Auto review: Driving alfresco in the 2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster
Certainly, it's dressed to thrill, with bulging rear fenders and a soft shoulder mid-body, much like an old 911. Its handsome, distinct face has a noticeably larger grille, which aids cooling. The rear-end diffuser may denote sportiness, but it's visually louder than the rest of the car. However, the quad exhaust tips are beautifully integrated. With the top up, the Roadster resembles the Coupe. Top down, it's stowed beneath the sleek rear deck.
Now, the Aston Martin faithful may wonder why this speed buggy is called the Roadster, and not a Volante, Aston's name for its droptops. Evidently that appellation is reserved for Aston's GT cars, which the Vantage is decidedly not. It's a sports car, one that delivers maximum thrills in a minimally sized package.
The 2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster is the follow-up to the Vantage Coupe that debuted last year. Thanks to some body structure and driveline tweaks, the Roadster weighs a mere 132 pounds more and is no slower than its Coupe sibling. Its twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 produces 656 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque through a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. It's fast, with its Michelin Pilot Sport 5.5 tires providing a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a 202-mph top speed. Just as fast is the eight-ply fabric roof, which drops in 6.8 seconds at speeds of up to 31 mph. The driveline is fitted with Sport, Sport+, Track, Individual and Wet driving modes, but no Eco mode - thank God. As you might expect, it uses premium fuel and returns an EPA-rated 18 mpg in combined city/highway driving.
Even though its exhaust note exhibits signals that it's ready for a raucous time, this is a sports car for gentlemen and gentlewomen. The driveline makes a sporting sound, but it's never overbearing, while the engine and transmission prove very responsive, remaining in gear longer than most rivals - especially in manual mode, where it indulges need to the gear and listen to it emote. And it plays the automotive athlete, unequal-length double wishbones up front; a multi-link suspension out back and Bilstein DTX adaptive dampers at each corner. Despite the slew of electronic driving aids, this remains an unrepentant front-engine/rear-wheel-drive roadster. Able to dance with an ease of control that makes it one fine party animal, the steering and brakes communicate to the driver as its taut handling voraciously gobbles up asphalt accompanied by a refined rumble.
Driver and passenger are ensconced in a snug cabin for two that's beautifully finished, its carbon-fiber trim colored identically to the exterior color. Its center console features a 10.25-inch capacitive touchscreen with a user interface designed in house. And bravo to the designers, who have not insisted that all controls be banished to the touchscreen. They believe, and rightly so, that certain controls are better as physical buttons while driving at speed. As a result, finding the control you want is simple. It's accompanied by a 390-watt, 11-speaker audio system or an optional 15-speaker, double amplified, 1,170-watt Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system. That said, the Aston's cylinder symphony is the only music I listened to. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard.
Any quibbles? Well, the car's beltline is very high, which may be a turn-off for some. And, being a sports car, its boot measures a modest 7 cubic feet. Neither should dissuade you from acquiring this lovely bit of rapid transit.
Aston Martin remains a survivor, and the 2026 Vantage Roadster is proof of the company's value. Having survived bankruptcy seven times in its 112-year history, it's arguably never been better. Credit the money and guidance of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who has masterfully restored Aston Martin to the top of the automotive pantheon with cars that are among the rarest and finest in the world. The Vantage Roadster's performance, quality and scarcity define the essence of a true luxury sports car.
2026 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster
Base price: $205,900 (estimated)
Engine: Twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8
Horsepower/Torque: 656/590 pound-feet
EPA rating (combined city/highway): 18 mpg
Fuel required: Premium unleaded
Length/Width/Height: 177/81/51 inches
Ground clearance: 3.7 inches
Cargo capacity: 7 cubic feet
Towing capacity: Not rated
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Engadget
6 hours ago
- Engadget
Porsche 911 GTS review: The first hybrid 911 is better with a battery
When Porsche first unveiled the new 911 GTS, it's safe to say that there weren't many people on planet Earth pining for a hybrid 911. The idea of one of the world's most iconic sports cars taking a cue from the humble Toyota Prius is a concept that's a little hard for the average auto enthusiast to get their head around. But they should try, because the technology that Porsche has deployed in the new 911 GTS, Porsche's first hybrid sports car, is properly impressive. This is a hybrid system that exists not to improve fuel consumption, but to genuinely make a sports car better thanks to the injection of a little high voltage and a lot of boost. Tech meets tradition The 911 has maintained its stubborn rear-engined layout since the beginning. Its motor is slung between and behind the back wheels, not because it's necessarily the best place for handling, but just because that's how it's always been done. That doesn't change with the 911 GTS. What is new, though, is the addition of an electric motor into the mix, augmenting that gasoline engine in the way-back. That new motor sits neatly inside the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, adding 54 horsepower and 29 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers are hardly remarkable, but the real magic is what else the car does with its new high-voltage system. There's actually a second electric motor here, a tiny one capable of