The V12 Vantage Roadster: A Mixed Emotion Experience

As I sat behind the wheel of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia wash over me. The car's design and features are undeniably elegant, with its squared-off steering wheel feeling really nice in my hands. The overall aesthetic of the car is stunning, particularly when compared to its predecessors such as the DBS. However, one of the things that initially deterred me from purchasing this new gen car was the overwhelming number of buttons and features on board.

I have always been a fan of simplicity and understatement, and the sheer amount of gimmicky stuff in this car was off-putting to me at first. The V12 badge is a nice touch, but I couldn't help feeling that there's just too much going on. As I drove around, I found myself wondering where certain buttons were located, which took away from my overall driving experience. Of course, as I got to know the car better, I began to appreciate its unique features and design elements.

One of the things that really stood out to me was the sound system. The V12 engine sounds amazing, but it's incredibly quiet at low speeds. To be honest, I think one of the first things I would do if I were in this car is upgrade the exhaust system to make a bit more noise. It's just too quiet, and I found myself missing the soundtrack that I knew was coming.

I have to give credit where credit is due, though - Zen Car Driver made it possible for me to experience the V12 Vantage Roadster in a way that few others have had the pleasure of. They even drove it off the lot with only 20 miles on the clock, which is newer than some of my own new cars! I was impressed by the level of care and attention to detail that they brought to the table.

As I drove around, I couldn't help but think about how this car excels in its role as a grand tourer. It's not a track car, like some of the other Aston Martin models out there. Instead, it's designed to be comfortable and enjoyable on long drives. And that's exactly what it is - cool to drive, with a smooth ride and plenty of power.

I took a moment to appreciate the Vantage Roadster's design features up close, including its gloss black exterior with silver pinstripe details. The color I chose for my car, Zapper Blue, looks immense against the backdrop of my other Aston Martin models - the GT4 and DBS that are still in my collection.

As a final note, I have to say that owning a V12 Vantage Roadster has been a dream of mine for some time now. And while I'm glad I got to experience one in person, I'm not sure if I would have chosen this particular spec as the perfect fit for me. As you know, I love my carbon fiber and big wings - the optional wing on the back of this car was an option that I wouldn't have passed up.

In the end, though, I think I appreciate the elegance of this spec. It's a beautiful color combination that really makes the car stand out. I'll have to admit, I'm a bit envious of Zen Car Driver's new addition - it's truly a stunning piece of automotive art.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi guys I'm shmee hello and welcome back to the channel where today is Supercar delivery day a car that I'm going to be just a little bit envious of later on joining my friend Zen car driver for something brand new now I must confess I'm running a little bit behind time I need to be brief before hopping into the Vantage gt8 to take it out today which means an obnoxiously loud cold start is inbound here at the Museum in the morning with this monster now given I'm such a big fan of limited edition cars things like the GTA they're only 150 of these and also quite like convertibles like the V8 Vantage Roadster up top I'm slightly wondering why I didn't go for one of these new cars and I know I'm going to be rather jealous of Zen car drivers New Edition later on but having joined him for collection day for CLK Black Series having driven his 718 GT4 before I bought mine also his Vantage v600 super rare super limited car this is going to be quite a nice addition to the collection so I think we need to get this started drive on over along the way I want to talk a bit more about how you know about these limited cars how you manage to buy one before they're often even introduced we'll get to all of that in a moment and then of course it's going to be delivery time of Zen car drivers brand new supercar given that time is running pretty tight on me I need to get this unplugged and started obviously we've got the cs1 back here pop this open ever so slightly so I can reach in pull that out then obviously hop into the car before we're going to have a roar of Thunder This thing always sounds truly phenomenal in fact we now have what is it about 11 000 miles on the Odo not bad going right so key in let's start it oh yeah are the Delights of the M25 in the morning the amount of hours spent sitting here although I tell you what thankfully we are at least flowing that is very very beneficial now today's car I realize I haven't actually said what exactly we're going to see so you will find that out soon I promise but when it comes to limited edition cars often you need to be a customer of that brand obviously beforehand you need to be in the know and when you're doing like I am and spending your entire life around cars it would come as no surprise you tend to see the Spy shots you can work it out you can calculate a little bit what the manufacturers are working on like don't be surprised that we've just had the 992 GT3 RS and down the line there'll be a 992.2 gt3rs that comes after a 992.2 GT3 for example don't be surprised that when McLaren launched the facelift of the 720s which is coming soon there will be an LT version in Coupe and spider form that comes later as well this is kind of what you know same with the sf90 when I bought my sf90 I knew that there would be an sf90 vs the only Speciale which we now know is launching white suit so that's why I expect it in the stradale spec with Comfort Seats and soft suspension not the asset of Verano it's a case of kind of taking a logical approach I think a lot of people are surprised after a GT3 that a GT3 RS comes out it's it doesn't take that much of a genius to work it out so once you know that and