Welcome to This Week on Hagerty Marketplace, a recurring recap of the previous week’s most noteworthy cars and significant sales from the Hagerty Marketplace online auctions.

It was another busy week on Hagerty Marketplace, but this trio of rides—one of the last great Packards, a brown-over-brown Lincoln Continental Mark III, and a delightful example of Volkswagen’s droptop Cabriolet—piqued our curiosity. Let’s explore each offering a bit further.

1956 Packard Four Hundred Hardtop Coupe

Sold for $16,168

By 1954, the once-great Packard car company was forced to merge with Studebaker to survive. Following the merger, Packard sought to redefine itself with bold new models for 1955–56, penned by young designer Richard Teague. The new cars featured full-width grilles, expansive front glass, tri-color paint schemes, and more. The Four Hundred Hardtop Coupe was the company’s ritziest ride but ultimately failed to reverse the firm’s downward trend, selling just 3224 units in 1956.

The example seen here is one of the last aspirational Packards to leave an assembly line. It was the 849th Four Hundred model produced in 1956. Power comes from a 372 cubic-inch V-8 that made 290 horsepower. The two-tone Dover White and Scottish Heather paint still looks fantastic, especially for a car that reportedly was stored for 20 years and saw rare use. Once the new owner handles some necessary prep work, this should be a delightful cruiser for years to come.

1970 Lincoln Continental Mark III

Sold for $8,828

When Ford President Lee Iacocca commissioned Ford’s Advance Design Office to create a two-door personal car for the luxury space in 1965, he wanted to see something resembling the handcrafted Continental Mark II of the 1950s. The resulting luxury coupe, which debuted in 1968 with a long hood, short rear deck, lavish grille, and integrated spare tire was an immediate hit with buyers, immediately outselling the Cadillac Eldorado. By 1970 the Mark III received a handful of upgrades such as new wheel covers, concealed windshield wipers, genuine walnut veneers on the instrument panel, and more.

Seen here is an example of that light update. This brown-over-brown car seems purpose-built for our in-house Lincoln and brown car aficionado, Senior Editor Sajeev Mehta. (We checked and can confirm that he is not, in fact, the new owner of this car—much to his chagrin.) This Mark III shows just 29,097 miles on the clock, meaning there’s lots of life left for this 460 cubic-inch V-8. It, too, sat for around 20 years, so it will need a once-over before it’s ready to waft about once more. Still, from a dollar-per-square-inch, or dollar-per-horsepower standpoint, it’s hard to beat this cruiser for value.

1989 Volkswagen Best Seller Wolfsburg Limited Edition Cabriolet

Sold for $17,758

Filling shoes as big as those left by the Volkswagen Beetle is a tall task, but in 1980, the newly-debuted Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible attempted to do just that. It was an immediate hit, soldiering on for five lovely years before a name change that came from the Golf replacing the Rabbit here in the U.S. The convertible model was henceforth referred to as the Cabriolet.

Following a 1988 facelift, a few trims were offered, but the most sought-after was the Wolfsburg Limited Edition, which was based on the Best Seller trim. Wolfsburg-trimmed Cabbies received special Star Blue Metallic paint, a unique “Helios” blue velour interior, and a dark blue soft top, creating a one-year-only color combo that quickly became collectible.

Looking at this example, listed with 68,852 original miles, it’s not hard to see why these little charmers were so desirable. The 1.8-liter, 90-horsepower inline-four isn’t what we’d call a rocket, but this lithe car didn’t need much power to be enjoyable. Features include a heated glass rear window in the soft top, dual remote control side mirrors, a folding rear seat with trunk access, and more. Though the paint, which is believed to be original, shows a few nicks and signs of patina, we’d reckon there aren’t many more enjoyable ways to take in the summer sun.

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The post This Week on Hagerty Marketplace: Post-Merger Packard, Maximum Brown Continental, Charming Cabriolet appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Most of the 20th-century Italian cars you’ll find in North American car graveyards today will be Fiat 124 Sport Spiders and X1/9s, with the occasional Alfa Romeo 164 thrown in for variety. For the first Italian machine in the Final Parking Space series, however, we’ve got a much rarer find: a genuine Maserati Biturbo Spyder, found in a boneyard located between Denver and Cheyenne.

1989 was an interesting year for the Maserati brand, because that was when the longtime friendship between Maserati owner Alejandro de Tomaso and Chrysler president Lee Iacocca resulted in a collaboration between the two companies that produced a car called, awkwardly, Chrysler’s TC by Maserati.

The TC by Maserati was based on a variation of Chrysler’s company-reviving K platform and assembled in Milan. I’ve documented five discarded TCs during the past decade, and those articles have never failed to spur heated debate over the TC’s genuine Maserati-ness.

In fact, I’ve managed to find even more examples of the Biturbo than the TC during my adventures in junkyard history, and even the most devoted trident-heads must accept those cars as true Maseratis.

The Biturbo was Maserati’s first attempt to build a mass-production car, and it went on sale in the United States as a 1984 model. It was available here through 1990, at various times as a four-door sedan (known as the 425 or 430), a two-door coupe, and as a convertible (known as the Spyder). This car is the first Spyder I’ve found in a car graveyard.

The heart of the Biturbo, and the origin of its name, is a screaming overhead-cam V-6 with twin turbochargers.

Unfortunately, the 1984-1986 Biturbos sold on our side of the Atlantic used a blow-through fuel-delivery system featuring a Weber carburetor inside a pressurized box, with no intercoolers. Forced induction systems with carburetors never did prove very reliable for daily street use, and the carbureted/non-intercooled Biturbo proved to be a legend of costly mechanical misery in the real world.

This car came from the factory with both Weber-Marelli electronic fuel injection and an intercooler, rated at 225 horsepower and 246 pound-feet in U.S.-market configuration. This more modern fuel-delivery rig didn’t solve all of the Biturbo’s reliability problems, but it didn’t hurt.

A three-speed automatic was available in the American Biturbo, but this car has the five-speed manual that its engine deserved.

When everything worked correctly, the 1989 Biturbo was fast and decadent, with nearly as much power as a new 1989 BMW M6 for about ten grand cheaper. The Spyder for that year had an MSRP of $44,995, or about $116,500 in 2024 dollars. Sure, a Peugeot 505 Turbo had an MSRP of $26,335 ($68,186 after inflation) and just 45 fewer horses, but was it Italian? Well, was it?

Soon after the time the first Biturbos hit American roads, I was a broke college student delivering pizzas with my Competition Orange 1968 Mercury Cyclone in Newport Beach, California. At that time and place, bent bankers and their henchmen were busily looting Orange County S&Ls, and the free-flowing cash resulted in Biturbos appearing everywhere for a couple of years. Then, like a switch had been flipped, they disappeared.

This car appears to have been sold all the way across the country from Lincoln Savings & Loan, so it doesn’t benefit from that Late 1980s Robber Baron bad-boy mystique.

