The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster most certainly isn’t any manner of Ford Motor Company product nor a jazzed-up Jag or Porsche 911. You slice the iconic top off a 911, even if you’re Porsche, and the car looks like an aftermarket conversion. When Aston slices the lid off the V8 Vantage, you get something that looks like its own piece of art. It’s as masculine looking as the Coupe (though a couple hundred pounds heavier), the lines enhanced without the fastback roof, making this Roadster look equally at home cruising Beverly Hills or Miami Beach.

In fact, the Roadster has one clear advantage over the Coupe: its soundtrack. No need for a high-end hi-fi in the dash; the raspy WOOFLE! of the exhaust fills your ears with stereophonic sound when you’ve lowered the top. At speed and especially when exhaust-note-strafing a stone or cement wall alongside a two-lane in Provence, the Roadster’s 380-horsepower 4.3 rumbles like a musclecar V-8 with whine added for a British accent. You’ll work the gear change extra hard just to make your own music.

The fully automatic fabric top opens and closes at the press of a button located on the center console in 18 seconds and at speeds of up to 30 mph, according to Aston. The top was designed to follow the line of the Coupe as closely as possible when closed.

As with all convertibles, a little gets lost in the handling department, but Aston claims weight increase and structural rigidity loss are minimal.

The design of the Vantage Roadster is elegant and uncompromising, a single fluid form with characteristic attention to detail, both inside and out, representing the open sports car in its purest form.

The Vantage Roadster represents the latest evolution of Aston Martin’s synthesis of craft and technology. From the beautifully hand stitched leather seats to the hand-finished bodies, to the ultra-modern Aston Martin V8 engine, hand-assembled at a dedicated, high-technology facility in Cologne, Germany, the Vantage Roadster is an exclusive, advanced and uniquely desirable sports car.

The three-layer fabric hood gives a taut, aggressive appearance when closed and when folded, the flow from front to rear is smooth and elegant, enhanced by the leather speed humps that create a unique transition between interior and exterior. Even in convertible form the Roadster retains the critically acclaimed design of the Vantage Coupe. The hood is stowed neatly beneath the rear tonneau cover and is either opened or closed at the press of a button located on the centre console, in just 18 seconds, and at speeds of up to 30mph (50km/h) with no manual intervention required.

Developed from the outset alongside the V8 Vantage Coupe which was launched in 2005, the Roadster shares the unique-to-Aston Martin bonded aluminium VH (Vertical Horizontal) architecture – the backbone to all modern Aston Martins. Adding to this structure, sophisticated materials such as lightweight alloys, magnesium and advanced composites are used for the body, further contributing to the car’s low weight and high rigidity.

Driver and passenger sit low, close to the car’s centre of gravity, where they can feel the car reacting to the input of the driver – a special sensation, usually only experienced in racing cars – providing a direct and sporting connection between car and driver.

Despite the additional mechanism associated with the Vantage Roadster’s convertible roof and the additional body stiffness, Aston Martin’s engineering team have ensured only a minimal weight increase to preserve the agile and sporting characteristics of the V8 Vantage Coupe. At just 4.38 metres (172.5 in) long, Vantage Roadster remains not only the smallest model in the Aston Martin range but also one of the leanest cars in its class.

The V8 Vantage is a hand-crafted sports car that offers electrifying performance and outstanding agility. The most affordable of all Aston Martins, it fuses traditional Aston Martin style and everyday usability. The result is the world’s most desirable sports car.

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is an exotic sports car designed to be driven everyday, if an owner is so inclined, with extreme ease of use and practical function.

The two-seat, rear-drive 2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage is available in one model, with one 380-horsepower engine and one transmission. The price generously includes destination charge and gas guzzler tax. The V8 Vantage’s transmission is a conventional six-speed manual with a foot-operated clutch. Standard equipment includes a leather interior with Alcantara headliner and real aluminum trim, 10-way power adjustable seats, automatic climate control, AM/FM/6CD stereo, trip computer, halogen projector headlights, LED taillights, an alarm, and seven-spoke 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels.

The 4.3-liter V-8 is both user-friendly and charismatic, although a little more grunt wouldn’t hurt. Most customers likely will eschew the standard six-speed manual for the new automated gearbox with steering-column-mounted paddleshifters. We tried both and prefer the more intuitive and fun fingertip controls on the optional SportShift.

While other sports cars have a sport button that can be pushed to initiate quicker throttle and transmission responses, the V8 Vantage roadster defaults to the sport setting. If the driver should want more relaxed gearchanges, there is a comfort button on the instrument panel.

On Provence’s Mont Ventoux hill-climb, the Aston’s handling is fluid and progressive instead of razor-sharp and instant-on. Turn-in is quick but not overly so, and when you need more lock, you consciously wind it on instead of just flicking the wheel. This slow calibration provides more depth and better feedback, but it also makes you work that little bit harder. When the tail overcomes grip and comes around under power, it takes a hardy armful of opposite lock to control the slide and very self-confident timing as you prepare to exit.