surviving ridiculously hot temperatures. That's needed because it lives within the turbocharger. A turbocharger is a simple wheel that is spun by exhaust gas. This in turn spins another wheel that forces air into the engine's intake. It's a simple technology developed well over 100 years ago, but since those early days of forced induction, there's always been an issue when it comes to automotive applications: lag. The reliance of exhaust gases to spin the turbocharger creates an intrinsic delay between the driver requesting acceleration and the car actually delivering it. Internal combustion needs to build pressure to spin the wheel to suck in more air to provide more power. Porsche short-circuited that with this novel electric motor that spins the turbocharger up to 120,000 RPM in less than a second. Lag isn't completely eliminated, but it's so radically reduced that you hardly know it. Pair that with the extra, instant kick of torque provided by the electric motor in the transmission, and you have something magical: a car powered by gasoline that accelerates with all the instant ferocity of an EV. Design sensibility The 2025 Porsche 911 GTS comes in a Chalk color that's quite striking with all of the car's black accents. Porsche calls that whole system, plus the 1.9-kWh battery that powers it, T-Hybrid. The net result in the 2025 911 GTS is 532 hp and 449 lb-ft of torque. That's a substantial, 59-hp boost over the old GTS. Yet the only obvious sign that there's anything different about this car is the subtle T-Hybrid badges mounted down low on the doors. And that's a good thing, because I'm of the opinion that the current-generation 911, internally called the 992.2, is one of the prettiest cars on the road. Even in this decidedly understated Chalk color, it is absolutely striking. The color pairs perfectly with the 20-inch front and 21-inch rear black wheels and other ebony highlights around the car. The interior is similarly minimalist, monotone to an extreme. But there are just enough subtle highlights of materials like carbon fiber and Alcantara to make it feel racy and purposeful, not basic. And, if you like, you can go with many more wild interior combinations. Porsche is happy to let you customize to your heart's content, but beware that it's going to cost you. The car's interface is simpler than 911s of yore, too. Most of the controls have been consumed by the car's petite 10.9-inch touchscreen, serving both wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, while a curved, 12.6-inch virtual gauge cluster lives behind the steering wheel. What physical controls remain are well positioned, delivering strong tactility for your frequent tasks. Perhaps the most important is the drive mode dial that's mounted at the four o'clock position on the steering wheel. It's how you dial up the intensity of the 911 GTS. Or, push the shiny little red button to go fully manic. The 2025 Porsche 911 GTS has a fun little red boost button on the steering wheel that's sure to give you a good time. Driving The GTS isn't Porsche's most powerful 911 of the moment. That honor lies in the 640-horsepower 911 Turbo S. But no other 911 delivers power like this one, offering a taste of the instant shove of the electric Taycan mixed with the internal combustion fury and high-speed acceleration you'd expect from a 911. It is, suffice to say, quite intoxicating. And to get the best taste of it, push that aforementioned crimson button. That gives you 20 seconds of Sport Response mode, with the car's electronic turbocharger assist doing its damndest to maintain maximum power. The exhaust opens fully, the transmission drops a gear or two and suddenly that machine you were idling through traffic absolutely comes alive. Put your foot down in this mode and the 911 GTS surges forward, without a moment's hesitation. You can hear the turbocharger behind your head whistling as it works to build intake pressure, hauling in air from the environment and jamming it right into the combustion chamber for the next squeeze and bang .It's addictive, but if you've become used to the silent surging power of an EV, it's perhaps a bit much. In Sport Mode, the standard sport exhaust on the GTS is loud enough to terrify anyone you go soaring past on a two-lane road. Thankfully, the GTS is easy to silence. One tap of the exhaust button mounted below that touchscreen and the GTS becomes quiet. It's not-quite EV quiet, but very hushed. Despite having electric motors and a battery, this is not a plug-in hybrid. You'll struggle to even get out of your driveway without that engine firing up. But that's okay. Remember: This isn't an efficiency play. In Normal mode, the suspension softens and the ultra-fast transmission transitions into something that smoothly slips from one gear to the next, keeping revs as low as possible to maximize fuel consumption. That nets the 911 GTS a 19 mpg combined rating per the EPA. Despite some bits of driving exuberance, I substantially bettered that, managing 25.1 mpg. The 2025 Porsche 911 GTS hides its hybrid tech so well that the branding on the door is the only indicator this isn't a normal 911. But even at its most tame, the GTS is not a luxury grand tourer of the likes of an Aston Martin DB12 or Mercedes-AMG GT. At its softest, the suspension is still firm, the road noise from those prodigious tires is grating and even the wind noise at high speed is a bother — so much so that the middling Bose sound system struggles to overcome it. So, despite the GTS moniker, it's more of a sports car than a grand tourer. Instant power is this car's party trick, paired with amazing feel, effortless handling and the kind of prodigious grip that will make your favorite driving roads feel tame. Those are all the more reasons to find your new favorite roads. Despite punishing you on the highway and over broken asphalt, the 911 GTS never feels flustered and always leaves you wanting more. It's a car you won't want to get out of, which perhaps explains why I'm writing this very sentence from the driver's seat. Cost of entry At over $170,000 to start, or $196,185 as configured, it's not an affordable machine. Were I buying, my GTS would be a little cheaper. I'd stick with the rear-drive GTS model, rather than the all-wheel drive Carrera 4 you see here, simply for the fun-factor. I'd also skip the sunroof, which adds both $2,980 to the bill and weight to a car that already gained over 100 pounds compared to the prior GTS. Those two deletions alone would cut about $10,000 from that still-soaring price. Expensive, yes, but the technology here feels worth it. This is a novel approach to electrification, making a sports car sportier with hardly any compromise. It is a truly desirable machine, the kind of hybrid that Porsche fans may not have known they needed, but one they definitely need to try.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