If you had one of these cars, you had to display one of these distinctive mobile phone antennas on your ride. A lot of them were fake, though.

This car appears to have been parked for at least a couple of decades, so I believe the 28,280 miles showing on the odometer represent the real final figure.

There’s some rust-through and the harsh High Plains Colorado climate has ruined most of the leather and wood inside. These cars are worth pretty decent money in good condition, but I suspect that it would take $50,000 to turn one like this into a $25,000 car.

Still, it has plenty of good parts available for local Biturbo enthusiasts. I bought the decklid badge for my garage wall, of course.

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The post Final Parking Space: 1989 Maserati Biturbo Spyder appeared first on Hagerty Media.

April 17 marks sixty years since the Ford Mustang’s public debut at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The original pony car immediately became a pop-culture and automotive phenom, and it remains one of the most impactful cars in history. We’re celebrating with stories of the events surrounding the Mustang’s launch, the history of the early cars, and tales from owners. Click here to follow along with our multi-week 60 Years of Mustang coverage. -Ed.

Cynics call this one the “rental spec.” They would have you believe that the modern Mustang EcoBoost, thrust on stage sans its V-8 Viking helmet, is forever relegated to that endless grey blah world in which the Hertzes and Enterprises slither. The brightest spots in a car’s history tend to claim the column inches, and by extension, they tend to write the lore heavily in favor of themselves. In the case of the Mustang, that means the V-8s. Everything else just becomes fleet fodder in the eyes of enthusiasts.

Shame, that. This is not your Mustang II‘s four-pot, nor a wheezy, compromised Fox-body. Ford’s current 2.3-liter turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder makes 85 more horsepower and 70 more lb-ft of torque than the fastest factory Fox-body. It can return nearly 30 mpg at interstate speeds, with enough scoot on tap to make passing a cinch.

If this is a rental spec, ask yourself: How on earth can that be viewed as a bad thing?

Ford has sold more than 10 million Mustangs worldwide. Most have never seen stoplight launches or off-camber apexes; they’re just cruisers. When we reached out to Ford to line up a modern Mustang for a week on Michigan’s roads, we asked for a cruiser—an everyman spec, hewn as close as Ford could manage to those 1964 World’s Fair cars.

Weeks later, a 2024 Mustang EcoBoost Premium Convertible rolled up to our Ann Arbor, Michigan office, and off we went. To our car’s $44,185 base MSRP, five options added $5915 of additional cost: Rapid Red Metallic paint, $495; a Bronze appearance package (bronze pony logos, bronze 19-inch wheels) another $995; Equipment group 201A (12-speaker B&O sound system, voice-activated navigation, illuminated door sill scuff plates, and more) tacked on $3000; An active valve performance exhaust, $1225; and fancy floor mats, $200. All told, ours rang in at $50,100, including a $1595 destination fee and a $645 “acquisition fee.”

The build sheet reads suspiciously like the efforts of someone determined to sidestep the “rental spec” label, which is fine; media testers are rarely modest. That deep red paint does wonders for the car’s curb appeal, highlighting the new bodywork just so. Ditto the Bronze appearance package, which is a must in our eyes.

Specs: 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Convertible Premium

• Price: $44,195/$50,100 (base/as-tested)
• Powertrain: 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, 10-speed automatic transmission
• Output: 315 hp, 350 lb-ft (with premium fuel)
• Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door, four-passenger convertible
• EPA Fuel Economy: 22 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, 26 mpg combined
• Competitors: Dodge Charger, Subaru BRZ, Toyota GR86

As we noted in our first-drive review of the Mustang EcoBoost, calling this seventh-generation car “all-new” is a bit of a stretch, but astute passers-by will see that much of the exterior sheetmetal is indeed revised. The new car’s nose appears flatter and wider, more crouched to the ground. Sharp hips protrude just aft of the doors and harken back to the original pony’s flanks. The forward-canted bodywork on the car’s rear looks decent from the side, but the three-quarter and dead-on views reveal a pinched, too-tight confluence of lines. We preferred the caboose of the sixth-generation, S550 car.

The main justification for anointing this car as belonging to a new generation is the interior. Ford proudly touted the “video-gamification” of the Mustang’s cabin, headlined by a new dashboard that sports two massive screens laid side-by-side to handle infotainment and instrument cluster duties.

Parts of the new user experience are made better, such as the instrument cluster that can display the gauges of a Fox-body Mustang in the name of nostalgia or a smart dual-zone layout on the center screen that allows both Apple CarPlay and another piece of information from Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment software to display concurrently.

Other parts leave something to be desired, such as a climate control interface that, when asked to change anything, jumps up from the bottom bar to take over large chunks of the screen, only disappearing after you tap off elsewhere or cease touching the screen entirely for a bit. Nevertheless, this touchy tech is hot with the youths, and as Ford attempts to woo those buyers, the changeover seems prudent.

Those same younger buyers probably won’t groan at the thought of a four-cylinder, since basically everything gets one nowadays, including full-size pickups. On 91-octane gas, the 2.3-liter produces 320 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque, which is plenty to make things interesting when you desire. Even with regular, the car is plenty peppy. Our car did without the High Performance package, a $3475 bundle that nets a shorter 3.55:1 Torsen limited-slip rear end, upgraded suspension components, Brembo brakes, that kitschy electronic drift brake, and paddle shifters, among other things. Sans the paddles, you’re left with no way to call up specific gears, which takes away some of the urge to wring the car’s neck.

Again: cruiser spec, or rental spec if you’re untrusting of most yahoos on the road.

If you do decide to get your knuckles out, however, the car comes alive in a charming way. The transmission doesn’t stumble or dump you into the wrong gear, and the long wheelbase allows for predictable, creamy little slides. This is still a fun car to hustle, even if some inputs can’t be accessed.

Part of what makes it fun to hustle, however, also detracts from more modest driving. The steering feels too sharp in normal mode, with a small on-center spot that impedes the car’s ability to settle into the background and chow asphalt. Dial it back to comfort mode and things improve, but you’ll wish that comfort was the baseline, not something to seek out. Before you leave the dealer lot, spend some time setting up your custom mode via the button with the Mustang icon on it below the center screen. Our recommendations: Comfort steering, quiet mode for the exhaust—more on that in a moment—and normal mode for the throttle mapping.

On our car’s order sheet, the active valve exhaust is the first thing we’d ditch. It may make cold starts sound more menacing, but inside, an inescapable booming resonance at low RPMs will hamper your cruising enjoyment. We thought dropping the top might remedy the situation, but alas, it did not. The best move is to switch the exhaust to mute mode (which still doesn’t entirely eliminate this drone) and try to stay out of the 1500 rpm range, a task easier said than done around town.