once you have the relationship with your dealer you express interest in what you think might be coming yes there are curveballs but even when there are curveballs like the Lamborghini Huracan Serato or the Porsche 911 Dakar there are still spy shots test cars torque forums Rumors in the build up and rumors tend to be substantiated if there is a rumor of a car coming there tends to be a reason for it there were rumors of a V8 engine going in the new Ford GT and those were obviously wrong from the start this goes back to logic logic said Ford had to put an Ecoboost V6 tiny little engine in the tight packaging of the GT there was no way they were going to fit a V8 back there ever not not going to happen doesn't fit the brand the marketing the ethos of the car the race story nothing about it so engaged in logic and you could tell that there wasn't that that just wasn't going to be a thing so it's often about that and for me you know go way back even when I ordered my original AMG GTR the GT and the GTS existed and I didn't know what the next version necessarily would be could be a GT Black Series but back then but I actually went to the dealer and said hey I think a GTR is coming from the rumors and spy shots I'd seen of something with a wing looked a little bit like the SLS Black Series based on the GPS and said yeah put an order in you never know um same with the Amira I ordered the Amira a long time ago knowing that a new generation Lotus car was coming it was like yeah let's go for it let's do it so that's what it often comes down to you know in the Ferrari World and the Porsche world if you're a vbb VIP customer you're going to be at the front of the queue for any of those new models that come out any of the new limited editions but you can as a an Enthusiast have a bit of an idea of what's coming and I guess increase your chances if I can say it like that you know go way back here when I had a McLaren 12C I knew that the 675 LT was coming I knew that a track version not an LT and not a 675 I knew that a track version of the 12 C was going to come the 650s had already launched so it was part of the kind of process in my mind was I know I would like a 675 LT let's go buy a 650s let's make this you know a conversation with the dealer let's have that open discussion and obviously I got a 675 LT then a 675 LT spider same with the center I heard rumors that the next ultimate series McLaren after the P1 was going to be very track focused codename p15 actually sent a letter saying hey I'm very interested in a p15 please let me know more when it comes along so that's how this world really works the guy in front just totally squeezed it with no indicator Taxi Driver should know better anyway the um the process is one that when you know it you know it and it works so I have to be honest I did have the opportunity to buy the car that we're going to see today in fact I did also have the opportunity to buy the coupe version you've probably been able to work out it's a spider from what I said earlier or a roadster even so I can't feel too bad because I passed the opportunity initially but it is cool and once we've made our way around through this now a little bit of traffic on the M25 we will get to hwm in Walton on Thames and we will get to see this new car I'm not even sure if I've seen one myself up to this point actually doesn't this thing sound ridiculous actually let's drop it to third gear while we're going 50 something miles an hour we'll get there and we'll see it all in detail I am not in the remotest bit surprised to tell you that I'm now in a traffic jam this is part of the M25 as you head around towards the Southwest it's always a bit of a disaster and today is no exception uh yeah let's hope this isn't too long I just can't just that I am as I said a bit behind when I'm supposed to have arrive so I thank everybody who is there ready for their patience to let me catch up fingers crossed I've not been too much of an inconvenience but thankfully less than half an hour or so to go it is always better to be late than never here we are at hwm Aston Martin Walton on Thames pulling in then to go find the entire crew work out where to put this car kind of lacking parking spaces and then we'll go and uh check things out foreign and the gt8 is looking fabulous in the beautiful weather today but we've arrived at hwi Master Martin Walton on Thames we're going to be heading in to the delivery room in just a second but I want to point out there is a valkyrie under a cover in the showroom there plus plenty of other very nice cars around this is Zen car drivers 765 LT spider 10765 of course with a very nice paint Scheme we have a Porsche 718 spider just there rather a fan of those AMG GTR behind bath my friend there with the 992 GT3 lots of lots of lovely cars but let's head straight on in straight inside then and this is the car of the day you can possibly tell already what we're about to see but before the covers come back drawing your attention to this right here Zen car drivers v600 one of seven I've experienced driving this car V12 engine subtle hint V12 engine of course the ultimate ultimate you could say of the old Vantage platform the lost special version from Aston Martin's Q division so many nods to the old Vantage v600 the openings you can see the shape of The Grille such a cool thing with the dog leg manual gearbox inside here as well and quite the experience when I was fortunate enough to find myself behind the wheel of this car not all that long ago but we are here of course to see this so let's prepare to have the covers pulled back and reveal the new car I think we should take a very quick sneak peek at the color underneath here look at this anything blue wins in my book right covers off time let's do this then the full reveal of Zen car drivers Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster limited to 249 cars this stunning example is finished in zapper blue you'll see all the Chrome and silver accents and trims that it has all around the diamond turned wheels of course being a roadster let's have the roof opened you can see inside the silver Stitch to contrast against the black leather it's a match with those details on the exterior as well let me step back