Convertibles
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BMW realized the return of its 8-Series coupe with the 2019 M850i xDrive luxury coupe launched in June, but we'll see an 8-Series Convertible join it in the near future. Camouflaged prototypes have been testing for a while and Roadshow learned Wednesday from BMW representatives that the debut will take place at next month's 2018 Los Angeles auto show. The representatives also confirmed that an 8-Series Gran Coupe and M8 will arrive next year. Prototypes for both of these models have also been spotted. As for the 8-Series Convertible, engineers took to the deserts of Nevada this past summer to...
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2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera Volante spy shots and video
A prototype for the open-top version of Aston Martin's Vanquish-replacing DBS Superleggera has been spotted. The latest tester was spotted outside Aston Martin's AMR Performance Center at the Nürburgring, and the video below features some footage of the high-speed testing on the German...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2020 Audi R8 debuts with sharper look, more power
Audi Sport's second-generation R8 supercar is approaching the midway point in its life cycle and the car has been put under the knife to keep it looking and feeling fresh. There's also more power available thanks to upgrades to the car's 5.2-liter V-10. The changes will be introduced for the 2020...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 BMW 8-Series Convertible spy shots and video
BMW's revived 8-Series coupe made an appearance in June at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where a dedicated racing version competed in the prestigious race's GTE class for production-based cars. We'll see the new BMW flagship arrive in showrooms in December, initially in $112,895 M850i trim. Soon, BMW...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Buick Cascada may bow out after 2019
Buick only graced its showrooms with the Cascada a few years ago but the handsome, somewhat sporty convertible may soon be on its way out. You see, the Cascada was launched in 2012 by Opel, which builds the convertible at a plant in Poland. It was rebadged a Buick and introduced here for 2016. Opel...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ferrari 812 Superfast-based Monza speedsters debut in Paris, first of new Icona series
Ferrari fans longing for a return to the elegance of the marque's earlier cars are in for a real treat as the automaker has just launched a pair of stunners based on the 812 Superfast. They're called the Monza SP1 and SP2, with the “SP” in the name referencing Ferrari's Special Projects...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
McLaren will soon bring a new drop-top into the world and we have an idea of what it will look like thanks to new patent drawings. The McLaren 720S Spider, the open-top version of the giant-killing 720S coupe, has been somewhat outed ahead of schedule as the drawings depict what the car will look like. It's no surprise the 720S Spider looks like a 720S coupe without a roof. Dutch publication AutoVisie first discovered the patent drawings, which show the car with and without a fixed roof. Here, the drop-top employs a fixed hard roof, should the images prove correct. Arguably, the coupe looks...
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2020 Lamborghini Huracán Spyder spy shots
It's hard to believe it's been more than four years since Lamborghini first graced us with the Huracán, especially since the design remains as intoxicating as ever and, in Performante trim, you'll be hard pressed to find a faster car around a racetrack. Nevertheless, it appears Lamborghini...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2020 Audi R8 Spyder spy shots
Audi Sport's second-generation R8 supercar is about to receive a round of updates as it reaches the midway point in its life cycle, and today we have the first spy shots of a prototype for the updated R8 Spyder. Previous testers showed the coupe only. The prototype suggests that the changes will be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 BMW Z4 power details revealed: More turbos, more power, no manual
BMW released powertrain and performance specifications for the 2019 BMW Z4 on Tuesday, nearly a month after revealing the new two-seat roadster at Pebble Beach. Base Z4s, dubbed the Z4 sDrive30i Roadster, will be powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-4 with 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. The...
Joel Feder -
2019 Volkswagen Beetle Final Edition marks end of cult hero
It was in 1938 that the Volkswagen Type 1, more commonly referred to as the Beetle, or “Käfer” in its home market of Germany, first rolled off the line. Eight decades on and the nameplate is still with us, though sadly that won't be the case for long. VW revealed a Beetle Final...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Fiat 124 Spider benefits from new options including Monza exhaust for Abarth
Fiat will look to spice things up for its 124 Spider with a handful of new options being introduced for 2019. Key among them is a Record Monza exhaust upgrade for the 124 Spider Abarth that gives the car a more aggressive growl. It offers some solace to fans still sour from the Abarth model only...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lamborghini hasn't made mention of it yet, but it's all but confirmed that an Aventador SVJ Roadster will arrive in the near future. It appears the California Air Resources Board (CARB) outed the forthcoming drop-top supercar in a certification document. First discovered by AutoGuide, the document certified four Lamborghinis for sale in the Sunshine State for the 2019 model year: the Aventador S coupe, the Aventador S Roadster, the recently revealed Aventador SVJ coupe, and finally, the Aventador SVJ Roadster. We'll surely see the Aventador SVJ Roadster use the same 6.5-liter V-12 engine...