The exhaust also nets you dual tips at each corner, which to the aforementioned yahoos on the road, hints that you’ve got a GT with the V-8 under the hood. Expect roll-race invites that you didn’t ask for. The latter of these qualms is remedied with a measured hand in the configurator, and you can probably get used to the former.

The rest of what’s here has an immutable charm that seeps into your bloodstream quickly. Point the long, sculpted hood of the Mustang down an interstate, turn on some twangy bluegrass, and hoover up miles like salted almonds.

And while the experience is pretty good with the top open, fresh-air cruising is where this car really hits its stride. That power-folding top lasted all of four minutes once we’d exited the highway near Traverse City. The remaining 40 minutes of drivetime were spent al fresco, heat cranked, totally absent regard for the 48-degree, cloudy weather. (Did Mother Nature make me pay the following Monday by dousing the roads in snow and nearly stranding me at the bottom of my heavily inclined driveway? Listen, perhaps. But that’s certainly not the Mustang’s fault.)

If you want to knock the seventh-generation Mustang for being not much more than fresh dressing atop reheated bones, I suppose I can’t fault you. But I humbly offer this food for thought: This car’s new interior could indeed rope in younger buyers who love their tech above all else. If it’s not for you, great news: You can get largely the same driving experience with buttons and a more analog interface—now at used car prices!

Ford had a choice with the 2024 Mustang: Throw up its hands and blame emissions regulations/the march of progress/changing market tastes, sending the pony car as we know it to the big parking lot in the sky—like a certain cross-town rival did—or adapt it, preserve the charm, and trust that despite current challenges, the nameplate would have what it takes to press on for another chapter.

As it has done so many times over sixty years, Ford chose the latter. Whether you receive the keys from a rental counter or over a dealership desk, you’ll be glad this charmer is still kickin’. We know we sure are.

2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Convertible Premium

Highs: New interior feels correctly targeted at younger buyers, still a top-five top-down cruising machine. Can we say that the Mustang still being around in this form is a high?

Lows: Active valve exhaust drones incessantly at common speeds, steering that’s too sharp for normal mode.

Takeaway: Sixty years on from the nameplate’s world debut, Ford shows that it still knows how to make the pony car sing. Here’s to sixty more.

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The post 2024 Ford Mustang EcoBoost Convertible Review: Icon For a Reason appeared first on Hagerty Media.

“Paradigm shift.” That’s the phrase Maserati uses as it makes another significant step towards being an all-electric car company. Just added to the lineup, alongside the Grecale Folgore SUV and GranTurismo Folgore coupe, is what Maserati claims to be not only the first luxury electric convertible to market but also the fastest: the GranCabrio Folgore.

In a glitzy event in Rimini, Italy, Maserati pronounced the GranCabrio to be “Made in Thunder,” as it was presented by an eclectic collection of Italian celebrities. The roster included a DJ/pianist named Dardust (who blasted out an opening overture), actress Matilda de Angelis, and astrophysicist Edwige Pezzulli. The scientist compared the brand’s innovation to the likes of Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo.

But wait, there’s more: a “Turn me on” ad campaign featuring a shirtless Damiano David (lead singer of Eurovision-winning rock band Måneskin), the launch of a $2.5 million Maserati-badged electric boat called Trident, and the company’s return to single-seater racing with its Formula E team. If it’s meant to be a paradigm shift, the fanfare is there.

But what of the car itself? Silently driven out onto the stage among the jumbo screens, booming sound, and visual effects was a handsome liquid rose gold four-seater cabriolet. As has been Maserati’s motif, the GranCabrio Folgore looks almost identical to the combustion-powered car that was revealed in February, with its flowing curves evolved from the previous generation GranTurismo and GranCabrio. Design boss Klaus Busse described this as “visual longevity” and referenced the proportions of the glorious 1954 Maserati A6GCS. If it ain’t broke, et cetera.

Copper Folgore badging and trim pieces, together with a clean tailpipe-free rear are the only features to visually distinguish EV from ICE from the outside, while in the cabin, laser-etched Econyl fabric is the signature feature. The canvas roof can be folded away in 16 seconds, and there’s a built-in wind deflector and air scarf to keep occupants comfortable. At least those sitting up front, anyway; for rear seat passengers it’ll no doubt be rather breezier.

Underneath the skin is where things are radically different. Instead of the Nettuno V-6 from the MC20 supercar, there’s a three-motor electric powertrain and a 92.5-kWh battery pack that runs from under the hood down the central spine of the car, essentially taking up the same space as the V-6, transmission, and prop shaft. This keeps the center of gravity low and allows the exact same monocoque to fit on top.

The three permanent magnet motors, derived from Formula E, each produce 300 kW (408 hp), with one on the front axle and one for each rear wheel. The battery’s 610-kW discharge capacity translates into a maximum system output of 750 hp. Operating independently, the motors can provide advanced torque vectoring under the watchful eye of its Vehicle Domain Control Module. Rear or all-wheel drive can be selected, to suit conditions or your mood. There are four drive modes that go from eking out the range to maximizing performance on track, plus three levels of regenerative braking.

The GranCabrio uses 800-volt architecture so it can charge at up to 270 kW, which means getting a 20-80 percent charge in 18 minutes or, to think of it another way, adding 60 miles in just five minutes. Maximum range as measured by Europe’s WLTP cycle is 280 miles, so expect maybe 250 at best in the real world. EPA range is expected to be about 250 miles.

Use all the available electrons and you won’t get as far but you will certainly get there fast. The benchmark 0-62 mph sprint takes 2.8 seconds, 120 mph is reached in 9.1 seconds and top speed is 180 mph. Like the Grecale Folgore, the GranCabrio will accompany such feats of acceleration with a synthesized soundtrack meant to ape the brand’s historic V-8s. Sign of the times.

Despite the dramatic switch in what powers the GranCabrio, what hasn’t changed is its underlying principles, says Busse. “You can drive six hours to Monte Carlo and you’ll arrive in style and comfort and at the same time you can stop halfway in Monza and really unleash the full performance of the car. A perfect balance of delivering long distance comfort and being able to stop at any track around the world and deliver a hot lap without looking out of place.”

Based on where the GranCabrio Folgore sits in the lineup, $220,000 is a fair guess for the starting price. We will be able to report back on specifics in June when we drive it and get a better idea how such a lofty figure is justified. However, at the moment, shoppers wanting an all-electric four-seater convertible have no other choice, regardless of cost.

The post Maserati’s GranCabrio Folgore is the World’s Fastest EV Convertible appeared first on Hagerty Media.

The world lost a musical great last year when Jimmy Buffett passed away at the age of 76. While he was known for songs about a laid-back life on the water, he was also a big fan of cars and pickups. One piece of his fun car collection is currently up for bid on GAA Classic Cars. Buffett’s 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint convertible looks ready for top-down summer cruising and features some interesting modifications.

