Aston Martin announces fastest convertible yet: V12 Vantage S Roadster

The farewell tour continues for Aston Martin’s Vantage.

The British sports car maker announced Tuesday the 2015 V12 Vantage S Roadster, the fastest convertible the company has ever built. A coupe version of the same car was introduced last year.

“The V12 Vantage S Roadster is the mechanical embodiment of this company’s exceptional spirit,” Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s director of design, said in a statement. “I’m sure it will appeal to luxury sports car enthusiasts worldwide who want to add a truly exceptional new model to their garage.”

The new roadster has a 6.0-liter V-12 engine that makes 565 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. The rear-wheel-drive roadster has an automated manual gearbox that helps it roar from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, according to Aston. Top speed will be a hair-losing 201 mph.

A three-mode suspension system will be standard, and the car will have a sport mode that tunes the throttle, gear shifts and frantic V-12 exhaust note. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but tell your accountant to set aside at least $200,000.

The V12 Vantage S Roadster is the latest in a series of variants of the Vantage model that was first introduced with a V-8 engine in 2005. Aston has updated the Vantage several times throughout its lifespan, including adding a V-12 engine to the lineup in 2009.

The automaker recently made waves by introducing the V-8 Vantage GT, a base version of the model that starts at around $100,000 and other swan-song editions will probably be announced this year.

But the Vantage isn’t long for this world. Aston Martin is on the cusp of the next chapter of its products, one that sees it teaming up with Mercedes-Benz parent company, Daimler, to create a new V-8. That power plant will be one of the new engines in the next generation of Aston Martins, which are expected to debut in 2017.

If that’s too long to wait, know that this new V12 Vantage S Roadster is cruising into dealerships now.