Is there a "cool" convertible?

[naefeart]

Haha, I've won a grand+ in pound coins before and even with a belt my trousers struggled

Ok, I’m impressed. I won £250 and even with two mates we struggled to stow all the pound coins. How you managed a grand is beyond me

 

[NVP]

Love my S2000!

As a fun weekend car, roof down it is a huge amount of fun, as a daily not so much fun as others have said they are tiny inside and roof up dilutes the experience massively.

Engine sound with air box lid off sounds fantastic.
The gear change is easily one of the best manuals ever if not the best.
Handling once aligned and all fresh is great, more progressive on later cars.
Engine is marmite you either hate or love it.

Yes they are a raw drivers car no doubt, I wanted one in my youth but as age has taken me they are less attractive... perhaps I've gotten used to German interiors

Knew this was coming
A new CTR is 320HP and 5.8 to 60. That's not faster than even a stock old M3! Fun however is a personal feature

Haha figures are one thing but the new Type-R is quite a bit faster around b-roads than the E46 M3 convertible

What are they 0-100?

Anyway having owned M3 CSL and regular E46 M3 and also having driven every generation of Civic and owned one, I'd take the M3 every time, only downside on M3's is running cost are vastly higher than that of a Honda.

Hands down.

Your dad must be a pretty cool youngster!

E89 Z4, in my personal opinion, is one of the best designed convertibles, ever. It looks good with the roof up and sublime with it down. It’s also relatively comfortable in normal mode, and very responsive in sport mode and above. Bonus points that it can be had with a straight six engine. It also has enough boot space for a large bag, so can easily go away for a week.

Hahaha

Yes I would have to agree, I was urging my dad to get one when they first came out, manual straight six open top roadster... by BMW(!) When I hit 40 maybe...

I think I see one of the bones of contention here.

Some people think the looks of a car equate to coolness, others think a car is cool if you wish you could drive it.

I see a Mustang and just think 'Why?'

One of the coolest cars I've seen, on my scale, was a tatty Puma Racing with an engine transplant, roll cage and stripped out,

That guy would be the one i wanted to be friends with rather than the Hoorah Henry who turned up in an AMG merc on finance!

Regarding my OP it could be described as "personal coolness" perhaps, whichever weighs up most to ones own reasons.

I should not have really mentioned the mustang, it was simply an appropriate example for that paragraph, I'm not a mustang fan personally.

The custom car is always appealing, stock wise there's not much out there which warrants "want".

I don't think your wording helped but I think it's more about the appreciation, feeling of driving something special that is an event, even better if it's exotic or rare. I love the fact my C63 6.2 is understated for day to day driving. Doesn't get too much attention from Barry Boys in their Golf Rs but still a nod of approval every now and again. At the end of the day who cares about what anyone else is driving, should be about what you get out of it. That can be achieved in an MX-5 as well as a supercar.

Yes definitely, convertibles have to be a real drivers car to pull me in, not simply chopped. It is the main attraction of a convertible for myself.

My humour filter must be malfunctioning. We also own a fiat 500 (non-Abarth). There’s no hope for us.

Haha what are the chances

Does nobody else like the MK1 Golf Clippers?

Did the 16v Mk2 gti come open top?

My Saab93 aero is super cool, and god damn during these increasingly hot summers, it's a god send.

Yes, super cool...

(tbf I learnt to drive in my dads 95 aero so I have a special love for the 95 - 93 however...)

In answer to the OP, yes there are plenty, imo (have to say that, obvs ), I've owned a few so can give a wee bit of feedback on them at least

E46 M3, a car very worthy of its appreciating value, just don't bother with the hard-top or expect wet dreams from the exhaust note
S4, epic engine, amazing stereo, just lack lusture externals oh and woeful brakes
RS4, now you're talking, addresses all of the issues above the only problem is you need to be tied to a petrol pump
S2000, timeless looks, effortless to put the roof down and if you can be arsed with it, a unique engine
E85 Z4 (3.0si) decent enough attempt at a middle of the road, roadster. Drop the runflats to improve cabin noise a bit, but as a marque to drive up and down motorways, no ta
E89 Z4 (35is) pukka, what a brilliant little car. Little, is the only issue, you can't do anything with it with the roof down, probably sneak in a jacket or two, but that aside you have to try one!
M4 the grown up of the z4(m), decent boot space, with endless specification choices, allows you to change a capable car into a weapon (MPE, CCBs to name but two must haves) I had a whale of a time in mine today, north of 550hp (ok that's with aftermarket stuff) and very nimble, sure it's not the coupe in terms of weight, but when you can put the roof down who cares about the difference

Roof down motoring, I'll always have an option in my garage, infact if this virus could kindly do one I'm waiting for an M8 convertible on an extended test.

The E46 M3 is legendary, however the convertible not so much - every time I've driven one I've always found myself thinking "oh, yeh it's no coupe", however if that were something I could get past then being a BMW fan boy I think I would... no, it'd be a manual E89.
The M4 is a great car don't get me wrong but, as with most chopped performance cars, it's weighty in either guise and it's wide whilst not being low so you need all that power to stop it feeling like a small saloon... loads of fun when you have the road though
M8 you say? You best post up all about it!! #welljel

 

[BananaDunka]

Haha figures are one thing but the new Type-R is quite a bit faster around b-roads than the E46 M3 convertible

Given that it's some 200KG lighter I'd be surprised if it wasn't more agile around corners. But it's also FWD and a turbo 4cyl, so the way that power is delivered is not my idea of fun personally

Plus how can you look at the rear end of the CTR and not vomit?

