 6. 0-litre motor is like putting brandy on the homemade Christmas pudding. And then lighting it with an oxyacetylene torch. As it has already made its debut in the coupe, not too much wrangling is required to squeeze four more cylinders into the Roadster. Aston has redesigned the rear boot lid to reduce lift and rethought the lower front air intake, but otherwise it is much the same as its V8 sibling. In other words, this is an extremely handsome car. Underneath, the chassis does get a tweak to deal with the bigger powerplant. A new rear spring design has been incorporated alongside a modified damper setup in the interests of exploiting the V12 Vantages fearsome straight-line speed. The other most meaningful addition is to the price tag: the model starts at 150,000. Thats a healthy five-figure sum more than the 430bhp S version of the V8.