When it was purchased in 2002, the Falcon reportedly had just 8578 miles on the odometer. In the 20 years since, it has racked up only 3300 more. The listing doesn’t specify, but we assume that with that mileage the engine is the original 260 that came with the car when new. The Falcon was not offered with any rowdy powerplants in 1963; those would come later as the 289 debuted for 1964.

The small-block convertible was hot-rodded by Buffett, who added a four-barrel intake and a matching Holley carb for a bit more power. The most noticeable addition to the car is a roll bar that serves as a surfboard rack, proving that you don’t need a surf wagon, or even a hardtop, to bring your board to the beach. On that subject, a board is included in the sale, as pictured on the car. We sort of expected Buffet to be a long-board guy, so maybe we shouldn’t have judged a surfer by his chill beach music. Buffett also added a sound system, with a trunk-mounted amplifier and subwoofer. A Fender Squier Stratocaster with Buffet’s autograph is also a part of the auction.

A look at the Hagerty Price Guide shows 1963 Ford Falcon Sprint Convertible prices down just a bit over the year, with a #2 (Excellent) condition worth $27,800 currently. That said, this car’s provenance should come into play. We asked valuation specialist and Hagerty Price Guide Publisher Dave Kinney to weigh in. “Jimmy Buffett might not be remembered as a car guy in the same vein as Paul Newman or other celebrities, but he was, through and through,” Kinney said. “That, and since Parrotheads are an enthusiastic bunch, I expect bidding for Buffett’s Falcon is likely to go well above its condition value.”

This well-kept convertible seems to be ready for another surf-loving owner, and we hope it goes to one of Buffett’s many fans who will appreciate it, as we’re sure he would have wanted. We fully expect the custom stereo system to be put to proper use playing Buffett’s expansive catalog of albums.

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It’s December now, and for much of the country that means we’re driving with the heater on. Many of us have also put our fun cars away for the winter or are starting to tackle winter projects. It’s never too early to start daydreaming about sunshine and top-down cruising, however, and the two-seater drop-tops below are affordable ways to do it once spring arrives. All are worth under $25,000 in #2 (“Excellent”) condition in the Hagerty Price Guide, but driver-quality examples of each can be found for even less. Which would you pick, or imagine yourself behind the wheel of, when the weather turns warm?

2000-05 Toyota Mr2 Spyder: $20,500

Since Miatas aren’t allowed (we featured them in a recent run-down of popular Japanese collector cars, and everyone knows they’re a viable contestant in this list), why don’t we start with something similar, but then again very different?

In some ways the third (and final) generation Toyota MR2 lives in the shadow of its more interesting, more ambitious predecessors. Taken on its own, though, it offers similar vibe, performance and reliability of the NB (1999-2005) Miata it once competed against. Its 1.8-liter 140-hp four-cylinder has nearly the exact same displacement and power rating as the Mazda, and the two Japanese budget warriors can be had for a similar price.

Then again, the Toyota also comes in a more exotic-feeling mid-engine layout, and because the Mister Two never really caught on (yearly North American sales averaged about one-third of the Mazda MX-5) it’s a relatively rare sight on the road. With its mid-engine mojo and distinctive buggy-eyed face, it’s sort of like a toned-down, more affordable Lotus Elise.

1989-95 Lotus Elan M100: $23,500

Speaking of Lotus (and Miatas), both Mazda and the then-GM-owned British carmaker went into the 1990s with the same idea—basic, affordable English roadsters were long dead, but people would buy one if only somebody would build it. Looking to fill this obvious hole in the enthusiast market, Mazda looked to classics like the MGB and, ironically, Lotus’s own Elan from the 1960s as inspiration. Then they distilled the concept, added Japanese reliability, and drove off into the sunset with what became the world’s best-selling two-seater.

Lotus, however, took a different approach. The new Elan, aka the M100, used a Japanese drivetrain, which was reassuring. With 165 hp from the turbocharged 1.6-liter Isuzu four and a curb weight of less than 2500 pounds, so was performance. But there were two strikes against this new Elan. First was the fact that the Isuzu four spun the front wheels. The Elan M100 has plenty of defenders who will happily tell you how wonderfully it handles, but purists considered a front-drive Lotus just plain blasphemy. Second was the price, which came in at over twice the price of the Miata that launched at the same time. The Elan was significantly faster and came with a much better interior, but it wasn’t enough to justify the cost. Only a few hundred American buyers stepped up for one, so at today’s values they make for a very rare car with a famous premium badge for not a ton of cash.

1986-96 Chevrolet Corvette: $24,600

The C4 Corvette isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and its values have generally reflected that. But you can’t deny it’s a ton of car for the money compared to the other ’80s and ’90s performance cars that have skyrocketed over the past five years or so.

Technically a C4 coupe is quicker and cheaper than a convertible, and it still offers wind-in-your hair motoring thanks to its removable targa roof panel. Sometimes, though, there’s no substitute for a true drop-top, and C4 convertibles are still remarkably affordable. Aside from the last few model years and special edition models like the Grand Sport or 1995 Indy Pace Car, most L98 (1986-91) and LT1 (1992-96) convertibles can be had for under $25K in #2 condition. If you’re willing to live with some bumps, scratches and miles, however, it gets even better. The #3 (“good”) value for most C4 convertibles doesn’t even push into the teens.

1980-81 Triumph TR8: $23,900

Thinking of a small lightweight English roadster with American-derived V-8 oomph usually brings up the Shelby/AC Cobra or the Sunbeam Tiger. Both of those cars are badass but also downright expensive. There’s another choice, however. One that’s way cheaper and way…wedgier.

In 1975, Triumph started to phase out its old-school TR6 with its body-on-frame construction and wood dash. In its place came the TR7, which was supposed to carry the struggling company into the future. Wedge-shaped cars were all the rage in the mid-1970s, but designer Harris Mann arguably missed the mark with the TR7, which was roundly criticized when new and doesn’t look that great today, either. Early TR7s also had serious reliability issues, and the sub-90-hp 2.0-liter four left them all underpowered. To fix that last bit, Triumph dropped in the all-aluminum 3.5-liter Rover V8 (which traced its roots back to Buick in the 1960s) and christened the new model, naturally, TR8. It was the same basic car, but the much more powerful engine and better build quality were very welcome.

This “English Corvette,” as some called it, was a consistent winner in both SCCA and IMSA racing, while Car and Driver called it “nothing less than the reinvention of the sports car.” But it couldn’t reinvent Triumph. A victim of British Leyland’s collapse in the 1970s and 1980s, the company was defunct by 1984, making the TR8 the last of the traditional British roadsters. Association with the unloved and visually identical TR7 along with the plastic-and-plaid interior kept TR8s cheap for years, and although #2 values are up 52 percent since 2019, these cars still provide good value for the money.

1991-95 Alfa Romeo Spider S4 (base model): $23,400

The original Alfa Spider kept its Italian builders busy for decades, and its 1966-94 production run makes it one of the longest-lasting sports cars ever. It’s also one of a precious few made-in-Italy two-seaters that average enthusiasts can realistically dream of parking in their garage.