Give me the 360BHP/385Nm RWD N/A with high revs and a smooth linear power and noise delivery any day

Plus handling is rather excellent as mentioned especially in recent years as owners switched from the quite poor handling SuperSport tyres that came on these to PS4S which are superior in every UK road condition having gone through 2 sets of each now.

The noise alone is probably number 1 or 2 in the top 3 reasons why I haven't shifted it on after 6 years. And I'm quite picky/swappy with stuff. Just look at the Watch thread in GD lol.

 

[Dis86]

mmm that's smut.

 

[Chris1712]

So long, nerds.

 

[Gibbo]

https://www.retroclassiccar.com/1981-chevrolet-corvette-c3-restomod-zz4-350-v8-auto/

 

[jigger]

Inserts TVR images.


But yeah, Griffith 500. The 500 is the percentage of manliness required to push on, on a frosty winter morning.

 

[theone8181]

I would love a convertible (seriously considered a 997.2 Carrara cab before my me), but I have kids and there's very few 'cool' 4 seater convertibles (that are in the same league as the 911 turbo I came from). I did look at e92 m3s but it just seemed too much extra weight in an already lardy car.

 

[paradigm]

So long, nerds.

Absolutely beautiful, I just wish they had a sonorous V6 rather than an I4, sure they are quite a decent sound for an I4, but it's not a patch on a decent V6/8/10/12.

 

[Nasher]

Get a v6 Exige roadster instead then. Costs about the same for a used one. Also handles significantly better

 

[Chris1712]

Exige is a great alternative, personally preferred the Alfa looks and DCT over manual though. Also it's over 200kg lighter!

 

[shadow_boxer]

@Chris1712 Stunning 4c. Can't believe there's only 11 on Autotrader. Was keeping an eye on them earlier this year when there were regularly 30-40 listed. Prices staying strong too. Was starting to see a few getting into low 30s but seem to have stabilised and strengthened.

 

[Nasher]

Yep all these and the Lotuses have gone up since lockdown as pickings are slim atm. If you find a cheaper one best to buy it quick because they will just go.

 

[Scania]

Boot space?
Cabin space?
Seating space?
Cool factor?
Timeless inside/out?
Driving enjoyment?
Everyday usability?

There's only one answer...

Hate to say it, but to my mind, the e36 convertible just works better.

.
Depends on how old you are I guess.

Now I'm in my 40s I largely don't give a damn about people judging me on silly things like how feminine they think my car is.

Buy an old MX5, drive it like you stole it and get out with a grin on your face and your middle finger up at anyone who looks down on you!

Couldn't agree more. I think a lot of people who slate the MX-5 as a "hairdressers car" etc simply hasn't driven one / been driven in one by somebody who can drive.

The "coolest" convertible I've driven was an e64 M6, it belongs to a mate, he bought it as a Cat C write off, replaced the interior (which had been stolen hence it being a C) I don't think I've ever experienced so much attention in a car, thats either down to my limited rides in cool worthy machines or that V10, I suspect the latter...

 

[ahar]

Good thread OP. I'm in the early stages of doing some man maths/convincing the wife as to see what I might be able to get away with as weekend toy. Convertibles are tempting me but it's got to feel special and a real event. I'm struggling to find something that excites me that won't be ruinous to keep on the road.

If you want an 'event' every time you drive it, it doesn't have a roof, is a weekend toy and it works with the man maths then this should be on the list:
https://cms.caterhamcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/420R_F3Q.jpg

NO HOTLINKING!

Outrageous fun, and if you get on that's nearly new then they don't depreciate much at all.

£30k ish for a nearly new 420R, cheap to maintain, amazing fun on the track. Lots of smiles and interest when you're driving it around.

 

[Nasher]

Some crazy people actually daily Caterhams. You do get a roof and modern ones don't leak (much) as well as a heater.

But you really have to watch out for SUV zombies not seeing you in cars like this. Like bikers experience, sooner or later someone is going to pull out infront of you or cut you up. You have to be super defensive in traffic.

 

[House]

Last time I got in a Caterham was my mates around 16 years ago, I still have nightmares. I've never felt so vulnerable on (its hardly in) something with 4 wheels, it feels more like being on the back of a bike than being in car.

My wife pushed me to getting a S5 Cab vs the S5 I was looking at when i picked it up a few years back and TBH I love it, My petrolhead mates are all talking about how its .2 seconds slower to 60 or whatever but on a nice day its soooo much more fun.

Its not the most lively drive but for planted sensible performance car it ticks all the boxes.

 

[Diddums]

Eunos

American spell check?

 

[Luxor]

American spell check?

Japanese Import MX5 so a Eunos Roadster.

 

[Diddums]

Japanese Import MX5 so a Eunos Roadster.

Ah cool, an MX5.