just so we can see it rotating around in front of us matching plates to the v600 look at this one of only 249 as I said super rare super limited and this car in a very very elegant specification for the model this dark or deep royal blue paint very similar to the cobalt blue of my gt8 with those silver details you'll notice with all of the gloss black painted sections as well and not wearing that carbon fiber front Bonnet that is also an option or either the wing that you can opt to have on the rear of the car as well but in a moment we're going to get this started and take it on outside to go join the Convoy with all the cars to head over to a little stop checkpoint if you will in just a moment it is time to pull the cars out goodness me the v600 sounds amazing that was a 42 starts I've obviously aston's famous six liter V12 naturally aspirated V12 in here of course the V12 Vantage of the new generation has the 5.2 liter twin turbo that we know from the dv11 DBS Etc more powerful obviously more efficient but not as raw and brutal as this that is a completely different level that sounded amazing genuinely special car cue badge on the side that sounds awesome I forgot how it sounded and the new car starts up the exhaust tailpipes are right on the center down at the bottom but obviously this will now come outside as well to join the v600 so let me step back out here lovely day actually with the sun poking through and look at this car zapper blue emerging into the daylight these two are really cool together like really really cool it's a huge thanks to guy from hwm here he's looked after Zen car driver with the purchase of these cars but also for the help with the video today as well a quick spontaneous GTH shoot so start this one up I need to turn it around to be facing the other way so let me see if I can do that here carefully does it with a lot of astons and very nice cars right around me the thing with this is such a heavy raw old school type experience and bang on cue we now have two gt8s side by side a few friends have turned up for today for the delivery day and for the drive out that we're going to go for in just a moment well I think the advanced party has just left and I don't entirely know which way we're going oh we've got the music there no that one turn that off for the moment and try and figure out if we can catch up with them um like I say I don't really know what we're doing where we're going how this is going to play out other than I think it's this way well the good news is that we've managed to catch up with the others so I am now following the b600 and in front of that is the new V12 Vantage Roadster and I'm in my gt8 and there's another gt8 right behind me as Limited limited Aston convoys go short of having a valkyrie or something involved this is pretty spectacular in fact as Vantage limited edition convoys go this is as good as you can get this is literally crazy with the v600 and I enjoy driving that car so much it's very expensive it makes on paper very little sense but there's such an emotional thing Behind these cars that on paper you can't really explain even this car itself the fact is it's quite an old school kind of out of date not particularly light despite having a carbon fiber body not particularly powerful despite having a big V8 but it doesn't really make any kind of downside to the car it's not about that it's about the fact that you have to work at it you have to work to get these shifts right and when you get them right you get back on the throttle it does that and it's it's just a smile on your face smile for mild Factor if you will it's not quantifiable like an acceleration 0 to 60 or a quarter mile time but the smile to mile figure if you could give it a figure like this would be just absolutely stratospheric that's the thing with these cars that's what makes them so fun and the community around them as well the people who are here and driving their cars today just the icing on the cake every time it's so much fun especially with the GTA Club outings when we get together with like 10 or 20 of these together it's just ridiculous totally totally absurd so we'll get out of town go find some roads where we can do more of this you genuinely won't believe this but about 10 cars ahead of me in traffic completely coincidentally is a glacial blue V8 Vantage Roadster that's not mine I can see it way up there in the traffic maybe it's only about five cars ahead it just pulled out and joined us there aren't that many of those and there's one of them up in front of us that match is mine I'm itching to try and get closer to that like I would really like to see that car up close it's probably a 4.3 most of the glacial blue cars were 4.3s rather than the 4.7 the facelift like mine and there are a few giveaways like the wheels and the number of slats on the grill and some small things like that but uh yeah that's cool that's completely random I love moments like that you're driving with four astons and then another very nice ass and just joins you randomly why not a there it goes Navy roof oh I can't see it it's gone it's gone maybe we'll be able to catch up further down but now it's disappearing off into the distance you'll just have to believe me and then believe it or not there's a 650s spider and we're still with the barn to Jump Ahead oh it's turned off now oh well I'll never get to see it closely it's those fun things isn't it I mean the V8 voluntage roads there's like a 14 50 000 pound car yeah completely gone that away but I don't know you're immediately drawn to things that match with what you have anyway we'll continue this way the Kia Sportage probably has no idea what's going on stuck in an Aston Convoy that's a nice color on the Fiat 500s I've always quite like that blue clearly blue cars um sold right it's easy um but let's get out of this space well we finally have a bit of dual carriageway which means the cars can go by I'm taking it easy because I just want to enjoy some sounds taking it easy taking it very very easy v600 oh yes gt8 Oh my days and Speciale what a cool set of sounds love that now I'm gonna be very cheeky and skip my way back through oh when you drop it down a gear and here it's just so good yes oh what a cool day