Wind in your hair? This new Aston does 217 mph with the roof off

As sure as night follows day, Aston Martin has announced an open-topped Spider version of its Valhalla supercar.

And while the car impresses by having the same 1,079 PS of power and clever, triple-motor hybrid system as the fixed-roof Coupe, the Spider’s party trick is how it’ll hit 217 mph with the roof up – or down.

Packing was never the Valhalla’s strong suit – remember, this is a car with no luggage space at all – so it’s impressive that Aston Martin has managed to engineer what it calls a “comprehensive roof system”.

There’s no elaborate folding hard top system, but instead the Valhalla Spider comes as standard with a removable and stowage black fabric roof. With this fitted, the Valhalla Spider is good for 112 mph and Aston says the roof offers full weather protection.

Then there’s the optional carbon fibre hard top, which unlocks the Valhalla Spider’s 217 mph top speed, equalling the coupe, but can’t be stored onboard if you fancy some wind in your hair. Finally, Aston Martin has made a rain cover for static use – handy if you’ve parked up and worried it might rain while you’re away.

Or ditch the roof entirely. The Valhalla Spider can hit the same 217 mph top speed as the Coupe – which T3 drove earlier this year – but with no roof attached. This makes it the fastest open-top Aston Martin of all time.

To help hit that speed and keep the cabin (relatively) calm, Aston has created a unique wind deflector. Designed to manage airflow over the open cockpit, the deflector clips into position when the roof is removed. It then controls air flow off the windscreen header, Aston says, “to ensure cooling air flow is pulled down to the snorkel whilst listing air over the occupants for enhanced comfort.”

The snorkel, which feeds air into the engine bay and also features in the roof of the hard-topped Valhalla Coupe, has been redesigned for the Spider, with a new profile that’s 35 mm taller. With the roof attached, the wind deflector can be folded into three parts and stored inside the car’s new 15-litre door sill stowage apertures.

Aston says how the Valhalla Spider’s active aerodynamics and electronic stability control software have been revised, with the latter now able to identify when the roof is on or off, then manage air flow accordingly to maintain balance.

Also new for the Valhalla Spider is a carbon fibre Touring Seat, which comes as standard and is designed to “enhance occupant comfort and ease of entry and exit with the roof on,” Aston Martin says. Alternatively, the carbon seat of the Valhalla Coupe is also available as a no-cost option.

Speaking of the coupe, the Valhalla Spider shares the same turbocharged V8 engine and triple-motor hybrid system. Total power is 1,079 PS (1,064 bhp), with 1100Nm (811 lb-ft) of torque, a predicted 0-62 mph time of 2.5 seconds, and the aforementioned 217 mph top speed.

Aston says deliveries of the Valhalla Spider are due to begin in the third quarter of 2027. A price has not been announced publicly, but it’s expected to be comfortably above that of the £850,000 coupe, before options and personalisation from the Q department.

Instead of limiting production to a specific number, Aston Martin expects around one-in-four Valhalla sales to be the Spider. It has previously said total Valhalla production is limited to 999 units worldwide, suggesting it expects to build around 250 Spiders, depending on customer demand.