2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster

Subtlety and patience are blessed by many yet shunned by others; it is this latter group for whom Aston Martin's V-12 Vantage S exist. Aston's CEO, Ulrich Bez, who knows his way around the Nurburgring's Nordschleife, calls the S 'extreme in its nature' and 'brutal.' He points out it is not a car to drive from New York to San Diego. Unless, that is, you are stopping at Watkins Glen, VIR, Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca along the way.

Aston's Vantage S certainly looks the part, despite the age of its basic bones, ready to pounce with its wide stance and pronounced rear wheel arches. New for the Vantage S is a carbon-fiber grille inset. Arrayed across the hood are extensive vents for the V-12, accented in optional red-tinted carbon fiber. Inside are a driver-oriented cockpit and a tall center stack with two important buttons: one for adjusting steering response and setting the adaptive damping to Normal, Sport, or Track mode; and a second that toggles a Sport mode for quicker throttle response and shifts, in addition to a throatier growl out back.

That growl is generated by the V-12, a carry-over from the days when Ford owned Aston, now shucked of all its FoMoCo roots, save the rods and the pistons. Aston rates in AM28 V-12 at 573 horsepower and 620 lb-ft of torque. Sixty mph comes up in an estimated 3.7 seconds, with an ethereal 205-mph terminal velocity.