What: Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster
Where: Avignon, France launch, March 2007
On sale: Now
Price: $285,500 (manual); $295,500 (Sportshift)
About: Aston Martin has lifted the lid on its V8 Vantage Roadster so you can better hear that glorious V8 engine note. The roadster makes few compromises over the coupe - we drove some appalling potholed, slumped and ice-damaged rural Provence roads and detected not a hint of flex or scuttle-shake.
This car was designed alongside the coupe, and is more than just a tin-top with the hat chopped off. Thus the thicker cross-section and bracing within the car's sills, plus improvements to the cross-beam that mounts the dash and steering column. Those changes add 17kg, the roof mechanisms taking the total increase to 70kg for convertible over coupe.
Other differences include stiffer spring rates and softer front suspension bushes. The ride isn't hard - this is a GT, after all - and proved impressively compliant at speed over these demanding roads.
The Sportshift is a revelation, too. It's a robotised manual. In standard sport mode you'll use those wheel-mounted paddles to change gear, if anything more quickly than you can in a manual; or select auto, plus comfort for more relaxed response.
But what most impressed wasn't the car's breathtaking looks, the beautiful attention to materials, fit and finish. It wasn't even its ability to impart sportiness to the GT persona. It was the soundtrack from that 4.3-litre V8 - a gut-tickling wuffle when throttling off and a joyous bark on-song that had us flooring it past every stone wall or cliff we passed.
Will Aston's sale by Ford prove its undoing? It seems not - boss Ulrich Bez confirms the personnel will stay the same, as will the company's ongoing product plan, which seems to be working. Only 40 Astons sold in 1994; it made a profit in 2004 and last year sold 7000 cars.
Expect that number to climb further if this Roadster is any indication. At sedate speeds you're in a Havana cigar ad; the burbling exhaust, the bespoke feel - but plant your boot and you're driving an Armani-clad hooligan that's so much fun we slurped the whole fuel tank in a morning, averaging 24.9l/100km. Will buyers this well-heeled care about the thirst? We doubt it.
For: Gorgeous looks, more sporting ability than expected from a GT, few compromises from loss of roof - you sit so low there's not even much wind flutter (we were comfy roof-down at only two degrees above freezing) and there's even a useful boot. An everyday sports GT with class.
Against: I can't afford one... Seriously, if you want a thinly-disguised race car rather than a sportster, or need rear seats, shop elsewhere.