The unveiling of the new Vanquish sports coupe this week means that there’s also a Volante (that’s Aston Martin talk for convertible) coming our way.

However, since that won’t be happening now, British racing driver and television presenter Tiff Needell, who only recently joined EVO magazine, chose the current DBS Volante to battle the Mercedes SLS AMG Roadster.

The open-top DBS sports a 5.9-liter V12 that’s good for 510-ponies (517PS) and 570Nm (420 lb-ft) while the SLS AMG Roadster makes do with a 6.2-liter V8 pushing out 563hp (571PS) and 650Nm (479 lb-ft).

Typical of an English summer, the track duel at the Bedford Autodrome was conducted under rain, but as always, Needell was up to the challenge.

Enjoy the video right after the break.

VIDEO