what a cool day all of the noise Unleashed oh this car is just stupid it's so stupid it's so epically stupid what you want a car to do you're going 40 miles per hour and it sounds like that drop it down to first gear I mean come on this is like Automotive awesomeness oh Dino lovely lovely lovely all my days we've pulled in for a moment parked up the cars and I am going to take this for a little run I have the keys borrowed from Zen Car Driver to go and experience the new V12 Vantage Roadster for myself first time of course driving in one of these so let me just take a seat inside obviously brand new which means running in I mean even at this point we've got 21 miles on the odometer but let's just start it up all right there we go into rear custom a little bit obviously we've got the different driving settings this is where you go Sport Plus turned it up into track and you get some lovely B12 sounds but we'll take it for a short little run let's see what this is like this is the V12 Vantage Roadster then so let's head very carefully out of here because of course this is quite a low car and there's a v600 and there's my gt8 but this is an area with some very nice roads and the perfect place if we don't have too many roadworks to experience something like this and I tell you what that's initial sound in the cabin is really nice I don't know how much of that you could hear but it's a really really cool sound so in here you start driving either with drive for auto or if you pull a paddle manually you'll be a manual on the 8-speed Auto gearbox a little bit of roadworks but hopefully not for too long before we're in Sport Plus at the moment so things are a little bit more lively straight away and drop it down manual second gear because who doesn't want to hear some of that engine sound obviously very conscious that this is a brand new car being run in so I can't absolutely boot it around tell you what though it feels nice and it looks phenomenal there's something about driving like a limited edition more track focused car that's open for the elements inside feels pretty calm there's a bit of a deflector window back there between buttresses behind my head it's getting a little bit of customs and familiar with it obviously first time driving a V12 Vantage new generation on video my dad used to have an old jet V12 Vantage actually one of the original 1300 or so manual cars that Aston Martin had made back in was around 2010 that they were introduced before they then made the Vito Advantage s and made a lot more of them ultimately down the line but there's still not actually that many still a pretty rare car obviously for this generation there are is it 350 Coupes and 250 roadsters in total as we've found some puddles welcome to England it's been raining a lot recently so the roads are all very wet and greasy that's a cool sound without even being full on the throttle it's a really cool noise that this makes rides pretty well quite firm but not crazy and this is in the what setting are we in that was in the softest setting okay as soon as you turn it into Sport Plus and then track mode yeah then it gets really really fun I definitely want that back please in normal sport mode sport mode is the base mode Sport Plus on the gearbox obviously I'm in manual override on the paddles um I'd love to rev it all the way out but not with 20 miles on the Odo there's a time and a place and it's not in a brand new car that still needs to be running for a good few hundred miles inside one of the things I've always felt about the Vantage is that there's an overload of buttons there's so much gimmicky stuff in here if I can say and that's one of the things that deterred me from this new gen car in the first place just looking around like where is the button you want to press the V12 badge at the center is quite nice so we're now back into National speed limit 4 000 RPM that's all we're gonna get out of it right now so that was one of the things inside I love the squared off steering wheel feels really nice I think the car looks amazing at first I thought it was again a bit like inside a bit gimmicky but I kind of grown to it so like I say I kind of passed on the opportunity for one of these could have done it felt like it very expensive car I felt perhaps too expensive for what it is and I didn't really want to lose any of my older astons obviously I have recently sold the DBS but I didn't want to sell the gt8 or my V8 planted Roadster and couldn't really justify three advantages in the garage you know what I mean on that front this is weird we've got wet roads and the Sunshine out and I forgot to bring my sunglasses oh well yes I'd like a bit more noise out of this I think one of the first things I would do would be an exhaust to be honest because it's very quiet it's very very quiet but I actually can't thank Zen Car Driver enough because I'm driving this on collection day I think when I drove the GT4 it only had about 30 miles on the clock and now I'm driving this with only 20 on the clock that's newer even than some of my own new cars when I've driven them which is actually quite funny to think about I think you have to go into this and this is something that everyone got wrong with the DBS as well as a slightly more Dynamic but still comfy GT car not a track car not like a McLaren track car is or like well many other brands to be honest it's not hardcore and uncomfortable and ridiculous it's still pretty nice to drive they're popping back into driving just woofed along Cruise along because that's where I think this kind of excels right now this is cool to drive this on day one mixed emotions I think it's a cool car and a way out of love to have had one but I'm not kicking and screaming and thinking like sometimes I wish I had done it I'm not feeling like that right now obviously need to drive it harder when it's fully running and get the full experience parked back up after the drive then in this the V12 Vantage Roadster having this car next to the v600 coupe my gt8 around the corner the GT3 just behind you guys plus the other gt8 and special alley just departed by the way and the Sounders they set off was Mega but how cool to drive this literally on collection day with only 21 miles on the