The last of the series debuted in 1990 (1991 in the US), and on balance it’s arguably the best of the breed. The looks, chassis, and engine trace their roots straight back to the ’60s, but also featured plenty of upgrades and improvements. In fact, this final generation is sort of like a ’60s classic infused with ’90s comfort and convenience, although some of the older cars’ more interesting quirks were gone. North American buyers could choose from a base Spider or a “Veloce,” featuring luxury add-ons like leather seats, air conditioning, and a cloth top as well as alloy wheels. While Veloce models command a big premium with #2 values stretching past 30 grand, base models come in at a much more tolerable $23,400.

2006-10 Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky: $20,700 / $18,600

“Solstice and Sky” sounds like a lady rap duo, but they’re two of the last true American sports cars that don’t read “Corvette” on their tails.

Meant to be home-grown alternatives to the affordable roadsters from Japan, the short-lived Solstice/Sky pair were casualties of GM’s Great Recession bankruptcy. Still, they sold reasonably well when they were around and remain cheap entries into modern roadster fun.

The Pontiac Solstice first arrived for 2006 with 177hp and 166 lb-ft of torque. To bring up the Miata yet again, the Solstice had it beat on grunt, but at 2888 pounds the Pontiac was also several hundred pounds beefier. The interior was also clad in standard early 2000s GM plastic, but the body looked like nothing else on the road, and that’s still the case today. On track it won the SCCA Showroom Stock B and Touring 2 championships, and then in 2007 a hotter Solstice GXP model arrived with 260 turbocharged horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque as well as a limited-slip diff.

The reskinned Saturn version, called the Sky, arrived for the 2007 model year and its turbocharged variant was called the Redline. All versions of these cars are affordable, but while the Saturn is more conventionally pretty, a Pontiac badge has more cachet than a Saturn one (not a hard thing to do) and is generally worth more. Base Solstices run $16,600 to $19,400 in #2 condition, while a GXP only stretches into the low-20s. The Sky, meanwhile, ranges from $16,400 for a base model to $24,300 for the most expensive Redline.

1997-2004 Porsche Boxster: $22,000

Alas, the “cheap” Porsche is mostly a thing of the past. The 914s, 944s and 996-generation 911s that people used to turn their noses up at have long since gotten respect, and higher price tags as a result. Mercifully, though, the first-gen (986) Boxster, which started at over 40 grand when it was new, has stayed somewhat inexpensive. Sure, it’s not the best-looking P-car, and it has been the butt of many a joke. But you could say the same thing about the 914, and that car’s now twice as expensive as a Boxster.

The 986 is a well-balanced, comfortable, tossable little car. And with one trunk up front and another behind the mid-mounted flat-six, it’s more practical than it looks. In addition to the jellybean styling, the infamous IMS bearing issue tarnished the 986’s reputation a bit, but after two decades many cars have had that issue fixed by now or are unlikely to suffer from it. There are plenty of examples around, and the average #2 condition is $20,800. Stretch the budget a little bit and a Boxster S, which came with a larger engine and over 30 more hp than the base car, sits at just $27K.

***

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GM was on a roll as postwar America hurtled toward the fabulous ’50s, and in 1949, the dominant American automaker decided to show the world what it could do. The medium for that message was automotive extravaganzas—GM-only car shows—meant to tantalize the car-buying public with a look at what was possible and what was to come.

In 1953, GM created a name for its shows, and “Motorama” toured the country. I recall walking the acres of Motorama displays with my dad in the huge parking lot of Chicago’s Soldier Field. To my five-year-old eyes, nothing could have been more beautiful. This combination of carnival and auto exhibit became a must-see event with entertainment, music, trains, buses, cars, and more cars. Fabulous cars like the Oldsmobile Starfire and Buick Wildcat were featured that year. They had been created under the watchful eye of GM design chief Harley Earl, who recognized early on that styling is a powerful marketing tool.

Because the concept cars caused so much excitement during the first few years of the show, GM realized that it had to prove it could build exciting and enticing production vehicles as well. The result was the trio of limited-production convertibles introduced well into model year 1953: Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Skylark, and Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta.

The Olds Fiesta droptop came at a steep cost. Ticketed at $5715—approximately $70,000 in today’s dollars—it was priced well above standard GM offerings. For example, a well-equipped Olds 98 convertible was only $2963. But Fiesta was meant to impress rather than sell in big numbers, and only 458 units were produced. And impress it did, with a wraparound windshield that was a few inches lower than that of the 98, lots of chrome and stainless steel, beautiful badging, color-coordinated leather upholstery, a padded dash, a carpeted trunk, and much more.

Charlie Grant wasn’t yet among the living when the Oldsmobile 98 Fiesta Convertible made its grand entrance, but some 60 years later, this fan of GM mid-century classics knew he had to have one. Charlie provides transportation for the Detroit Public Schools, so he’s steeped in automotive culture. He also has a large facility in the heart of the Motor City where he can display cars and hold fundraisers for the school district. He currently owns about 25 cars, many of them in restoration or waiting to be restored.

Grant purchased this Olds Fiesta in 2014 after seeing it on eBay. It came out of Arizona, so it wasn’t a rust bucket, but it was definitely showing the wear and tear of 60 years. The owner had intended to restore it, but decided against the project and posted the car for sale. With only 458 produced and 50 said to still be extant, the Fiesta was a once-in-a-lifetime find, so Grant leaped.

Reminger Restorations of Winona, Minnesota, was charged with making the classic Olds droptop new again. Jim Reminger is a meticulous pro who has restored several cars for Grant, including some classic Cadillacs, so there was no doubt he could return this machine to its original glory. Because some mechanical parts were beyond repair, a donor car—a 98 from 1953—was purchased. (The 98 wasn’t equipped with the specialized parts of the Fiesta, but the limited-production car used some brand-standard parts, so the 98 fit the bill.)

All the original body panels and floors were relatively free of rust and in eminently restorable condition. The seats and top were tattered and worn, but they were in good enough shape that Grant and Reminger could determine the original upholstery colors of Surf Blue and Polar White. The 303-cubic-inch Rocket V-8 engine was intact, and its numbers indicated it was original to the car. Boasting a revised intake manifold and a slightly higher compression ratio than the standard Olds powerplant, it was rated at 170 horsepower when new. Thanks to a full rebuild, it starts immediately without smoke and idles smoothly. The engine is backed by GM’s dual-range Hydramatic transmission, which offers four forward speeds, including a low ratio, stump-pulling first gear.

As one might expect after many years of storage, none of the accessories or mechanical systems were operable, but after full disassembly, all components were repaired or sent out for specialized restoration. Both Reminger and Grant are sticklers for authenticity, so all systems were reconditioned to original factory specs. Even the radio tubes are of the original type.