F1 Belgian GP: Oscar Piastri tops only Spa practice
McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri has set the fastest time in Friday's sole free practice session for Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri set his fastest lap of 1m42.022s in the closing stages of a one-hour session dominated by set-up work dialling in car upgrades rather than fast times. No less than eight out of 10 teams brought some sort of aerodynamic developments to the Belgian Ardennes, with a mixture of track-specific low-downforce wings and general upgrades as the in-season development race edges towards the finish line. It meant the first 40 minutes featured limited one-lap action, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc leading the way on Pirelli's hardest C1 compound. Most notably there were offs for Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto in La Source, while Lewis Hamilton went wide through Les Combes, before drawing the ire of Gabriel Bortoleto for an impeding incident through Eau Rouge. The tempo was finally upped inside the final 15 minutes when drivers tried on the soft C4 compound, with Lance Stroll briefly taking top spot. Sporting a new low-downforce rear wing on the McLaren MCL39, Piastri went another second quicker than the Aston Martin driver to establish a 1m42.123s lap, which nobody got near to. Piastri then shaved off another tenth in the final minutes to set a 1m42.022s. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Under the watchful eye of new Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, world champion Max Verstappen was second after conducting back-to-back tests of Red Bull's new and previous front wings, reporting that his new set-up still felt "weird" with mid-corner understeer. His time of 1m42.426s was four tenths slower than Piastri's benchmark. Team-mate Lando Norris initially had to abandon his corresponding qualifying sim after dipping his left-hand side on the gravel, but then went second with his next effort before being demoted by Verstappen, albeit half a second adrift of Piastri. George Russell was dropped to fourth aboard the Mercedes, followed by long-time session leader Leclerc, with the pair shadowed by their respective team-mates Antonelli and Hamilton. Stroll and Fernando Alonso, who sampled Aston Martin's new front wing assembly, finished in eighth and ninth, with Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar rounding out the top 10 ahead of Williams' Carlos Sainz, who had to sit out the early running due to a fuel system issue on his Williams. Qualifying for Saturday's sprint race follows at 16:30 local Belgian time. FP1 result: To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
F1 Belgian GP: Oscar Piastri tops only Spa practice
McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri has set the fastest time in Friday's sole free practice session for Formula 1's Belgian Grand Prix. Piastri set his fastest lap of 1m42.022s in the closing stages of a one-hour session dominated by set-up work dialling in car upgrades rather than fast times. No less than eight out of 10 teams brought some sort of aerodynamic developments to the Belgian Ardennes, with a mixture of track-specific low-downforce wings and general upgrades as the in-season development race edges towards the finish line. It meant the first 40 minutes featured limited one-lap action, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc leading the way on Pirelli's hardest C1 compound. Most notably there were offs for Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Franco Colapinto in La Source, while Lewis Hamilton went wide through Les Combes, before drawing the ire of Gabriel Bortoleto for an impeding incident through Eau Rouge. The tempo was finally upped inside the final 15 minutes when drivers tried on the soft C4 compound, with Lance Stroll briefly taking top spot. Sporting a new low-downforce rear wing on the McLaren MCL39, Piastri went another second quicker than the Aston Martin driver to establish a 1m42.123s lap, which nobody got near to. Piastri then shaved off another tenth in the final minutes to set a 1m42.022s. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing Under the watchful eye of new Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies, world champion Max Verstappen was second after conducting back-to-back tests of Red Bull's new and previous front wings, reporting that his new set-up still felt "weird" with mid-corner understeer. His time of 1m42.426s was four tenths slower than Piastri's benchmark. Team-mate Lando Norris initially had to abandon his corresponding qualifying sim after dipping his left-hand side on the gravel, but then went second with his next effort before being demoted by Verstappen, albeit half a second adrift of Piastri. George Russell was dropped to fourth aboard the Mercedes, followed by long-time session leader Leclerc, with the pair shadowed by their respective team-mates Antonelli and Hamilton. Stroll and Fernando Alonso, who sampled Aston Martin's new front wing assembly, finished in eighth and ninth, with Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar rounding out the top 10 ahead of Williams' Carlos Sainz, who had to sit out the early running due to a fuel system issue on his Williams. Qualifying for Saturday's sprint race follows at 16:30 local Belgian time. FP1 result: To read more articles visit our website.
