Aston Martin adds roofless Valhalla Spider with unchanged 1,064hp output

Roof options and the speed they allow

Buyers get a stowable fabric roof as standard, and with that in place top speed is limited to 124mph. A removable carbon-fibre hard top is also offered, and with it fitted the car reaches the same 217mph as the coupe.

Keeping the full top speed without a fixed roof took more than deleting a panel. Aston Martin's Formula 1 team contributed to reworking the aerodynamics, and the car needed a wind deflector that routes air around the occupants while still feeding the rear air intake snorkel. The deflector and the folding fabric roof both stow in 15-litre (0.5 cubic foot) pockets built into the side sills.

The active aerodynamics and stability control systems were recalibrated to suit the airflow created by the roofless shape. That matters because convertibles usually pay for the open air with drag and lost downforce; here the engineering effort went into protecting the headline number rather than accepting a compromise.

Same hybrid powertrain as the coupe

Underneath, the Spider carries the same three-motor hybrid system as the fixed-roof car, built around a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8. Total output is unchanged at 1,064 horsepower.

Aston Martin has not published acceleration figures or a kerb weight for the Spider, and neither has been announced. The sources also give no battery capacity, electric-only range or charging details for the convertible.

Price and availability still open

The Valhalla Spider is designated a 2028 model. Aston Martin has not said when it goes on sale, which markets will get it, or how much it will cost.

The fixed-roof Valhalla is priced at $1,051,700, and the Spider is expected to command a premium over that figure. That expectation is an estimate rather than a confirmed price, and no Australian availability or pricing has been announced.

For buyers weighing the two, the Spider's appeal rests on the open-air experience rather than extra performance, since the power and the full top speed are identical. The catch is the standard fabric roof: anyone who wants the 217mph figure needs the carbon hard top fitted, which means planning ahead rather than simply stopping at the roadside.

Mazda has confirmed the CX-70 will not continue into the 2027 model year in the United States, where it will be replaced by five-seat versions of the larger CX-90. Mazda Australia, meanwhile, says the Japanese-built CX-70 will stay in local showrooms with no plans to remove it from the current range.

The CX-70 is offered only in Australia and North America, and it will also be available for the 2027 model year in Canada. Mazda USA framed the change as a simplification of its lineup rather than a retreat from the five-seat large SUV segment.

How Mazda is reshuffling its US range

In a statement, Mazda USA said the CX-70 will be replaced in the US by five-seat versions of the CX-90, which until now was sold there only with three rows in seven- and eight-seat configurations. The company described the move as bringing the two models together into a single, more flexible offering to simplify the lineup and give customers more intuitive choices.

The two vehicles are closely related. The CX-70 shares not just its platform and 3.3-litre six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines with the CX-90, but its body as well, with only minor trim differences separating them externally. That overlap explains why folding one into the other is a relatively cheap way for Mazda to cut complexity in the US, where both were developed for the North American market.

Rear styling of the CX-70, a model Australia keeps for now as US buyers lose out, Image: CarExpert

Australia keeps the CX-70, for now

Mazda Australia has told CarExpert the CX-70 will remain in local showrooms, with no plans to remove it from its current range. Australia is the only market that gets all four SUVs on Mazda's Large Architecture: the narrower two-row CX-60 and three-row CX-80 developed primarily for Japan and Europe, and the wider two-row CX-70 and three-row CX-90 developed for North America.

What the CX-70 will cost in Australia after the US change has not been announced. Mazda Australia has given no indication of revised pricing, and the sources carry no Australian dollar figures for the model, so buyers have no new local price to work from yet.

The CX-70 has fallen short of sales expectations locally, along with its platform-mates. In late 2024, Mazda Australia said it expected to sell 650 CX-80s per month, alongside 550 CX-60s, 100 CX-90s and 60 CX-70s. Only 16 CX-70s were sold in Australia in September 2026, against 260 CX-60s, 123 CX-80s and 36 CX-90s, making it the slowest-selling vehicle in Mazda's Australian lineup for the month. The new-generation Mazda CX-5 was the brand's best-seller that month with 1435 sales.

That gap between the 60-a-month target and 16 actual sales is the number that matters most for the CX-70's Australian future. Staying on the price list is not the same as thriving on it, and a model selling in double digits monthly is an awkward fit for a brand trying to simplify its range elsewhere.

The Mazda CX-70, now dropped from the US range for 2027 but still on sale in Australia, Image: CarExpert

Suspension changes and the wider lineup

Alongside the US lineup changes, Mazda USA has announced revisions to the CX-90's rear suspension to improve passenger comfort. Suspension tuning has also been a focus for local CX models, with several revisions introduced since 2024. The CX-60 and CX-80 have been confirmed to be getting retuned suspension for 2027, at least in Europe, but Mazda Australia has not confirmed when these changes will filter through to the local lineup.

For Australian buyers, the practical effect of the US decision is limited in the near term: the CX-70 remains on sale, and the CX-90's suspension work is a US announcement whose local timing is unconfirmed. The longer-term question is whether a slow-selling five-seater can justify its place once its North American twin is absorbed into the CX-90.