The Olds Fiesta was among the first GM cars produced with power seats and windows, and like other early designs, the windows are raised and lowered by hydraulic units that are electrically activated. This hydroelectric technology was first used by the military prior to World War II. Originally meant to raise and lower the tops of military vehicles, it naturally adapted to raise and lower the windows of passenger cars. GM began using the technology in the late 1940s for both power windows and convertible tops. To restore the windows, Reminger purchased new hydraulic units from a supplier he works with on a regular basis and ran all new lines.

Because the Fiesta came with numerous power accessories, GM utilized a 12-volt battery for the first time. This early 12-volt is twice as long and half as wide as today’s batteries. Thus, for the restoration, a custom retro battery was purchased and installed in its original position under the hood.

The windows that weren’t broken were in poor condition, so all new glass was fitted, and date codes were etched in the windows to match the old glass. All the trim pieces are original and have been cleaned up and replated. The chrome windshield pillars were leaded into the body, so the lead had to be melted before the pillars could be removed for plating. Once finished, they were leaded back in place.

Most car enthusiasts will recognize the Fiesta hubcaps. They’re the classic Oldsmobile spinner hubcaps that were a favorite of early hot rodders. Some of the hubcaps on Grant’s Fiesta were replaced or restored depending on condition. Today, they are a beautiful reminder of GM’s mid-century styling triumphs.

***

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It was February, 1988, and Georgia’s Doraville Assembly was filled with gleaming new Oldsmobile Cutlass Supremes. Five years and $7B had been spent on the new front-drive Cutlass and its W-body (at first “GM10”) siblings, the Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix. These were boldly styled, aerodynamic, high-tech cruise missiles aimed at Ford Thunderbirds and Honda Preludes alike. Unfortunately, the car market was more interested in Mercury Sables. The early W cars were a costly swing-and-miss.

First impressions really count in the car business. They looked awesome, but the early Ws never met their over-optimistic sales projections. The sporty, high-tech image was undermined by 1988 models landing only with the 130-hp 2.8-liter V-6, an engine shared with the Chevy Cavalier.

In March of 1989, Doraville was idled for a month because of overstocked dealers. GM was also losing $1800 on every W it built. GM’s gleaming, robot-filled factories—each dedicated to a single model—couldn’t flex with demand and operated way below capacity, a symbol of Roger Smith–era dysfunction.

There was one W-body everybody seemed to love: the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible. Based on a small run of convertibles built for the 1988 Indy 500 pace car program, the full production version looked great and demand outstripped supply for much of its 1990–95 run. The droptop Supreme ended up being Olds’ final ragtop, and 35 years later, both the coupe and convertible have come into their own as classics. The styling still stands out.

As a car-obsessed kid, I loved the wild design of the Cutlass coupe and convertible. But I always wondered how such a radical departure from the previous Cutlasses happened. How did that convertible get made? To get the answers to those questions, I sat down (separately) with Ed Welburn, GM’s VP of global design from 2005 to 2016, and David Draper, former CEO of Cars & Concepts (C&C), who engineered and converted the cars.

In the mid-1980s, Welburn was an Oldsmobile studio staffer working under design leads John Perkins and, later, David North. While Welburn was helping shape the Cutlass and the streamlined Aerotech, Draper was designing convertibles for Chrysler and Ford as well as projects for Olds that Welburn also worked on, like the 1983 Hurst/Olds and the 1985 Cutlass Calais pace car, both projects Welburn also worked on.

“It happened that C&C was in Brighton [Michigan], right between Oldsmobile in Lansing and GM’s tech center in Warren,” Welburn said. “That made them an easy partner but they also put real quality into what they did. I recall many drives to Brighton.”

The Aero Cutlass

Work began on the W-body in 1983–84, when the “aero look” was king. Welburn credits that aesthetic to the influence of the Audi 5000 and Ford Sierra. “GM had also done concepts like that, but we’d never put anything like them into production.” As it turned out, that would soon change—possibly because CEO Roger Smith had been skewered in Fortune magazine in 1983 for the company’s “cookie cutter” cars and seeming lack of interest in design. The magazine parked four burgundy A-body sedans next to each other to hammer home the point.

“I’d worked on the previous three Cutlasses and they were all big sellers,” Welburn said, “but the edict, from Smith directly, was that change was needed. In the studio, I did a whole lot of sketches, evolutionary and revolutionary, but when the time came to choose, the direction from the top was definitely ‘revolutionary.’”

Smith had a specific example in mind: the Aero 2000 concept car created for GM’s exhibit at Disney World’s Epcot Center. “It was a very aerodynamic, sleek-looking car, but also very small because it had to fit in the exhibit. It had a glass-to-glass roof with no conventional sail panel, which was part of our inspiration,” explained Welburn. Aside from its electroluminescent dashboard, the interior was less radical and more of an evolution of the previous car.

“As designers, we were all excited to work on something that cutting edge. But the whole time we were working on it, market research kept saying that this wasn’t exactly the right car for the moment.” It was, however, what leadership wanted.

Part of the issue, Welburn said, is that the market was trending away from coupes and towards sports sedans. “The Taurus really fit that bill, and we were only working on coupes.” There was a Chevy sedan in the pipeline but the other sedans didn’t arrive for two years after the coupes because they were added very late in the game. In 1988 and 1989, four-door buyers would be shown to the Cutlass Ciera, one of the Fortune cover cars.

Sure enough, Once the Cutlass arrived, it didn’t meet sales aspirations. “We got really good press and the car looked really distinctive,” but as predicted by the researchers, the lineup only having coupes to sell didn’t help the launch. Nor did the memorable but incoherent “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile” ad campaign promoting the new Supreme, which demeaned existing Olds customers while simultaneously failing to win new ones.

The pace cars

The Indy pace cars of 1988 were part of that initial marketing push, but they also had another purpose. In talking with Welburn about my own recollections of the cars, I mention my favorite NASCAR driver, Harry Gant, who famously piloted a Cutlass to four straight wins in September 1991.

“It’s funny that you mention Gant,” Welburn said. “Towards the end of the design program, we created a special fascia meant for drivers like Gant and A.J. Foyt in NASCAR, Paul Newman, and Paul Gentilozzi in IMSA, and Warren Johnson in NHRA. The car was very aerodynamic for that time, but for racing we knew it needed more of an edge, so we went into the wind tunnel and tested out an altered version of the front fascia. We homologated it by building the pace cars.”

Oldsmobile turned to Cars & Concepts to build its planned 200 pace-car coupes and 50 convertibles, including the three race-use vehicles. Co-founded in 1976 by Draper, a former White Truck engineer, and a veteran of the original Hurst/Olds programs, Dick Chrysler, one of the company’s first jobs was the modifications on the 1976 Hurst/Olds. “We often worked with [Oldsmobile chief engineer] Ted Lucas back then,” Draper said. That first project led to many more.

