Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster Has 565 HP

Luke Vandezande
by Luke Vandezande

Aston Martin just revealed its new V12 Vantage S Roadster, a car that it bills as its “most potent, fastest, fastest accelerating” convertible ever.

Aston Martin’s sonorous 5.9-liter V12 engine makes 565 peak hp and up to 457 lb-ft of torque although the company claims it will make 376 lb-ft at 1,000 RPM. All that power is routed to the rear tires through a seven-speed sportshift III auto-shift manual transmission and gear changes are controlled through a set of paddles behind the steering wheel.

Rocketing to 60 mph takes 3.9 seconds and the top track speed for the car is advertised as being 201 MPH. Of course, you’ll need a heck of a race track to test the claim and in that case you’ll probably be driving in “track mode,” which is one of the three available. There are also “sport” and “normal” modes for less intense driving. The dampers and stability control system also both come with three stages of adjustment while the ABS and electric power steering both offer two settings.

At 3,847 lbs, she ain’t a light one and thankfully, carbon ceramic brakes are sitting behind each of the four wheels to help put things to a stop when necessary. That gear is borrowed from the Vanquish while the exhaust tuning is taken from the brand’s ultra-exclusive One-77.

Aston Martin’s Q program will let you customize the car down to granular details, but if you prefer not to pay the premium on a premium on a prem… You get the point.

Even without the bespoke touches, there’s plenty to drool over. The car gets carbon fiber grille vanes in place of aluminum and the grille itself is said to be inspired by the CC100 Speedster concept and the brand’s Vantage race cars.

Carrying into the cabin, there’s even more carbon fiber available. In fact, if you pick the “Interior Carbon Pack,” you’ll get carbon fiber door handles and trim made of the same weave on the dashboard.

Aston Martin says the car will arrive in showrooms around the world later this year but hasn’t announced pricing yet.

GALLERY: Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster

Discuss this story at our Aston Martin forum

Luke Vandezande
Luke Vandezande

Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.

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