Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster

 

Masculine elegance is perhaps the best way to describe this beauty known as the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. It doesn’t do it complete justice, but it comes pretty close. This is a unique combination, able to scream muscle and yet poetically sing elegance. It’s able to draw you in and make you feel like James Bond. Don’t you see it, accelerating quickly, speeding through curves, cruising at high speeds, using impossibly cool gadgets? Okay, so you might not save the hot girl from Spectre and whisk away to your place, but the fantasies that flow just by looking at the menacingly curved lines.

 

It’s not difficult to imagine the powerful, stomach-curdling response when the ignition is triggered – even if the premise of the Roadster is, slightly contradictorily, to provide a hand-built machine ultimate that is an everyday, functional sports car. Which is rather like Rolls Royce designing a car to drive you to the fish market. But the Roadster has been created to deliver all the sports car essentials without being an impractical toy that is really only for weekend posing and short bursts of police-camera-free acceleration to impress – or intensely annoy – whoever is standing by the curb. 

 

Propelling this fantasy machine is a 4.3-litre, 380bhp powertrain with a low-sitting, mid-engine configuration that creates a 49/51 weight distribution. With it you also get (302lb/ft torque) at 5000rpm. 

 

Working together they give you the chance to accelerate to 100kmh in only five seconds flat and reach the top speed of 280kmh. Bringing all of that sumptuous, English-bred power to the wheels is a lightning-quick shifting rear mounted gear box. The mounting set up of the transmission also assists with the proper weight distribution. Now if shifting is not for you – for instance, if you’ve been in America too long – then you can opt for an automatic with paddle shifters. Even though it is mighty fast, if you are after true driving pleasure it’s really not recommended. On the other hand, the automatic version does come with a comfort button which makes the shifts even less aggressive if violent head-lurching as you press the pedal isn’t your thing.

 

Like all great sports cars, there is a definite music to this car; the ring that bursts out the exhaust pipes at 4000rpm is sweeter than anything the multi-CD changer and surround-sound system can generate.

 

Possibly the most attractive element for our part of the world, though, is that the Vantage comes as a convertible. All the fire and brimstone of an Aston Martin housed not only an entirely sensible day-to-day car, but also one that promotes top-down, wind-blown enjoyment. 

 

Impressively, the convertible isn’t much heavier, at all slower or even a bit sloppy on the turns. The weight is slightly more, granted, but the performance is almost identical. Yes, the coupe is a bit sharper in the curves; it’s the price you pay for having the wind blow through your hair. It’s not a heavy price at all for most people and driving conditions you wont be able to tell the difference. 

 

The roof is made of a three-layer fabric that does an amazing job of eliminating noise and wind no matter how fast your cruising. The vehicle itself will make people stop and stare, but if you really wanted to get the wow factor at a stop light you can by dropping the top (or bring it up) because it does so in 18 seconds. If your not at a stop light and don’t feel like stopping to put the top up or down you can do it at speeds up to 48.3kmh. 

 

To help the theory of being an everyday sports machine the Vantage has a boot that is three times the size of its rivals, 300 litres to be exact and that is aside from the little storage space you get right behind the two luxurious seats. 

 

The interior is top notch, everything you would expect from an automobile in this price range, but there are minor things that important but optional. For example a retractable Navi system, GSM phone, and Bluetooth for your phone. The coupe comes in at $160,800 and the roadster is 9,000 more. Its is a heavy price tag especially since you can get a Porsche 911 Turbo in that range but this car is not about being the fastest. If you purchase this hand made machine you truly appreciate the vehicles beauty, the driving experience and of course the status that comes with it.

 

Engine: 4.3 litre, V8, 32-valve

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Top speed: 280kmh

Bhp: 380

0-100: 5 secs

Curbside weight: 1720kgs