Aston Martin today unveiled its most extreme roadster ever in the unique form of the one-off Vantage GT12 Roadster. A tailor made customer commission undertaken by Q by Aston Martin, the Vantage GT12 Roadster takes the original Vantage GT12 Coupe’s hardcore ethos and adds the visceral thrill of open-top driving, offering the driver an intensified sensation of exhilaration and the unfiltered fury of a 600PS V12 soundtrack.
Conceived and delivered within a nine-month period, the Vantage GT12 Roadster draws its origins from the Vantage GT12 Coupe, with a special 600PS version of the brand’s 6.0-litre normally aspirated V12 engine mated to a seven-speed Sportshift IIItm paddle-shift transmission. Technical highlights include magnesium inlet manifolds with revised geometry, a lightweight magnesium torque tube and a full titanium exhaust system.
The most visible differences are the significant number of new carbon-fibre body panels, while beneath the skin a unique suspension set-up defined by Aston Martin’s in-house dynamics experts, helping to ensure the Vantage GT12 Roadster shares the same exceptional handling characteristics as the Vantage GT12 Coupe. Naturally being a product of Q by Aston Martin, the Roadster also features bespoke paint and trim.
The Vantage GT12 Roadster is a significant landmark, for it is the first time a customer has been able to call upon the full scope of Aston Martin’s design and engineering capabilities as part of the Q by Aston Martin bespoke commission service. Initially offered as a means of providing fully personalised colour and trim combinations, the service has been continually expanded. With the incorporation of Aston Martin Advanced Operations – the team responsible for the original Vantage GT12 Coupe, along with low volume in-house projects such as the Aston Martin Vulcan, Lagonda Taraf and One-77 – customers can now commission highly ambitious full-scale design and engineering projects.
David King, Vice President and Chief Special Operations Officer, says of the Vantage GT12 Roadster: “Aston Martin has a growing reputation of building ambitious commissions for customers, perhaps the best example being the spectacular CC100 Speedster Concept. 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 realised it, with a fully-formed, exactingly engineered and fully road-legal one-off. That is the essence of the Q by Aston Martin service”.
Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin President and CEO, commented: “The Vantage GT12 Roadster is a hugely exciting project. Not just because it’s sensational to look at, but because it vividly demonstrates the expanded capabilities of Q by Aston Martin. By incorporating the exceptional engineering capabilities of Aston Martin Advanced Operations within the Q by Aston Martin bespoke commissioning service we have a truly formidable creative team.”
