New Aston Martin Vantage Roadster Has World’s Fastest Folding Roof
Around two years ago British luxury carmaker Aston Martin lifted the curtain on its redesigned V8 Vantage coupe.
Now the world renowned marquee has taken the wraps off the soft-top version of the two-door sports car.
Retaining all of the eye-catching lines from its hard-top predecessor, the 2021 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster also features what the brand is claiming to be the fastest fully automatic soft-top foldable roof.
It can open in 6.7 seconds when stationary and 6.8 seconds at speeds of up to 31mph, all thanks to its high-tech ‘Z-fold’ roof mechanism and lightweight structural bracing. Aston Martin says the roadster weighs just 60kg (about 132lbs.) more than the coupe version.
The Vantage Roadster is powered by the same 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine as the coupe and it churns out 510ps and 685 Nm of torque. The V8 is paired to an 8-speed ZF transmission that sends the power to the rear wheels.
Aston Martin claims the car can hit a top speed of 190mph and do the 0-60mph sprint in 3.7 seconds with the top pulled up.
It also boasts the same Adaptive Damping, Dynamic Stability Control, Dynamic Torque Vectoring, and Electronic Rear Diff as the coupe which have all been tuned specifically to the Roadster.
“Convertible sports cars are often seen as compromised when compared to their Coupe equivalents,” says chief engineer Matt Becker.
“But the Vantage Roadster remains absolutely dedicated to its mission of delivering precise, agile, and expressive handling dynamics combined with stonking straight-line performance.”
Founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in London in 1913, Aston Martin has grown to become one of the world’s most renowned luxury car brands.