New Aston Martin Valhalla Spider is a very British 217mph convertible

What’s more exciting than going from 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds? Doing so without a roof on your car, of course. That’s exactly what the Aston Martin Valhalla Spider offers – the newly revealed convertible version of the hypercar is no less capable than its coupé sibling.

The 0-62mph time is identical, and delving into the specs, that’s to be expected, because at 1,680kg with lightweight options, it’s a mere 25kg heavier than the coupé. What’s perhaps even more impressive is that hacking the roof off hasn’t changed the top speed at all. It remains a heady 217mph, and yes, you can do that with the roof removed.

We say ‘removed’ because there isn’t a fancy electronic folding top, with the Valhalla Spider instead using a stowable fabric roof. With it fitted, your top speed is limited to 124mph, although there is an optional carbon fibre roof (fitted as standard in the USA, for some reason) that lets you do the full 217mph. You can’t bring that one with you, but with this car likely costing the best part of a million quid or potentially more, chances are you have somewhere safe to leave it, and perhaps even staff to look after that sort of thing.

There is a third option to keep the cabin shielded from the elements, too – a rain cover intended for use when the car’s parked. There aren’t images of any of the three roof arrangements just yet, though.

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Ensuring your hair is kept in one place at speed, there’s a removable wind deflector that channels airflow to the massive ‘snorkle’ that sits above the rear of the cabin, which is 35mm higher than the corresponding part on the coupé. When you don’t need it, the wind deflector folds into three parts and neatly slots into the new 15-litre sill storage areas. 

Inside, there’s also a new carbon fibre ‘Touring’ seat to make it easier to get in and out with the roof on, but you can bung the coupé’s more hip-hugging design back in at no extra cost if preferred.

The active aerodynamics and the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) have been rejigged, with each knowing when the roof is on or off and tailoring their settings to suit.

Nothing has changed mechanically. There’s still a mid-mounted 4.0-litre V8 forming the central part of a plug-in hybrid system, combining with three electric motors to give 1,064bhp and 1,000Nm of torque. 

There’s no mention of price just yet, but it’d be safe to expect a healthy premium over the £850,000 charged for the Valhalla, which is only a starting point, anyway. Plenty of Aston Martin owners will load their cars up with bespoke touches from the company’s Q division, so there’ll surely be some Valhalla Spiders topping the £1 million mark.

The Spider will also be a lot more exclusive. While Aston Martin plans to make 999 Valhalla Coupés, it’s understood the Spider will account for around one in four cars – with final numbers to be confirmed.

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