Convertibles
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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 power. Internally, Mazda reduced the weight of the pistons by 27 grams while also trimming the connecting rods by 41 grams. Mazda also fiddled with the camshaft so it produces greater valve lift and a larger valve opening angle. This, coupled with an increase in the inner diameter of the exhaust manifold...
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Vantage V600 badge returns on bespoke V-12 modelUpdate: 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mazda reveals updated MX-5 Miata with more power, featuresMazda'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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche 911 Speedster Concept honors brand's 70-year anniversaryOn 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...
Kirk Bell -
BMW drops first details on next Z4There'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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Mercedes-Benz E-Class adds 362-horsepower E450 modelBuyers 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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 this year as a 2019 model. Coming as no surprise, the design is pretty much the same as the coupe but differs thanks to its convertible top. A Continental GT coupe can be seen in some of the shots, providing a good contrast of the two designs. Underneath the pretty sheet metal is the Volkswagen...
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2018 Aston Martin DB11 Volante video road testThe 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...
Kirk Bell -
Mercedes-AMG GT S now available as roadsterBuyers 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW won't make an M2 convertible, but this German company didBMW 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...
Sean Szymkowski -
Jay Leno shows off his latest purchase: an all-original 1966 Lincoln Continental convertibleWill 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...
Sean Szymkowski -
Audi A4 Cabriolet to make a comeback?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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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 bump over the current 155 horsepower offered up in the 2018 MX-5 Miata, though torque will only increase by 3 lb-ft. It's not yet entirely clear if the increased output arrives courtesy of a reworked version of the existing 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, or if the updated Mazda roadster will have a new...
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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...
Sean Szymkowski -
McLaren sharpens 570S Spider with Track PackMcLaren'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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet gain power and standard equipmentFollowing 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...
Sean Szymkowski -
Ford Mustang GT California Special returns for 2019The 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...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder is your new old-school, hairy chested roadsterToday's auto shows increasingly focus on green and autonomous vehicles, but don't tell Lamborghini that. On Tuesday at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, the automaker introduced a convertible version of its lightweight Huracán Performante, offering the well-heeled enthusiast an...
Brandon Turkus -
Italdesign Giugiaro turned 50 last month and celebrated with the announcement of a new supercar, the Zerouno Duerta, which was unveiled on Tuesday at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show. The Zerouno Duerta is a targa version of last year's Zerouno, the first car to be sold under Italdesign's own eponymous brand, and it relies on a removable carbon fiber element to easily and quickly swap between coupe and targa body styles. As was the case with the Zerouno, the Zerouno Duerta from some angles resembles a scaled-down version of the Lamborghini Veneno, specifically the Lamborghini Veneno...
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Pagani spared no expense for Huayra Roadster's soft topPagani introduced the Huayra Roadster last March, and the droptop marked a zero compromises approach for open-top driving. In fact, the roadster is actually 176 pounds lighter than the coupe. The lower curb weight comes from a choice of two tops: a carbon-fiber hard top and a soft top. It's the...
Sean Szymkowski -
Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder tipped for Geneva debutLamborghini has a Huracán Performante-related debut pegged for next week's 2018 Geneva International Motor Show, and it's a safe bet the car will be the convertible version that we've seen testing on occasion over the past 12 months. To be called the Huracán Performante Spyder, the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Fiat Abarth 124 GT debuts with carbon fiber roofAs Mazda has its hard-top roof available for the MX-5 Miata, so too shall the car's Italian cousin. Meet the Fiat Abarth 124 GT, a carbon fiber-roofed Fiat 124 debuting next week at the 2018 Geneva International Motor Show. Fiat hasn't followed Mazda's route with a complex automated roof for its...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volkswagen plans for T-Roc convertible crossoverVolkswagen will mix open-air driving with the functionality of a crossover, a formula Nissan and Land Rover have experimented with in the Murano Cross Cabriolet and Evoque convertible. On Friday, VW confirmed plans for a T-Roc convertible, its first convertible crossover. The announcement said VW...
Sean Szymkowski -
BMW M4 Convertible 30 Jahre Edition marks 30 years since the first M3 drop-topBMW's M division began to celebrate its various anniversaries with special models in 2014, but the party goes on. On Tuesday, the German automaker revealed the M4 Convertible 30 Jahre Edition, which marks 30 years since the first M3 Convertible launched in 1988. Jahre is the German word for...
Sean Szymkowski