What do you do if you love the powerful, lightweight Aston Martin Vantage GT12 but want to feel the wind rustling your hair while behind the wheel? You could just open a window, but if you want to do things right, you get Aston to make a roadster version of the 100-model, GT3-inspired limited edition just for you. The all-new Vantage GT12 Roadster is just that, a customer-commissioned one-off that combines the hardcore thrills of the GT12 with a big slice of sky overhead.
With the freshly revealed GT12 Roadster, Q by Aston Martin proves that it can do more than just add bright-colored grille surrounds and fancy leather trim to standard Aston Martin models. Thanks to the incorporation of the Aston Martin Advanced Operations team, and its wealth of experience with projects like the original Vantage GT12 coupe, the Vulcan and the One-77, Q now has the expertise to design and build entirely new and unique Aston Martin cars.
And that's exactly what it's done with the GT12 Roadster. It's the first time the personalization arm has used the full scope of Aston's design and engineering capabilities to complete a bespoke customer project.
The Vantage GT12 Roadster is built around the same normally aspirated 592-hp (441-kW) 6.0-liter V12 as the coupe, offering an upgrade over the V12 Vantage S Roadster's 565 hp (421 kW). That engine is mated to a seven-speed Sportshift III paddle-shift transmission.
Thanks to the loss of the roof and the big rear wing, not to mention the relatively subtle custom paint job (compared to the bright orange-highlighted GT12 coupe revealed last year), the Vantage GT12 Roadster doesn't look nearly so much the motorsport-inspired track car as the regular GT12. It does share some technical highlights, though, including magnesium inlet manifolds, a magnesium torque tube and a full titanium exhaust system.
Like the coupe, the GT12 Roadster splits from the standard V12 Vantage lineup in aerodynamic elements like the front splitter, rear diffuser and diagonal air outlet slits behind the front wheels. The suspension has been revised for the open-top model, ensuring that the buyer enjoys the type of excellent handling they'd expect from a high-performance built-to-order car.
"Aston Martin has a growing reputation of building ambitious commissions for customers, perhaps the best example being the spectacular CC100 Speedster Concept," says David King, Aston VP and chief special operations officer. "We have also become world leaders in ultra-low volume projects with cars such as the One-77, Lagonda Taraf and Aston Martin Vulcan, while the Vantage GT12 and Vantage GT8 show how far we can take our series production models. The GT12 Roadster is the first project to combine all of those skill sets in one magnificent car. In just nine months, we took a customer's dream and realized it, with a fully-formed, exactingly engineered and fully road-legal one-off."
Aston Martin doesn't provide any other details about the build, and being that it's a one-of-a-kind customer commission, we don't necessarily expect it to release further info in the future. Other highlights of the GT12 coupe that Aston spoke about in introducing it last year include a lower, wider stance, broader front and rear tracks, Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and plenty of carbon fiber, inside and out.
The Vantage GT12 Roadster debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which runs through Sunday. Take a closer look in our photo gallery.
Source: Aston Martin