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New 2019 BMW Z4 roadster breaks cover with M40i First Edition
BMW showed the Z4 concept at Pebble Beach last year and further detailed it a month later at the Frankfurt motor show. This year, we finally see the production version. BMW unveiled the next generation of its two-seat roadster with a special 2019 Z4 M40i First Edition. The lines are now locked in...
Kirk Bell -
2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster spy shots
Mercedes-AMG's GT R track car by the looks of things is about to drop its top. A GT R Roadster prototype was spotted recently at the Nürburgring and on some of the German race track's surrounding roads. It should arrive on the market next year alongside a mid-cycle update for AMG's standalone...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Alfa Romeo GTV Spider reportedly in the works
Alfa Romeo's revival started with the 4C and really got going with the Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover. Back in June we learned that by 2022 the brand plans to update three of its models and bring four new models to market by 2022, including a GTV coupe based on the Giulia. Now we hear that a...
Jeff Glucker -
2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata first drive review: The sports car Mazda intended
The new Mazda MX-5 Miata we got in the U.S. in 2016 wasn’t really the car it was supposed to be. According to Mazda North American Operations manager of vehicle dynamics Dave Coleman, Mazda wanted to use a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine worldwide. Pushback from the U.S. allowed installation of...
Dan Carney -
2019 BMW Z4 leaked
BMW's redesigned Z4 has made a premature debut, thanks to leaked photos published by Instagram user liucunyi. This is BMW's car sharing a platform with a new Toyota Supra due early next year. The leaked photos reveal the new roadster's design in great detail and confirm the vehicle's striking...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Targa tops are great as the design enables a car to have the open-roof feel of a convertible without the loss of structural rigidity that normally comes by removing a car's roof. Popular targa models on sale today include the Chevrolet Corvette and of course the Porsche 911 Targa. Ferrari is an automaker that's offered targa models in the past, the most famous being the F50. Although Ferrari has utilized retractable hardtops for its more recent open-top models, it's possible the automaker may return to the targa format considering a patent filed with a European patent office in January. The...
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BMW has no plans for a new Z4 M
Just the other day, BMW made us smile as it remains committed to offering a manual gearbox on its performance models for the time being. Today is a new day, however, and that means it's a new chance for BMW to let us down. The automaker is achieving that goal with news that the redesigned BMW Z4...
Jeff Glucker -
BMW to reveal new car at Monterey Car Week, likely the Z4
BMW has a new vehicle revealed planned for Monterey Car Week, and it's a good bet the car is a redesigned Z4. The company didn't explicitly name the Z4 in its Wednesday announcement but called the debut "an emotional addition to the BMW range." BMW added the model's identity will be revealed closer...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante first drive review: Admission to an exclusive club
Getting behind the wheel of the Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder is like knowing the secret handshake for an exclusive club. You have to be able to afford the price of entry, know the strange rituals to simply operate the car, and understand the dark art of the ALA active aerodynamics...
Kirk Bell -
2019 Ferrari Portofino preview
Ferrari introduced the California in 2008 as a more accessible, more versatile offering, but the car was criticized for being heavy, underpowered and generally lacking focus, none of which should be a descriptor for a Prancing Horse. Rumor has it the car was originally meant to be a Maserati...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster with 850 miles sells for $3.7M
Pre-auction estimates pegged the value of this unrestored 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster at somewhere between $1.8 million and $2.4 million. Well, the car just crossed the auction block at Artcurial's Le Mans Classic sale where it fetched nearly $3.7 million. That's quite a bit more than...
Jeff Glucker