Review of the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster

If it looks right, it is right. Think about that phrase and how it rings true for cars. Yes, there have been some spectacularly ugly but effective supercars but how many cars can you think of that look great but which underneath the alluring lines are, in fact, rather ordinary. Not many, I would imagine. Aston Martin isn't taking any chances whatsoever with its V8 Vantage Roadster.

The reason why lurks a long way under the taut bodywork. The bonded aluminium VH (Vertical Horizontal) platform it rides on is incredibly stiff, helping to negate the reduction in torsional rigidity caused by losing the roof. In short, the more rigid the chassis, the better chance the suspension has of keeping all four tyres in contact with the road when the car is being stretched to its limits. Even when driving at modest speeds, a poorly engineered drop top will feel baggy, will crash through pot holes and will send all manner of unwelcome shakes and shimmies through the dashboard, windscreen and steering wheel. Aston Martin in effect designed the V8 Vantage Roadster chassis first and then added a roof to that design to form the coupe model. You can therefore rest assured that when it comes to torsional stiffness - a key component in making a roadster great to drive - the V8 Vantage Roadster is right up there amongst the best of the best.

That means matching up to cars like the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, the BMW M6 Convertible, the Jaguar XKR Convertible and the Porsche 911 Cabriolet - a tough ask by any stretch of the imagination but the Aston aces the lot of them as a drop top. As desirable as these cars are, none have the same cohesiveness of design of the Aston Martin. There is not one bad angle, not one awkward aspect. Hood up, hood down, hood half-mast, this car looks the business. Yes, we can understand why some grouse that all Aston Martins look much the same but when they look this good, it seems churlish to grumble.

Rather than attempt to fit a folding metal hard top and risk ruining the car's lines, Aston Martin wisely chose to fit a plush three-layer fabric hood to the Vantage Roadster. With the hood up, the Vantage still looks elegantly proportioned, the hood forming a neat turret without the overly long rear deck that some convertible suffer from. With the hood stowed, there are a pair of what Aston refers to as 'leather speed humps' that sit behind the seat head restraints and pyrotechnic roll over bars.

"No hard sell required here"

Aston Martin claim a minimal weight increase over the Vantage coupe, the suggestion being that the inherent stiffness of the aluminium chassis means there's no need for the sort of extensive cross-bracing that many convertible cars require to maintain rigidity. Such added ironmongery adds weight, blunts performance and reduces fuel economy. The exterior panels are a combination of aluminium, steel and advanced composites designed to keep weight down, and even the 1,710kg kerb weight is a mere 60kg more than a Porsche Carrera 4S Targa but a lot lighter than the 2005kg BMW M6 Convertible. With an improved 420bhp engine under the bonnet, performance is certainly class competitive, hitting 60mph in 4.7 seconds and accelerating to a top speed of 180mph. That is serious performance by any measure.

With a relatively large 4.7-litre eight cylinder engine up front, weight distribution was a priority for Aston Martin's engineers. A transmission at the rear of the car helps generate a 49:51 weight distribution front and rear, the engine being what is fashionably termed 'front-mid mounted' or in layman's terms, with its centre of gravity set behind the line of the front axle. All of this helps the Vantage V8 corner nimbly, and predictably. A dry sump also allows the engine to sit very low in the chassis, lowering the car's centre of gravity to help stability. During periods of extreme cornering, acceleration and braking, this system also helps to maintain an uninterrupted flow of oil to crucial engine components. The quad cam 32-valve engine itself is hand assembled in Cologne alongside the powerplants for the DBS and DB9.

Particularly interesting is the availability (alongside the recently improved Graziano six-speed manual gearbox) of the now slicker and more responsive Sportshift automated manual transmission at a £3,000 premium over the Roadster's standard asking price of just over £90,000 (around £8,000 more than the Coupe model). This uses paddles mounted behind the steering wheel to snick between the six ratios and looks set to continue to be a popular pick. Despite the attractions of the clutchless Sportshift, there's a lot to be said for the manual 'box which will probably remain the choice of enthusiast drivers, the close ratio setup and light, positive action promising the sort of tactility that has long been the preserve of Porsche and BMW drivers.

The move to a purpose-built factory at Gaydon has enabled the company to abandon many of the less productive practices of the old Bloxham plant without sacrificing quality. Factor in strong sales of DB9 and DBS models and the company is looking at a yearly production capacity of close to 5,000 cars which is astounding when compared to the 42 cars that rolled through the factory gates in 1991. That will make Aston Martin a bigger producer than Ferrari. Impressive stuff.

Many V8 Vantage Roadster buyers won't give a fig about what's under the skin. Owning possibly the most beautiful car in series production is the big draw. I'd always abhorred superficiality as a character trait but after having a look round the Vantage Roadster, I think I could try it on for size.