The coupes were just a paint and trim job, while the race-day cars were repurposed development mules powered by heavily massaged Quad-4 engines and no provision for a top or exterior door handles, though they did have a super-cool Hughes Electronics head-up display. But Olds also wanted working convertibles for dealers.

A gaggle of droptops were laboriously built and later distributed to dealerships but, clarified Draper, “It was impossible to build them properly in low volume and in that time frame.” GM quickly bought most of the cars back, ostensibly because of a “certification issue,” but the exact details are unclear. Several dealers refused to part with the cars, and thus, a small number survived. Draper isn’t sure if the full run of 50 was actually finished. “I was, after all, the CEO, and focused on bigger projects.”

Though rough compared to what came later, these droptops made a big impression. “The pace car got people excited about a convertible, and that’s what really got the ball rolling [for production],” said Welburn.

The challenge of convertible conversions

At first glance, the Cutlass’ glassy roof looks like an easy starting point for a convertible adaptation … until you see the door handle on the B-pillar. “If you want to move that handle you have to retool the whole door and everything in it,” said Draper. It would have been a huge expense. “Our solution was to design a concept that retained all of the interior door mechanism and used a hoop. It was not a roll bar but a design element.”

Nor was the approach inspired by Volkswagen and the Cabriolet, he confirmed. “Some people who loved it and some people hated it.” The hoop was part of the car from the start, even on the pace car units.

The convertible’s engineering was a 50-50 collaboration between C&C and Lucas’ engineering team at Oldsmobile. The most important part of the production conversion development, Draper said, “was convincing Oldsmobile to do all the body changes in the body in white,” the phase at which all the structural elements of the unpainted car are complete. Starting the conversion later would have also driven the price too high.

All this meant a very involved process at Doraville.

C&C pulled bare-metal coupes off the line and trucked them to a parallel shop. “There, we’d remove all the parts that weren’t necessary and add the parts that were, including rebuilding the door and strengthening the floor and rocker panels, the whole works.” The bodies were then trucked back to Doraville and inserted on the line in their original slot. “So their line kept running and so did ours.” After trimming, the cars returned to C&C’s shop for the rear seats and top.

“The system worked really well, and I think we built it to a standard we couldn’t have any other way short of building the whole body ourselves. We might’ve changed the door if we’d done that, but the car would have been unsalably expensive,” said Draper.

As it was, the production convertible was about $4500 pricier than the coupe. The hoop design was later integrated into the limited-production Chevy Beretta convertible, “which was also a pace car and also had those door handles,” Draper laughed. Logistical and crash-test hurdles prevented that one from getting built in volume.

Welburn was also pleased with how the car translated into a droptop: “I remember many afternoons working with C&C on that project making sure everything looked right. I’m not an engineer, but visually it was a good result.

“One of the things I think is nicest about this car is that it’s a convertible with a meaningful back seat, which you rarely see now. I have a friend in Italy who has one of these Cutlass convertibles and he loves the car both for the style and the practicality. Plus, the top is fast. Sixteen seconds, I think?”

Mechanically, the cars were identical to the standard Cutlass coupe but 370 pounds heavier. They delivered the same competent and smooth but relaxed driving experience, although in 1990 and 1991 Oldsmobile started to add more punch to the coupe. The 140-hp 3.1-liter LHO V-6 was added for 1989, then 1990 brought the Quad-4 (160 or 180 hp), and in 1991 the 200-hp 3.4-liter LQ1 V-6 was made optional. Convertibles came only with the 3.1 or, after 1993, the 3.4.

The collector convertible

The Cutlass’s big wheelbase and usable back seat made it a rarity among convertibles in the early 1990s—and a hit with upper-middle-class buyers—with demand outstripping supply for much of the car’s run. In the summer of 1992, Olds marketing manager Lisa Crumley called the car “a real success story for Oldsmobile,” and sales soared from 1340 cars in 1991 to 8638 in 1994. Unfortunately, the story ended soon after.

Part of the problem was that GM had originally planned to build 250,000 Cutlasses a year at Doraville; it never managed more than 116,000. After years of running under capacity, production was moved to Fairfax, Kansas, in 1995, where the Pontiac Grand Prix was built, and the plant in Doraville was retooled for the GMT200-generation minivans. Moving convertible production was unfeasibly expensive, so it ended. Nobody could have known that it would be Oldsmobile’s last ragtop, but that anticlimactic end disguises the fact that collectors liked it from the start.

“We actually had two of them for a while,” says Ed Konsmo, owner of the silver ’91 featured here. An Olds collector since the 1980s, he started with a ’65 Cutlass convertible and currently also owns a 1950 98 Futuramic sedan, but the W-car’s cool styling and practicality were a big draw. “We bought our first one, a white ’92, in 2010, but later on a friend in the Olds club who owned this ’91 passed away, so my wife and I bought it.”

In the first two years, Cutlass Convertibles were not easy to get, and the original owner special ordered it and waited months for delivery, but rarely used it. It may be one of the nicest, most original examples in the world. “It’s one of only three in this color combo, and it had 17,000 miles on it when we got it three years ago. It’s a sunny day, date night kind of car.” Everything on the car is as it left Doraville and 100 percent original. Aside from the tires and a horn that doesn’t honk, it all operates like a new car.

Konsmo and the car got a warm reception at the 2022 Oldsmobile Nationals in Tennessee, but it draws lots of attention even at more casual events, taking “raddest in show” at the 2023 Radwood PNW event. He was surprised at the interest in the car from younger people, and also happy to learn that these Cutlasses and other post-1980 GM front-drivers are inspiring a thriving online fandom.

His message to fans who want to preserve this era of Olds history? “Get involved with clubs, they need you!”

***

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As the Audi TT‘s joyful 25-year existence reaches the end of the road, the automaker is giving its style icon a handsome send-off. The 2023 Audi TT Roadster Final Edition will don special paint, a handful of color treatments for select styling components, and sporty bodywork—all without the shouty badging that would otherwise accompany it.

Just 50 such cars will be made, all bound for U.S. shores. Lucky us! That gorgeous green (Audi calls it Goodwood Green pearl effect) looks deep enough to swan-dive into. The paint was offered on the first-gen TT Roadster, and now it makes a comeback for the final iteration of the third-gen car. A series of matte gray trim pieces on the bumper and the side trim, cribbed from the S line package which is offered on the TT Roadster here for the first time, help offset the green paint. As a nod to subtlety, the TT Roadster Final Edition doesn’t have those S line badges anywhere on it.

The convertible top, which can raise and lower the roof in just 10 seconds at speeds of up to 31 mph, is also gray. Though it’s not the first time a gray top has been offered—the 2019 TT Roadster 20th Anniversary Edition also offered it—it looks correct here. Though Audi doesn’t explicitly say so, wed bet that the gray top is meant as a nod to the original TT concept, painted silver, which had a very thick B-pillar and slim window. In profile, it’s hard to miss the connection.

