Driving an incredibly fast, expensive and super-aggressive looking sports car is one of those things that makes life worth living but it also comes with the kind of magnetism that attracts the world and its aunt.
There I was cruising along well within the speed limit, which in itself required huge amounts of self restraint in the brutishly powerful and stunningly beautiful Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster, when a people carrier which was fully loaded caught up and sat alongside me while its occupants gawped and pointed and started waving and taking photographs.
Now, we all know that sharing is caring and I love the way nice cars are appreciated in the UAE but there is a limit and what began as rather a nice gesture started to become increasingly irritating because they just wouldn’t go away
If I accelerated and then slowed down to within the speed limit again they simply caught up and the performance resumed with renewed vigour, as if they were my new best mates. Call me miserable if you like, but I just couldn’t take all this attention any more so with no visible speed cameras I bade my farewell by putting pedal to the metal and took off like a ballistic missile with a howl coming from that magnificent 6-litre V12 that was loud enough to wake people sleeping several kilometres away.
I did glance in the rear view mirror long enough to see the occupants in the people carrier waving frantically, obviously enjoying the show of brute force. Bless them.
That’s the kind of effect this car has on people. It looks mean, in a refined sort of way – it is an Aston Martin after all – and it certainly delivers on the visual promise of extraordinary performance.
The Henrik Fisker designed Vantage has been around for a decade in V8 guise and the ferociously fast V12 S coupe, which just happens to be the highest performing Aston Martin ever built, combining insane power with superb handling, made its debut in 2013.
The 2015 Roadster is the drop-top version and if a car was ever crying out to be turned into a convertible, this is it. With the roof up it looks cool but with it down (it folds very neatly into the boot in 14 seconds) it looks even better.
This is a very small but beautifully designed car with the air intakes on the bonnet leaving you in no doubt that it was built to satisfy the most demanding need for speed.
The interior is lavish with lashings of high grade, heavy stitched leather, glass switches and black piano veneers and plenty of bespoke options available. The instrument cluster is classic Aston and the whole package oozes sporty extravagance, but the real thrill is the way this thing performs. The word ‘potent’ hardly does it justice.
The engine has a whopping 565bhp and 620nm of torque which launches you from 0-100kmh in 4 seconds and if you keep your foot in it will reach 323kmh, accompanied by the most gorgeous engine note.
The power is delivered to the rear wheels via the seven-speed Sportshift III automated manual gearbox which I have spoken about before and at the risk of irritating Aston Martin, I still don’t like it.
Yes, it does give the car a unique personality and the feel of its GT racing stablemates and it is fun to use, but for a road car it’s not smooth enough which is a bit of a shame because the handling of what is an extremely agile car is truly impressive.
To drive, this little Aston is pure pleasure, particularly with the roof down when you get the full effect of that engine howl. It gives you a massive adrenalin rush every time you ease your foot down on the accelerator and in sport mode it is absolutely brilliant.
With the orchestral masterpiece emanating from that engine it’s an open-air concert all on its own. When it comes to an emotional driving experience very few cars come close and if it wasn’t for that gearbox it would be perfect.
Rating: 9/10
