The Aston Martin Vantage GT12 Roadster Is Fast And Topless
Now that Aston Martin has integrated their Advanced Operations division — the team responsible for the One-77, Vulcan and Vantage GT12 Coupe — within their “Q by Aston Martin” customization department, the British manufacturer are able to offer their discerning customers more than just personalized color and trims options: they have the capability to build you your very own, completely bespoke Aston Martin.
Their first project, the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 Roadster, is a convertible version of the hardcore Vantage GT12 Coupe. The one-off GT12 Roadster was brought forth from conceptualization to production in just nine months and was proudly flaunted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past June.
Its basic architecture is similar to that of the Vantage GT12 Coupe’s, itself inspired by Aston Martin’s GT3 racing cars. The roadster gets the same 6.0-liter, 592hp V12 as the coupe including its upgraded inlet manifolds and lightweight torque tube, both made of magnesium. As the lightest structural metal in existence it weighs less, but costs more, than either steel or aluminum.
Aston have also fitted an exhaust system made completely from titanium, favored in automotive applications when financially feasible, as it has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metallic element.
We assume the commissioner of the one-off GT12 Roadster could have specified a traditional gearbox if desired, instead the individual opted for Aston’s seven-speed Sportshift III paddle-shift transmission, also the same found in the GT12 Coupe.
Aston Martin’s press release mentions the use of several new carbon-fiber body panels as being fitted to the roadster, which we believe include the trunk and rear fenders. It appears to have carried over the same carbon-fiber front bumper, front splitter, side skirts, rear diffuser, and hood as its hard-topped brother.
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The GT12 Roadster’s suspension is also said to have been tuned in-house by Aston Martin engineers, presumably to compensate for the loss in structural rigidity and associated changes in vehicle dynamics that occurs when a vehicle’s roof — an important structural element in terms of chassis stiffness — is removed.
Real world performance won’t suffer too much, anyway, as Aston’s engineers have made efforts to keep the roadster’s inherent weight gain versus the coupe to a minimum. The GT12 Roadster is said to weigh roughly 220 pounds less than the 3,663 pound Vantage V12 S Roadster, for comparison.
Evo Magazine confirm the Roadster will have the lower final drive ratio of the GT12 Coupe, estimating a top speed of 180mph for the drop-top vs. 185mph for the coupe, and a 0-60mph time of around 3.7s, which would put it two-tenths slower than coupe.
How much our customer paid is unknown, but it’s estimated that the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 Roadster’s price is at least more than double the Vantage GT12 Coupe’s £250,000 starting MSRP (at today’s exchange rates $328,350).
And though the project has been touted exclusively as a one-off, recent spy shots of what appears to be a Vantage GT12 Roadster test mule have industry insiders wondering if Aston isn’t planning to eventually build a low-volume run, perhaps matching the 100-unit volume production of the GT12 Coupe. If so, they’d have a lot of explaining to do to their initial customer as to what the company’s definition of a “one-off” really is.
