Aston Martin’s Vantage Roadster Is a Menacing Open-Air Delight

Aston Martin has been bringing the heat as of late. The 113-year-old, deeply English marque has been making mouthwateringly gorgeous cars for as long as anyone can remember. If you’re into racing history, you know that none other than Carroll Shelby (along with Roy Salvadori) won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBR1. Another DBR1 finished second. If you pay attention to modern motorsport, you’re aware that Aston’s been competitive in GT3 and GT4 circles for a while now, and that Adrian Newey, the legendary race-car designer who can supposedly “see air,” just joined the marque’s Formula 1 team. As for the state of the current crop of street cars, they’re all dead sexy, with the third generation Vanquish being a serious arrow straight into the heart of Ferrari.

What’s New for 2025

Yet what about the entry-level rides? Not content to let anything whither on the vine, Aston refreshed the Vantage sports car last May, bumping its mighty AMG V-8’s output to 656 hp. Again, that’s the base car, and more powerful variants are sure to follow. Fast forward one year and the good people of Gaydon have descended upon the Ritz Carlton in Palm Springs to allow Robb Report to have a go in the brand-new Vantage Roadster. As you might expect, the convertible version of the model gets the same upgrades as the Vantage coupe—which finished second in Robb Report’s 2025 Car of the Year contest—in addition to a couple of other tweaks, some that are related to the folding “Z roof,” and one that should definitely make its way to the hardtop. More on that in a bit.

Palm Springs was a savvy location choice to launch the Vantage Roadster, as it’s only two hours from Los Angeles and the exact sort of place where one would use a leathered-out convertible sports car. We were able to experience stop-and-go city traffic, top-down freeway cruising, near-perfect California canyon thumping, and even some wine country sightseeing. Notably, you could fit a case of wine and two soft weekend bags in the “boot,” though a set of golf clubs might not fit. Either way, the real question is, if you’re in the market for a topless sports car that’s teeming with power, is the 2025 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster worth the $200,000?

Design

If looks are anything to go by, why yes, the new Roadster is worth every single penny. And then some. Sorry to break it to the rest of the industry, but Aston Martin’s design team is still cooking with gas, fire, conventional weapons, atomic bombs, etc. Once again, we find ourselves writing, “Just look at it.” Marek Reichman, Aston’s chief creative officer and executive vice president, walked us through the Vantage Roadster’s admittedly familiar sheet metal. While some changes have happened to this 2025 refresh, the essential shape was introduced to the world back in 2017.

Reichman first directed our attention to the disappearing tail; when viewed from the front three-quarters angle, the smart little ducktail is hidden by the Vantage’s massive rear hips, a real visual trick. Tracing that line toward the front, you see the singular, dominant A-line— or character line—that runs from the back of the headlights to the tips of the taillights. This line is quite tense, like the curve of a longbow or the muscles of a big cat waiting to pounce. Reichman likened it to the outline of a shark. The signature Aston grille has grown nearly 40 percent (and now looks a bit like a Māori warrior), resulting in just about 30 percent more airflow. All that really matters is that, even with the updates, the Vantage Roadster remains among the most beautiful cars on sale today.

The interior of the example we drove is standard Aston fair. In truth, it’s nearly identical to what you’d find in the DB12 and Vanquish models, just a bit smaller and with surprisingly small door handles. The leather comes from Scotland’s Bridge of Weir and is as fine as any in the high-end part of the market. While a smaller space than what’s found in the aforementioned DB12 and Vanquish, the cockpit is by no means tight or cramped. Two large males fit just fine, thank you very much. One nice improvement, which is something we requested on our first drive of the coupe, is that the graphics that display what gear you’re in are now larger and more prominent. We’ll also give Aston big points for having a quick way to turn all the driver’s assistance features (like lane keeping/beeping) off with two taps. Thank you. Overall, the cabin is finely detailed, comfortable, and luxurious.

Power Train and Hardware

As mentioned, the revised Vantage’s engine is a brute. It’s the same basic AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 that Aston’s been using for nearly a decade. Yet as the relationship between AMG and Aston has grown, so has the extent of Aston Martin–specific customization. As explained to us by Simon Newton, the director of vehicle performance, this iteration of the engine features cylinder heads, cam profiles, compression ratios, and turbos that have all been modified. Along with the improved airflow (better cooling) and a new quad performance exhaust, output rises to 656 hp and 590 ft lbs of torque. Aston conservatively claims that’s enough forward thrust to get the Vantage Roadster from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 202 mph. The crazy part is that this makes the Vantage the least powerful car Aston Martin currently makes.