odometer to experience the V12 Vantage Roadster and I tell you what this is quite a different spec to what I would choose as you guys know I love my carbon fiber I love big wings I would have the optional wing on the back you can also have this whole upper section of the Bonnet of the hood in exposed carbon as well and all of the other accents but I truly appreciate the Elegance of this spec the gloss black with those Q silver pinstripe details even the silver that you have running up the a-pillars on the windscreen surround as well and this color the zapper blue truly suits it it looks immense in fact these two cars together both very different forms of V12 engine Aston Martin Vantage both very very cool cars in Zen car drivers collection so a huge thanks to Zen Car Driver do go and follow if you don't already over on Instagram and of course also to guy and the team from hwo Aston Martin in Walton on Thames for setting up today for hosting the day and for making it possible to be part of it all as well for now for me I'm going to hop back in the GTA to head back onwards to this Museum I've enjoyed this drive experiencing it of course in a way I'm very envious I'm very jealous it is a beautiful car the Zen Car Driver now owns I slightly feel I missed out by not doing it but hey there are lots of cars in this world that are amazing and it's not possible to buy them all not yet at least anyway that's it for this time thank you very much for watching guys thank you very much for your support and I'll see you again very soon cheershi guys I'm shmee hello and welcome back to the channel where today is Supercar delivery day a car that I'm going to be just a little bit envious of later on joining my friend Zen car driver for something brand new now I must confess I'm running a little bit behind time I need to be brief before hopping into the Vantage gt8 to take it out today which means an obnoxiously loud cold start is inbound here at the Museum in the morning with this monster now given I'm such a big fan of limited edition cars things like the GTA they're only 150 of these and also quite like convertibles like the V8 Vantage Roadster up top I'm slightly wondering why I didn't go for one of these new cars and I know I'm going to be rather jealous of Zen car drivers New Edition later on but having joined him for collection day for CLK Black Series having driven his 718 GT4 before I bought mine also his Vantage v600 super rare super limited car this is going to be quite a nice addition to the collection so I think we need to get this started drive on over along the way I want to talk a bit more about how you know about these limited cars how you manage to buy one before they're often even introduced we'll get to all of that in a moment and then of course it's going to be delivery time of Zen car drivers brand new supercar given that time is running pretty tight on me I need to get this unplugged and started obviously we've got the cs1 back here pop this open ever so slightly so I can reach in pull that out then obviously hop into the car before we're going to have a roar of Thunder This thing always sounds truly phenomenal in fact we now have what is it about 11 000 miles on the Odo not bad going right so key in let's start it oh yeah are the Delights of the M25 in the morning the amount of hours spent sitting here although I tell you what thankfully we are at least flowing that is very very beneficial now today's car I realize I haven't actually said what exactly we're going to see so you will find that out soon I promise but when it comes to limited edition cars often you need to be a customer of that brand obviously beforehand you need to be in the know and when you're doing like I am and spending your entire life around cars it would come as no surprise you tend to see the Spy shots you can work it out you can calculate a little bit what the manufacturers are working on like don't be surprised that we've just had the 992 GT3 RS and down the line there'll be a 992.2 gt3rs that comes after a 992.2 GT3 for example don't be surprised that when McLaren launched the facelift of the 720s which is coming soon there will be an LT version in Coupe and spider form that comes later as well this is kind of what you know same with the sf90 when I bought my sf90 I knew that there would be an sf90 vs the only Speciale which we now know is launching white suit so that's why I expect it in the stradale spec with Comfort Seats and soft suspension not the asset of Verano it's a case of kind of taking a logical approach I think a lot of people are surprised after a GT3 that a GT3 RS comes out it's it doesn't take that much of a genius to work it out so once you know that and once you have the relationship with your dealer you express interest in what you think might be coming yes there are curveballs but even when there are curveballs like the Lamborghini Huracan Serato or the Porsche 911 Dakar there are still spy shots test cars torque forums Rumors in the build up and rumors tend to be substantiated if there is a rumor of a car coming there tends to be a reason for it there were rumors of a V8 engine going in the new Ford GT and those were obviously wrong from the start this goes back to logic logic said Ford had to put an Ecoboost V6 tiny little engine in the tight packaging of the GT there was no way they were going to fit a V8 back there ever not not going to happen doesn't fit the brand the marketing the ethos of the car the race story nothing about it so engaged in logic and you could tell that there wasn't that that just wasn't going to be a thing so it's often about that and for me you know go way back even when I ordered my original AMG GTR the GT and the GTS existed and I didn't know what the next version necessarily would be could be a GT Black Series but back then but I actually went to the dealer and said hey I think a GTR is coming from the rumors and spy shots I'd seen of something with a wing looked a little bit like the SLS Black Series based on the GPS and said yeah put an order in you never know um same with the Amira I ordered the Amira a long time ago knowing that a new generation Lotus car was coming it was like yeah let's go for it let's do it so that's what it often comes