By Dan Neil

Last month researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, announced they had discovered a new color, a supersaturated blue-green outside the range of human color perception. To see it, test subjects had to have special lasers aimed at their retinas. I know an easier way.

"You get the blue one," said the Aston Martin representative, pointing at the ravishing Vantage Roadster parked in front of the hotel in Palm Springs, Calif. A convertible version of the redesigned Coupe, the Roadster debuts three color schemes, one of which -- Satin Iridescent Sapphire -- infuses the carbon-fiber body panels with a hitherto undreamt, scarcely believable shade of teal, its polarized highlights shifting from indigo to forest-green in the brilliant sun like the chromatophores of the world's sexiest octopus.

"I will endeavor to return it unblemished," I said, and I meant it.

It wouldn't be easy. The Roadster is every bit as fast (202 mph), quick (0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds), audacious and bodacious as the Coupe. Behind that catfish smile, the company's twin-turbo 4.0-liter DOHC V8 now discharges a drama-drenched 656 hp and 590 lb-ft -- 153 hp and 85 lb-ft more than the previous Vantage Roadster -- thanks to larger turbochargers, revised camshaft profiles, optimized compression ratio and upgraded fueling and cooling.

This emotional ordnance is loaded into a rear-mounted eight-speed automatic transmission (a transaxle, properly) and fired through an electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential.

The sound is pretty blue, too: at idle, a deep, husky, almost yacht-like resonance. On the street -- banging off the 6,000 rpm rev limiter between the lights -- the engine note is breathtaking, savage, masculine, maleficent. Do you like gladiator movies, Billy?

The Roadster also enjoys the services of what Aston Martin bills as the fastest "fully automatic deployable roof mechanism" on the market, a Z-folding, eight-ply fabric top that cycles in 6.8 seconds, up or down, at speeds up to 31 mph. Watch your fingers.

I had the use of the Blue One for 48 hours, in and around Palm Springs, which was in the midst of its weekly street fair. I would have to avoid crowds, lest anyone dive into the car, thinking it was a passing swimming pool.

And, candidly, for a man of my age and grooming to rumble through downtown Palm Springs alone in a drop-top Aston Martin the color of Superman's eyes...Well, it suggests I'm looking for a party. If anything, I'm just looking for a bathroom.

Not wanting to break hearts, I spent my time far out in the desert, barreling down lonely roads, bug-eyed and white-knuckled, scourging myself with the lash of acceleration like an obsessed penitent. My God, what have they done?

And when I say "they," I mean Lawrence Stroll, the Canadian billionaire who in 2020 became executive chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda and who is also the supremo of the brand's F1 team. Stroll's ambitions would put the brand on the top shelf of superluxury/performance consideration, next to Rolls-Royce and Bugatti. To do that, Aston Martin had to stop making excuses for its cars' performance relative to its peers -- they're faster but we're better bred, etc. -- and start making properly fast cars. I think they can tick that box now.

If I had to put a word to the Stroll Era cars it would be "completeness" -- roughly analogous with "investment." Of course Aston Martins had multimodal traction and stability software before, but those systems didn't feel particularly well-sorted in the heat of action, in a way that suggested insufficient validation and time in testing.

The new Roadster's suite of dial-able differentiables is a tour-de-force. The Active Vehicle Dynamics system combines "Integrated Brake Slip Control $(IBC.AU)$; Integrated Traction Control (ITC); Integrated Vehicle Control $(IVC.AU)$; and Integrated Vehicle Dynamics Estimation $(IVE)$" into a single, CAN BUS-connected nervous system, innervating a chassis of unequal-length double wishbones at the front; multi-link suspension in the rear; with coil springs and Bilstein DTX active/adaptive dampers all around.

Fitting but barely behind the front wheels are 400 mm steel (or optional 410 mm carbon-ceramic) front discs clamped by six-pot calipers. Got chassis?

The algorithms also include the superbike-like Advanced Traction Control. Designed for track-day use, this feature offers drivers eight levels of vehicle control intervention. "The lower the number the greater the level of intervention," the press release explains.

That was a bit fiddly for me. I simply swept the dial to Sport mode and pointed it toward the distant wind turbines. If the car's so smart, let it do the work.

And, brother, did it: Taut but limber, forgiving but full of intent, the parametrized Roadster ripped effortlessly from corner to corner, deriving a madness of lateral grip from the bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tires. Like the Coupe, the Roadster's steering column has a rigid -- "non-isolated" -- connection to the steering rack, allowing more feedback to reach the driver's hands, to be correlated with the driver's arse and other on-board computers.

As I shifted my guts around in the deeply bolstered, firmly padded sport seats, I figured I must be hitting the limits, here and there. Why does it feel like I'm a driving genius?

Aston Martins also had infotainment systems and other tech-amenities before Stroll. But none were particularly fresh, clever or unique to the brand. The Stroll Era cars feature the strikingly contemporary banked center console, designed in-house, studded with aviation-quality switches for cabin comfort and vehicle control. Meanwhile, Aston Martin's telematics have gone from worst to first. Earlier this month, the company announced it would be the first brand to offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra, the next generation of the ubiquitous phone-car interface. That must have been a big check to write.

Corners are kind of scarce around Palms Springs but long straight roads to nowhere are plentiful. Holding the Roadster at full chat is a formidable experience, and I'm not just talking about windburn. All too soon, common sense and fear of the law brings you down.

That's nobody's favorite shade of blue.

2025 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster

MSRP $205,000 to $210,000 (est.)

Price, as tested $300,000 (est.)

Powertrain dual-turbocharged direct-injection 4.0-liter DOHC V8 with variable valve timing; eight-speed automatic transmission, rear-mounted (transaxle); electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential, RWD

Horsepower/torque 656 hp at 6,000 rpm/590 lb-ft at 2,750-6,000 rpm

Curb weight 3800 pounds (est.)

Length/wheelbase/width/height 177.0/106.5/83.6/50.2 inches

0-60 3.5 seconds

Fuel economy 23 mpg, European cycle, combined

Luggage space 7 cubic feet

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 23, 2025 11:30 ET (15:30 GMT)

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