Rolls and Aston plan new convertibles

ROLLS-ROYCE and Aston Martin have both announced exciting new convertible models, giving workers at the UK-based car makers a welcome boost to their job security.

Aston is set to début a new member of the Vantage family, after shoe-horning a V12 engine into an open-top body to create the V12 Vantage S Roadster. It will make its public entrance at the Pebble Beach Auto Week in California, starting on August 14.

Its makers claim a top speed of 201mph thanks to a 565bhp punch from beneath the bonnet, while the benchmark 0-62mph sprint takes just 3.9 seconds.

Rolls-Royce, on the other hand, is taking a more genteel approach, planning a “pinnacle drophead tourer” that will offer “effortless open-top touring.”

The car is expected to share a chassis with the Ghost and Wraith models, and will cost well in excess of £200,000 when it arrives in 2016.

It will be built at the company's Goodwood factory, designed to sit below the super-exclusive flagship Phantom Drophead (pictured) in the range.

Rolls has had a bumper year to date, selling 33% more cars from January to June than it did in 2013.

By Press Association reporter