down to you know in the Ferrari World and the Porsche world if you're a vbb VIP customer you're going to be at the front of the queue for any of those new models that come out any of the new limited editions but you can as a an Enthusiast have a bit of an idea of what's coming and I guess increase your chances if I can say it like that you know go way back here when I had a McLaren 12C I knew that the 675 LT was coming I knew that a track version not an LT and not a 675 I knew that a track version of the 12 C was going to come the 650s had already launched so it was part of the kind of process in my mind was I know I would like a 675 LT let's go buy a 650s let's make this you know a conversation with the dealer let's have that open discussion and obviously I got a 675 LT then a 675 LT spider same with the center I heard rumors that the next ultimate series McLaren after the P1 was going to be very track focused codename p15 actually sent a letter saying hey I'm very interested in a p15 please let me know more when it comes along so that's how this world really works the guy in front just totally squeezed it with no indicator Taxi Driver should know better anyway the um the process is one that when you know it you know it and it works so I have to be honest I did have the opportunity to buy the car that we're going to see today in fact I did also have the opportunity to buy the coupe version you've probably been able to work out it's a spider from what I said earlier or a roadster even so I can't feel too bad because I passed the opportunity initially but it is cool and once we've made our way around through this now a little bit of traffic on the M25 we will get to hwm in Walton on Thames and we will get to see this new car I'm not even sure if I've seen one myself up to this point actually doesn't this thing sound ridiculous actually let's drop it to third gear while we're going 50 something miles an hour we'll get there and we'll see it all in detail I am not in the remotest bit surprised to tell you that I'm now in a traffic jam this is part of the M25 as you head around towards the Southwest it's always a bit of a disaster and today is no exception uh yeah let's hope this isn't too long I just can't just that I am as I said a bit behind when I'm supposed to have arrive so I thank everybody who is there ready for their patience to let me catch up fingers crossed I've not been too much of an inconvenience but thankfully less than half an hour or so to go it is always better to be late than never here we are at hwm Aston Martin Walton on Thames pulling in then to go find the entire crew work out where to put this car kind of lacking parking spaces and then we'll go and uh check things out foreign and the gt8 is looking fabulous in the beautiful weather today but we've arrived at hwi Master Martin Walton on Thames we're going to be heading in to the delivery room in just a second but I want to point out there is a valkyrie under a cover in the showroom there plus plenty of other very nice cars around this is Zen car drivers 765 LT spider 10765 of course with a very nice paint Scheme we have a Porsche 718 spider just there rather a fan of those AMG GTR behind bath my friend there with the 992 GT3 lots of lots of lovely cars but let's head straight on in straight inside then and this is the car of the day you can possibly tell already what we're about to see but before the covers come back drawing your attention to this right here Zen car drivers v600 one of seven I've experienced driving this car V12 engine subtle hint V12 engine of course the ultimate ultimate you could say of the old Vantage platform the lost special version from Aston Martin's Q division so many nods to the old Vantage v600 the openings you can see the shape of The Grille such a cool thing with the dog leg manual gearbox inside here as well and quite the experience when I was fortunate enough to find myself behind the wheel of this car not all that long ago but we are here of course to see this so let's prepare to have the covers pulled back and reveal the new car I think we should take a very quick sneak peek at the color underneath here look at this anything blue wins in my book right covers off time let's do this then the full reveal of Zen car drivers Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster limited to 249 cars this stunning example is finished in zapper blue you'll see all the Chrome and silver accents and trims that it has all around the diamond turned wheels of course being a roadster let's have the roof opened you can see inside the silver Stitch to contrast against the black leather it's a match with those details on the exterior as well let me step back just so we can see it rotating around in front of us matching plates to the v600 look at this one of only 249 as I said super rare super limited and this car in a very very elegant specification for the model this dark or deep royal blue paint very similar to the cobalt blue of my gt8 with those silver details you'll notice with all of the gloss black painted sections as well and not wearing that carbon fiber front Bonnet that is also an option or either the wing that you can opt to have on the rear of the car as well but in a moment we're going to get this started and take it on outside to go join the Convoy with all the cars to head over to a little stop checkpoint if you will in just a moment it is time to pull the cars out goodness me the v600 sounds amazing that was a 42 starts I've obviously aston's famous six liter V12 naturally aspirated V12 in here of course the V12 Vantage of the new generation has the 5.2 liter twin turbo that we know from the dv11 DBS Etc more powerful obviously more efficient but not as raw and brutal as this that is a completely different level that sounded amazing genuinely special car cue badge on the side that sounds awesome I forgot how it sounded and the new car starts up the exhaust tailpipes are right on the center down at the bottom but obviously this will now come outside as well to join the v600 so let me step back out here lovely day actually with the sun poking through and look at this car zapper blue emerging into the daylight these two are really cool together like really really cool