Convertibles

  • Ferrari patent for car with targa top

    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...

  • 2019 BMW Z4 prototype (Z4 M40i)
    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...

  • 2019 BMW Z4 prototype (Z4 M40i)
    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...

  • 2018 Lamborghini Huracan Performante Spyder, Napa Valley, July 2018
    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...

  • 2019 Ferrari Portofino
    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...

  • 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL
    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...

  • 2020 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

    Porsche is out testing a new generation of the 911, the 992, and the latest prototype spotted is for the car's Turbo Cabriolet variant. The new 911 will be revealed late this year or early next, initially in Carrera and Carrera S guises. The 911 Turbo should trail the basic models by six months to a year. We expect it to go on sale in the United States late next year as a 2020 model. 2020 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet spy video from Motor Authority on Vimeo. The prototype may look like testers for the Carrera Cabrio. However, a number of clues identify it as the Turbo Cabrio. The pumped fenders...

  • 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata
    2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata: More power, higher redline

    It's finally official. Mazda on Wednesday upped the zoom-zoom baked into its MX-5 Miata for 2019. This fall, when the 2019 MX-5 Miata hits dealerships, it will boast 181 horsepower—a 17 percent increase over 2018, Mazda said. A number of engineering upgrades allowed for this increase in...

  • 2018 Aston Martin V12 Vantage V600
    Vantage V600 badge returns on bespoke V-12 model

    Update: Photos of the actual car have been posted to Instagram by Chris Harris. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the Vantage V600 in the metal. The Aston Martin Vantage V600 is back, only this time it's packing a V-12 under the hood and limited to just 14 examples—seven coupes and...

  • 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata (Japanese spec)
    Mazda reveals updated MX-5 Miata with more power, features

    Mazda's MX-5 Miata is a perennial favorite that just gets better with each successive generation. The car is into its fourth generation and still manages to maintain the spritely driving feel of the original, despite being significantly safer and more advanced. The fourth-gen model, an ND to all...

  • Porsche 911 Speedster Concept
    Porsche 911 Speedster Concept honors brand's 70-year anniversary

    On June 8, 1948, the first Porsche 356 Roadster received its operating permit. Porsche celebrated that milestone Friday with a "70 years of Porsche Sports Cars" event in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen, Germany. And what better way to link to the past than to reveal a concept car that pays homage to that...

  • 2019 BMW Z4 prototype (Z4 M40i)
    BMW drops first details on next Z4

    There's a new BMW Z4 racing into showrooms next year, and uniquely the car has been developed on a platform shared with the modern-day Toyota Supra due about the same time. This bodes well for the BMW as having a dedicated sports car platform should turn what has traditionally been a hairdresser's...

  • 2019 Mercedes-Benz E-Class family

    Buyers of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have a couple of new options for the 2019 model year. On Tuesday, we detailed AMG's new E53 that replaces the E43, with the car's mild-hybrid powertrain bringing 429 horsepower and 384 pound-feet of torque, versus the 396 hp and 384 lb-ft of the non-electrified E43. Now we have details on a new E450 model that replaces the E400 in the regular E-Class lineup. It's available across the 2019 E-Class range, meaning sedan, coupe, cabriolet and wagon body styles. And it can be had with rear- or all-wheel drive. As the higher numerical figure indicates, there's...

  • 2019 Bentley Continental GT Convertible spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
    2019 Bentley Continental GT Convertible spy shots

    Bentley revealed its redesigned Continental GT at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show and today we have new photos of a prototype for the open-top version, the redesigned Continental GT Convertible. The lack of camouflage gear suggests the reveal is coming up soon. We expect the car to go on sale later...

  • 2018 Aston Martin DB11 Volante
    2018 Aston Martin DB11 Volante video road test

    The 2018 Aston DB11 Volante just may be the grandest of today’s grand touring cars. A 2+2 convertible with a sensuous shape and 503 German horses under its clamshell bonnet, it’s a beautiful means of getting you wherever you want to go. We drove the DB11 Volante on the California coast...

  • 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT S Roadster
    Mercedes-AMG GT S now available as roadster

    Buyers looking for a serious sports car with luxury and style have a new option in the form of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT S Roadster. The open-top version of AMG's sports car made its debut in 2016 but only in GT and GT C guises. Now the Affalterbach tuner has added the mid-range GT S Roadster. Like...

  • Lightweight creates BMW M2 convertible
    BMW won't make an M2 convertible, but this German company did

    BMW does not offer the wonderful M2 as a convertible, but that hasn't stopped a German company by the name of Lightweight from modding the standard convertible into something comparable. With some modifications and M2 parts, Lightweight will transform a standard 2-Series convertible into a drop-top...

  • Jay Leno's 1966 Lincoln Continental
    Jay Leno shows off his latest purchase: an all-original 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible

    Will Jay Leno ever stop expanding his collection of amazing cars? Probably not. One of the world's best-known car buffs recently made room for the latest addition: a 1966 Lincoln Continental convertible. What's so special about this particular Continental is that it's completely unrestored and...

  • 2002 Audi A4 Cabriolet

    Audi's A4 Cabriolet has a bit of a cult following and now the nameplate may be on its way back to the market. The A4 Cabriolet was phased out in 2008 to make way for the A5 Cabriolet but could return to not only replace the A5 Cabriolet but also the A3 Cabriolet and TT Roadster, AutoBild suggests. It seems it's not just sedans that are losing out to SUVs. Sales of two-door cars, particularly convertibles, are also on the decline. For example, only about 15,000 A5 Cabriolets were sold worldwide in 2017, and the respective numbers for the A3 Cabriolet and TT Roadster are even lower...

  • 2018 Mazda MX-5 Miata
    Report: 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata to get 181 horsepower

    Everyone's favorite low-horsepower sports car is getting an update for 2019. The refreshed Mazda MX-5 Miata is nearly here and it's becoming clear that more power is on the menu. According to Road & Track, the 2019 Miata will produce 181 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. That's a hefty...

  • 2018 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
    V-12-powered Mercedes-AMG SL65 set to die?

    It appears the V-12 powered Mercedes-AMG SL65's days are numbered. According to a source close to the company, the SL65 will die off in June of this year, and it's taking the V-12 engine with it, MB Passion Blog reported on Sunday. Production of the V-12-powered car is expected to end in May before...

  • 2019 McLaren 570S Spider equipped with Track Pack
    McLaren sharpens 570S Spider with Track Pack

    McLaren's 570S Spider is hardly what you'd call a soft sports car, but nevertheless the British automaker has seen fit to develop a range of parts that will see it perform better on the road and race track. The parts are grouped in a new Track Pack that reduces the weight of the 570S Spider by 77...

  • 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe
    2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet gain power and standard equipment

    Following the refreshed 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan's debut at the 2018 Geneva motor show, the luxury brand will bring the updated C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet to the 2018 New York auto show. Revealed on Tuesday, both body styles are in for additional standard equipment and more power. The...

  • 2019 Ford Mustang GT Convertible California Special
    Ford Mustang GT California Special returns for 2019

    The 50th anniversary Bullitt Mustang isn't the only special version of Ford's muscle car icon being introduced for 2019. The Blue Oval on Monday announced the return of the Mustang California Special, a special treatment that dates back to the original Mustang. “People have been talking a lot...

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