Aston Martin is taking on Porsche’s new 911 GT3 S/C with a Vantage RS Roadster. Roadster shares the coupe’s aggressive aero, including its massive fixed rear wing. Expect extra weight but as much as 700 hp from the AMG-sourced V8’s soundtrack. You’ve probably seen that Aston Martin has been testing multiple more performance-focused prototypes of its current lineup, including the Vanquish S and smaller and even more hardcore Vantage RS coupe. But now spy photographers have snapped a third model, the Vantage RS Roadster. If the Vantage RS coupe is Aston’s answer to the Porsche 911 GT3, think of this Roadster as its GT3 S/C rival. And like Porsche’s roofless special, it won’t simply be a regular convertible with some badges and an obnoxiously large rear spoiler bolted on. Related: Aston Martin’s Wildest Vantage Yet Wants A Word With The 911 GT3 The prototype‘s visual appearance indicates that the Roadster will inherit essentially the same aggressive package we’ve already seen testing on the RS coupe. That means a dramatically reworked nose, deeper splitter, vented front fenders, serious rear diffuser and four centrally mounted exhaust pipes. The headline act though is that huge wing, whose downforce performance must differ wildly when the cloth roof is open versus closed. Underneath, we’re expecting the same chassis upgrades being prepared for the coupe, plus more muscle from Aston’s – or more accurately, AMG’s – 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. The regular Vantage already produces 656 hp (665 PS) and 590 lb-ft (800 Nm), with the Vantage S making 15 extra horses, so pushing the RS close to 700 hp (710 PS) isn’t a stretch of the imagination. There will inevitably be a price for removing the roof, beyond the actual price we estimate at around $270,000, obviously. Convertibles generally weigh more because extra structural reinforcement is needed to compensate for losing a large chunk of the body shell. The Fresh-Air Penalty The standard Vantage Roadster carries roughly 130 lbs (60 kg) more than the coupe, but Aston will surely be hunting for ways to shrink that gap on the RS. Porsche managed to keep the difference between its latest GT3 and GT3 S/C to around 83 lbs (38 kg), providing Aston with a useful target. Even if the Roadster won’t quite match the coupe’s rigidity or ultimate track pace, the compromise might be worthwhile. Dropping the roof means more sunshine, more V8 tunes and basically more feel-good moments during those times when you can’t experience all of the on-track downforce that jumbo wing provides. Baldauf