it's a huge thanks to guy from hwm here he's looked after Zen car driver with the purchase of these cars but also for the help with the video today as well a quick spontaneous GTH shoot so start this one up I need to turn it around to be facing the other way so let me see if I can do that here carefully does it with a lot of astons and very nice cars right around me the thing with this is such a heavy raw old school type experience and bang on cue we now have two gt8s side by side a few friends have turned up for today for the delivery day and for the drive out that we're going to go for in just a moment well I think the advanced party has just left and I don't entirely know which way we're going oh we've got the music there no that one turn that off for the moment and try and figure out if we can catch up with them um like I say I don't really know what we're doing where we're going how this is going to play out other than I think it's this way well the good news is that we've managed to catch up with the others so I am now following the b600 and in front of that is the new V12 Vantage Roadster and I'm in my gt8 and there's another gt8 right behind me as Limited limited Aston convoys go short of having a valkyrie or something involved this is pretty spectacular in fact as Vantage limited edition convoys go this is as good as you can get this is literally crazy with the v600 and I enjoy driving that car so much it's very expensive it makes on paper very little sense but there's such an emotional thing Behind these cars that on paper you can't really explain even this car itself the fact is it's quite an old school kind of out of date not particularly light despite having a carbon fiber body not particularly powerful despite having a big V8 but it doesn't really make any kind of downside to the car it's not about that it's about the fact that you have to work at it you have to work to get these shifts right and when you get them right you get back on the throttle it does that and it's it's just a smile on your face smile for mild Factor if you will it's not quantifiable like an acceleration 0 to 60 or a quarter mile time but the smile to mile figure if you could give it a figure like this would be just absolutely stratospheric that's the thing with these cars that's what makes them so fun and the community around them as well the people who are here and driving their cars today just the icing on the cake every time it's so much fun especially with the GTA Club outings when we get together with like 10 or 20 of these together it's just ridiculous totally totally absurd so we'll get out of town go find some roads where we can do more of this you genuinely won't believe this but about 10 cars ahead of me in traffic completely coincidentally is a glacial blue V8 Vantage Roadster that's not mine I can see it way up there in the traffic maybe it's only about five cars ahead it just pulled out and joined us there aren't that many of those and there's one of them up in front of us that match is mine I'm itching to try and get closer to that like I would really like to see that car up close it's probably a 4.3 most of the glacial blue cars were 4.3s rather than the 4.7 the facelift like mine and there are a few giveaways like the wheels and the number of slats on the grill and some small things like that but uh yeah that's cool that's completely random I love moments like that you're driving with four astons and then another very nice ass and just joins you randomly why not a there it goes Navy roof oh I can't see it it's gone it's gone maybe we'll be able to catch up further down but now it's disappearing off into the distance you'll just have to believe me and then believe it or not there's a 650s spider and we're still with the barn to Jump Ahead oh it's turned off now oh well I'll never get to see it closely it's those fun things isn't it I mean the V8 voluntage roads there's like a 14 50 000 pound car yeah completely gone that away but I don't know you're immediately drawn to things that match with what you have anyway we'll continue this way the Kia Sportage probably has no idea what's going on stuck in an Aston Convoy that's a nice color on the Fiat 500s I've always quite like that blue clearly blue cars um sold right it's easy um but let's get out of this space well we finally have a bit of dual carriageway which means the cars can go by I'm taking it easy because I just want to enjoy some sounds taking it easy taking it very very easy v600 oh yes gt8 Oh my days and Speciale what a cool set of sounds love that now I'm gonna be very cheeky and skip my way back through oh when you drop it down a gear and here it's just so good yes oh what a cool day what a cool day all of the noise Unleashed oh this car is just stupid it's so stupid it's so epically stupid what you want a car to do you're going 40 miles per hour and it sounds like that drop it down to first gear I mean come on this is like Automotive awesomeness oh Dino lovely lovely lovely all my days we've pulled in for a moment parked up the cars and I am going to take this for a little run I have the keys borrowed from Zen Car Driver to go and experience the new V12 Vantage Roadster for myself first time of course driving in one of these so let me just take a seat inside obviously brand new which means running in I mean even at this point we've got 21 miles on the odometer but let's just start it up all right there we go into rear custom a little bit obviously we've got the different driving settings this is where you go Sport Plus turned it up into track and you get some lovely B12 sounds but we'll take it for a short little run let's see what this is like this is the V12 Vantage Roadster then so let's head very carefully out of here because of course this is quite a low car and there's a v600 and there's my gt8 but this is an area with some very nice roads and the perfect place if we don't have too many roadworks to experience something like this and I tell you what that's initial sound in the cabin is really nice I don't know how much of that you could hear but it's a really really cool sound so in here you start driving either with drive for auto or if you pull a paddle manually you'll be a manual on the 8-speed