cars news 10: Aston Martin Unveils Insane Vantage GT12 Roadster

When we saw the Aston Martin GT12 last year, we thought the British carmaker really couldn’t make it any more bonkers than it already was. Well, at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, we were proven wrong with the reveal of the special Vantage GT12 Roadster.

Essentially, like the coupe, the Roadster is as close to a road-going Vantage GT3 as we’ll get. The interior might not be as stripped-out and brutal as the race car, but the coupe GT12 shed nearly 220 pounds over the regular V12 Vantage S. There is no official list indicating what hardware the Roadster packs, but if Aston is calling this the GT12 Roadster, we can assume it shares similar components with the hardtop.

Peek underneath the sculpted Vantage skin of the coupe, and you’ll discover a GT3-derived suspension, leading to the lowest ride height ever offered on a production Aston. On the outside, a special aerodynamic kit provides oodles of extra downforce, and big carbon ceramic brakes are prepared to shrug-off triple-digit speeds.

Powering this lithe open-top delight is a 6.0-liter V-12 engine, sending 591 tire-shredding ponies to the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission. Yes, like the GT12 coupe, the Roadster will not receive the wonderfully anorak seven-speed dogleg manual transmission in the 2017 V12 Vantage S.

Regardless, this is one hell of a car, and we do mean “one.” This is a product from Aston’s bespoke Q division. A customer with both exacting tastes and piles of money commissioned it, and Aston delivered in spectacular fashion. So for now, don’t expect to see one gracing your local Cars and Coffee.

Take a look at the Aston Martin GT12 Roadster in the photos below, and if you are in the area, check it out in person at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Source: Aston Martin