Like all convertibles, the Vantage Roadster gains weight when losing its roof. Officially, Aston is stating that the droptop Vantage weighs an additional 133 pounds compared to the coupe, but Newton told us the real number is closer to 90 pounds, a modest increase. The Roadster uses the same high-torque ZF eight-speed automatic transmission—with a shortened final drive ratio of 3.08:1—as the coupe. However, there’s one big, crucial change: a transmission mount has been relocated to better control the transaxle’s movements, and we’ll get to why that matters so much in a moment. The body is 10 percent stiffer overall than the previous iteration, but up to 30 percent stiffer in specific areas, such as the suspension pickup points. The roof contains eight layers of material, and Aston says the convertible’s “articulation index” (a fancy way to say “cabin noise”) is lower than that of the coupe.

Performance

The first thing that struck us about the Vantage Roadster was the ride quality. One reason to knock the refreshed Vantage coupe is the stiffness of its suspension. The Roadster feels much improved, despite the fact that Aston swears the spring rates and anti-roll bars are the same on both cars, though some of the variable-damper-control logic has changed. We suspect the real culprit of the improved ride is the revised transmission mount, a change that’s no doubt going to trickle down to the coupe. The result is that, around town, on the highway, and deep into the canyons, the Roadster rides great. In fact, the ride is more subtle and compliant than that of the new Porsche 911 GTS Cabriolet, the Vantage’s longtime bogey. Also impressive is the noise level in the cabin with the top either up or down. Top up, and we see no reason not to believe Aston’s claim that the soft top is quieter than the hardtop. Top down, and we were able to have a conversation with our passenger without any yelling up to—and even over—85 mph.

Want to go faster than 85 mph? All you need to do is breath on the throttle and this engine just goes bonkers. Especially if you twist the knob surrounding the start button to the right, taking the Vantage out of its default Sport mode to Sport+ or Track. Torque is suddenly everywhere. Keep your foot in it and there’s enough horsepower on tap to quickly carry you into the triple digits. And then some. There’s a terrific ferocity at play here, both in the motor’s naked fury, as well as its snarl. Neither the engine nor its exhaust sound like the V-8 engines found in Mercedes-AMGs, though you can tell they’re cousins. The Vantage Roadster produces less deep, NASCAR rumble, and more the song of a high-revving DTM race car. It’s sweet.

It’s not much of a weak link, but what’s really going to separate the Vantage Roadster from a Porsche convertible (either the GTS or the upcoming 992.2 Turbo Cab) or the Ferrari Roma Spyder, is the Vantage’s lack of a dual-clutch transmission. The latest generation of ZF’s ubiquitous eight-speed automatic transmission is exceptionally good—for an automatic. Hence, the shifts, especially the downshifts, aren’t as quick as they’d ideally be, and there’s a bit of torque-converter-lockup nonsense to deal with every once in a while, especially when you click down into second gear. The work-around is to not change gears. Being half serious here, but there’s such an abundance of torque across so much of the rev range, just leave it in third gear and go nuts.

See Also

Rezvani’s Latest Model Is a Bulletproof Lamborghini Urus

The handling overall is excellent. Both the steering weight and quickness is medium; more alive than that of the clinical Porsche 911, but not over boosted like what is found with a Ferrari. The Vantage Roadster feels quite balanced (and at 51:49 front to rear weight distribution, it is), and while not exactly light, it’s not overly heavy like the 4,200-pound Mercedes SL 63. This is all the more impressive considering that the Aston weighs right around the two-ton mark. Track car? No, and it’s not meant to be. But as a high-performance top-down sports car, the Vantage Roadster is pretty close to the Platonic ideal.

Pushed hard for hours on idyllic twisting roads, the Vantage Roadster never so much as put a wheel wrong. It very well might be down to the revised transmission mount, but the convertible, with its better ride and less frantic handling, is easier to drive hard than the coupe. Less work but more fun? Color us impressed.

Is It Worth It?

To put it bluntly, yes, the 2025 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is absolutely worth the money. The newest stunner from Aston is not just incrementally more beautiful and powerful, but many of the kinks that bothered us when the coupe launched have been ironed out. Sure, we’d love to see a dual-clutch transmission, as the Vantage’s most direct competition (Porsche and Ferrari) happen to offer the two best in the business. But that’s not going to happen this generation. Moreover, since this Vantage is, well, a roadster, lightning-quick gear shifts really don’t matter so much. We find it’s best to just relax, enjoy the torque, and, as it takes just 6.8 seconds for the powered top to drop, the views as well.

Specifications

Vehicle Type

In Production Since

Power Train

Performance

Price as Tested

Click here for more photos of the 2025 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.