Auto gearbox a little bit of roadworks but hopefully not for too long before we're in Sport Plus at the moment so things are a little bit more lively straight away and drop it down manual second gear because who doesn't want to hear some of that engine sound obviously very conscious that this is a brand new car being run in so I can't absolutely boot it around tell you what though it feels nice and it looks phenomenal there's something about driving like a limited edition more track focused car that's open for the elements inside feels pretty calm there's a bit of a deflector window back there between buttresses behind my head it's getting a little bit of customs and familiar with it obviously first time driving a V12 Vantage new generation on video my dad used to have an old jet V12 Vantage actually one of the original 1300 or so manual cars that Aston Martin had made back in was around 2010 that they were introduced before they then made the Vito Advantage s and made a lot more of them ultimately down the line but there's still not actually that many still a pretty rare car obviously for this generation there are is it 350 Coupes and 250 roadsters in total as we've found some puddles welcome to England it's been raining a lot recently so the roads are all very wet and greasy that's a cool sound without even being full on the throttle it's a really cool noise that this makes rides pretty well quite firm but not crazy and this is in the what setting are we in that was in the softest setting okay as soon as you turn it into Sport Plus and then track mode yeah then it gets really really fun I definitely want that back please in normal sport mode sport mode is the base mode Sport Plus on the gearbox obviously I'm in manual override on the paddles um I'd love to rev it all the way out but not with 20 miles on the Odo there's a time and a place and it's not in a brand new car that still needs to be running for a good few hundred miles inside one of the things I've always felt about the Vantage is that there's an overload of buttons there's so much gimmicky stuff in here if I can say and that's one of the things that deterred me from this new gen car in the first place just looking around like where is the button you want to press the V12 badge at the center is quite nice so we're now back into National speed limit 4 000 RPM that's all we're gonna get out of it right now so that was one of the things inside I love the squared off steering wheel feels really nice I think the car looks amazing at first I thought it was again a bit like inside a bit gimmicky but I kind of grown to it so like I say I kind of passed on the opportunity for one of these could have done it felt like it very expensive car I felt perhaps too expensive for what it is and I didn't really want to lose any of my older astons obviously I have recently sold the DBS but I didn't want to sell the gt8 or my V8 planted Roadster and couldn't really justify three advantages in the garage you know what I mean on that front this is weird we've got wet roads and the Sunshine out and I forgot to bring my sunglasses oh well yes I'd like a bit more noise out of this I think one of the first things I would do would be an exhaust to be honest because it's very quiet it's very very quiet but I actually can't thank Zen Car Driver enough because I'm driving this on collection day I think when I drove the GT4 it only had about 30 miles on the clock and now I'm driving this with only 20 on the clock that's newer even than some of my own new cars when I've driven them which is actually quite funny to think about I think you have to go into this and this is something that everyone got wrong with the DBS as well as a slightly more Dynamic but still comfy GT car not a track car not like a McLaren track car is or like well many other brands to be honest it's not hardcore and uncomfortable and ridiculous it's still pretty nice to drive they're popping back into driving just woofed along Cruise along because that's where I think this kind of excels right now this is cool to drive this on day one mixed emotions I think it's a cool car and a way out of love to have had one but I'm not kicking and screaming and thinking like sometimes I wish I had done it I'm not feeling like that right now obviously need to drive it harder when it's fully running and get the full experience parked back up after the drive then in this the V12 Vantage Roadster having this car next to the v600 coupe my gt8 around the corner the GT3 just behind you guys plus the other gt8 and special alley just departed by the way and the Sounders they set off was Mega but how cool to drive this literally on collection day with only 21 miles on the odometer to experience the V12 Vantage Roadster and I tell you what this is quite a different spec to what I would choose as you guys know I love my carbon fiber I love big wings I would have the optional wing on the back you can also have this whole upper section of the Bonnet of the hood in exposed carbon as well and all of the other accents but I truly appreciate the Elegance of this spec the gloss black with those Q silver pinstripe details even the silver that you have running up the a-pillars on the windscreen surround as well and this color the zapper blue truly suits it it looks immense in fact these two cars together both very different forms of V12 engine Aston Martin Vantage both very very cool cars in Zen car drivers collection so a huge thanks to Zen Car Driver do go and follow if you don't already over on Instagram and of course also to guy and the team from hwo Aston Martin in Walton on Thames for setting up today for hosting the day and for making it possible to be part of it all as well for now for me I'm going to hop back in the GTA to head back onwards to this Museum I've enjoyed this drive experiencing it of course in a way I'm very envious I'm very jealous it is a beautiful car the Zen Car Driver now owns I slightly feel I missed out by not doing it but hey there are lots of cars in this world that are amazing and it's not possible to buy them all not yet at least anyway that's it for this time thank you very much for watching guys thank you very much for your support and I'll see you again very soon cheers\n"