Aston Martin, a company known only for super-expensive GT and racing cars, has just introduced the V8 Vantage, a quintessential sports car of stunning lines, outstanding performance, bespoke quality and a price — $110,000 — that falls right between a well-equipped 911 Carrera S and a base 911 Turbo. The V8 Vantage is a tweedy British fox loose in the stuffy Stuttgart henhouse.

Interestingly, Aston Martin, owned since 1994 by Ford Motor, is run by a German — CEO Ulrich Bez, who is an ex-Porsche exec and experienced 911 racer. “The 911 is an interpretation of how a sports car was built in the 1950s and ’60s,” he says. “The Vantage is how a car should be if you start with the engine, all four wheels, and the driver and passenger in the right places, and then you tailor the suit that covers it. It’s simple — refined simplicity.”

It takes one push of a button and a mere 17 seconds to raise or lower the roof of the Volante. Hood up or down, the lines of a DB9 Volante remain breathtakingly beautiful.

DB9 was conceived and designed, from the outset, as both a Coupe and a convertible (Volante). This uncompromising approach is typical of the whole DB9 engineering philosophy. That is why DB9 Volante is one of the most structurally rigid and best handling convertibles in the world. It is also one of the fastest and quietest. It looks elegant and perfectly proportioned from every angle - with roof up or down.

As with all Aston Martins, beauty and proportion is of key importance.

DB9 Volante’s folding fabric roof is light, attractive and durable, and is also compact when stowed. There is no loss of practicality - DB9 Volante retains the rear seats, and offers the same boot space as DB9 Coupe.

The roof retracts fully, at the single push of a button, and swiftly stows beneath a hard tonneau cover that closes flush with the rear bodywork.

Safety is of course a major consideration. Special tilt sensors detect the danger of a possible roll-over and deploy two strengthened hoops from the rear seat headrests. Further safety protection is offered by the windscreen A-pillars, which can withstand more than twice the total weight of the car.

Stunning styling, sumptuous appointments and a brawny V12 engine make the Aston Martin DB9 Volante convertible one of the most desirable cars in the world.

Sleek and low-slung, the two-seat DB9 Volante convertible is also offered as a 2+2 DB9 coupe with a token backseat. The DB9 replaced the preceding DB7 in 2004. Production is limited to 2,000 units per year worldwide.
The DB9 Volante received updated power seats that now include dual-stage heating, lumbar adjustments and electric seat-back releases. Also incorporated are side-impact airbags and occupant-sensing technology to determine how fast and with how much force the front airbags will deploy in a collision.

Standard Engine:
6.0L V12, 48 valve, 450 hp @ 6000 rpm
6 speed manual (standard) or 6 speed automatic transmission
13 mpg city / 18 mpg hwy
Standard Features:
Emergency Fuel Shut-Off Device
Electronic Brake Assistance
In-Glass Radio Antenna

The largely handmade, pricey V-12–powered DB9 is a stylish coupe that packs enough leather trim, beautiful details, and performance to satisfy even the most jaded sybarite. It’s not as engaging as its competition, and its quality is suspect, but it’s still an elegant choice. The DB9 sounds great and looks great. It might leave you stranded, and it can’t quite match its competitors’ performance.

On sale since 2004, the Aston Martin DB9 superseded the long-lived DB7 Vantage. The DB9 is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 engine that generates 450 horsepower. Either a conventional six-speed manual gearbox or a button-controlled six-speed automatic can be installed. Aston Martin says the manual-shift DB9 can accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

The DB9 was the first car to be hand-built at a new state-of-the-art facility in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England. In addition to the coupe, a Volante convertible is also offered.

2007 Aston Martin DB9 Base Coupe Performance 
5,935 cc 5.9 liters V 12 front engine with 88.9 mm bore, 79.5 mm stroke, 10.3 compression ratio, double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder
Premium unleaded fuel 91
Fuel economy EPA highway (mpg): 19 and EPA city (mpg): 12
Multi-point injection fuel system
22.5 gallon main premium unleaded fuel tank
Power: 336 kW , 450 HP SAE @ 6,000 rpm; 420 ft lb , 569 Nm @ 5,000 rpm
 
2007 Aston Martin DB9 Base Coupe Handling 
Four-wheel ABS
Brake assist system
Four disc brakes including four ventilated discs
Electronic brake distribution
Electronic traction control via ABS & engine management
Immobilizer
Rear limited slip differential
Stability control
Wishbone front and rear suspension independent with stabilizer bar and coil springs
Tire kit
 
2007 Aston Martin DB9 Base Coupe Exterior 
Body color front and rear bumpers
Chrome/bright trim around side windows and on side of body
Driver and passenger power heated body color door mirrors
External dimensions: overall length (inches): 185.4, overall width (inches): 73.8, overall height (inches): 51.9, wheelbase (inches): 107.9, front track (inches): 61.7, rear track (inches): 61.5 and curb to curb turning circle (feet): 37.7
Electric foldable mirrors
Headlight cleaners
Projector beam lens Xenon bulb headlights
Luxury trim wood & leather on doors and wood & leather on dashboard
Gloss paint
Fixed rear window with defogger
Tinted glass on cabin
Weights: curb weight (lbs) 3,968
Windshield wipers with variable intermittent wipe