Inside, toasty Palomino Brown leather wraps Roadster’s thrones. Audi says the color choice is a tribute to the first-gen TT’s optional baseball-stitch leather seats. We must ask: Would it have killed Audi to just make 100 seats with actual baseball stitching? Tributes are never as good—unless you’re Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Still, a green-over-tan color scheme always plays on a small convertible. The Palomino Brown fest continues thanks to an extended leather package that covers the door armrests and center console in the same material.

Every TT Roadster Final Edition will come wearing 20-inch x 9-inch forged wheels with summer performance rubber on them, a combo borrowed from the sportier Audi TTS. The TTS also donates its magnetic-ride suspension, a system that smooths out road imperfections and also lowers the car by 10 mm.

Power comes from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 228 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. That engine mates to a seven-speed dual clutch automatic and Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. With that running gear, the TT Roadster can ho 60 mph from a standstill in just 5.5 seconds.

More than just a design icon, the TT, throughout the years, has served as a technological testbed for Audi. It was the brand’s first car to incorporate an electronically-deployed rear spoiler, the first to offer Audi’s brilliant virtual cockpit instrument cluster, and the first Audi to offer OLED taillights. It feels fitting, then, that a car whose entire existence was on the sharp edge of development get to ride softly into the sunset with a package that looks delightfully retro.

The 2023 Audi TT Roadster Final Edition will run you $68,895, including a $1095 destination charge. It’s available at U.S. dealers now, but if you want to be one of the lucky 50 to take one home, we’d recommend hopping to it.

***

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Our recent market rundown of 2+2 coupes provided a new variation on longtime auctioneer Dean Kruse’s proverb of “when the top goes down, the price goes up!” It seems that for the most part, values plummet inverse to inches added to the wheelbase. So, logic prevails—as it largely does with Kruse’s original convertible-versus-coupe aphorism. Largely is the key word—there are some notable exceptions.

What happens when the collector-car market bucks this droptop logic? Some models have us scratching our heads. What makes a selection of fixed-roof cars more valuable—in some cases, significantly so—than their retractable-roof siblings?

We’ll start with the weirdest first. The Ferrari 348 (1989–94) and Ferrari F355 (1994–99) could be ordered in three distinct body styles; coupe, soft-top retractable convertible, and a manual targa roof. Logic dictates that the soft-top would be the more expensive of the second two, right? After all, there are few daydreams more evocative than coastal cruising in an open-air exotic—a sentiment supported by the values of most vehicles in that segment.

Everything goes wonky when you chart the 348 and F355. Sticking with the non-limited “base” 348, the “TB” coupe is the most expensive, followed by the targa-roofed “TS,” and finally by the soft-topped Spider. The F355 value hierarchy is even goofier; the targa-topped GTS commands a not-insignificant eight-percent premium in #2 (Excellent) condition over the Berlinetta coupe.

The F355 Spider trails both by a significant margin. It’s down 40 percent against the coupe, and a whopping 53 percent when compared to a GTS in the same condition. You’ll pay an average of $69,000 more for the GTS ($202,000) than for the Spider ($133,000).

Raw data alone can’t explain this discrepancy, so we rang up noted Ferrari expert Colleen Sheehan of Ferraris Online for some insight. The truth is a lot simpler than we expected.

“The tops on [F355] Spiders are really, really bad,” Sheehan tells us during a phone interview. “Even when the Spider’s tops do work, they’re horrendous. You must have the car on, have the doors closed, have the windows down, and then you can try the button and pray to the gods it works.”

We ask her if it’s common for Spider owners to leave the car parked in the garage with the top down, and to drive it only on fair-weather days to avoid the hassle. “Pretty much, and when it’s down all the time, the elastic bands in the top get bent out of shape, and this furthers the issue,” she says.

This drives buyers to search for an open-top F355 as an alternative to the GTS, as the F355’s manually removed roof centerpiece is mostly fuss-free. Simple supply-and-demand comes into effect: “[Ferrari] also simply made more coupes,” Sheehan explains. Sources indicate 4871 coupes, 3817 Spiders, and 2577 GTS before production closed—nearly twice the number of coupes to targas.

Sheehan indicates that supply-and-demand production imbalance is familiar among certain Ferrari models. “It’s funny, since the 308 GTB [coupe] is more valuable since [Ferrari] made so many less of them than the targa-roofed GTS,” she laughs. “Dinos are the same but flipped, as [Ferrari] made more coupes than targas.”

Now, fast-forward to the F355’s successor. The 1999–2004 Ferrari 360 ended production with 8800 coupes and 7565 Spiders built, so the numbers are already in favor of the Spider. Then consider that the 360’s retractable top is far superior to the F355’s, and that there is no targa-roofed example to spread out demand: The 360 Spider’s 48 percent premium fits squarely into the traditional narrative of the collector market. Mystery solved.

Or is it?

A general overview of the collector-car market indicates that yes, anomalies notwithstanding, convertibles do sell for premiums over coupes—up to a point. “Open cars being worth more in the majority of cases is true up through the 1980s, but then there’s a switch to the majority of closed cars being worth more,” says John Wiley, Hagerty’s manager of data analytics.

Wiley posits this shift might come down, at least in part, to the same factors dictating the Ferrari market, and that convertibles from and before the 1970s have lower rates of survival than more modern droptops. And, since air conditioning was less common in older cars—think muscle cars and larger mid-century European tourers—a droptop appeals to more people in a wider variety of climates.

The standout exceptions to Kruse’s saying, Wiley notes, are 1980s-and-newer German and Japanese performance cars, two segments on the rise. Buyers of these cars almost overwhelmingly prefer coupes to any sort of removable or retractable roof. Buyers of Porsches, BMWs, the original Acura NSX, and the Mk. IV Toyota Supra all prioritize the added rigidity and performance cred of a coupe over the open-air experience of a targa or a full-on convertible. It’s only when there are particularly rare or collectible convertible variants when this trend flips. For Porsches, this means going back to earlier production years with soft-window 1967–69 911 Targas and soft-top 356s.

Things return to “normal” with American cars. Our data indicates that, with the exception of the imminently collectible 1963 Chevrolet Corvette “Split-Window” coupe, mainstays like the Mustang, Camaro, and Corvette are generally worth more as convertibles.

All this to say:

“When the top goes down, the price usually goes up!”

***

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Via Insider

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493-hp Spyder RS is Porsche’s most powerful Boxster ever

Intake: Porsche just unveiled the gnarliest-ever version of the Boxster: the 718 Spyder RS. (The name recalls the late 1950s, when Porsche first used the “718 RS” moniker on a race-car derivative of the 550 Spyder.) The convertible blends many goodies from two high-performance siblings, the 911 GT3 and the 718 Cayman GT4 RS. Power comes from the same engine that you’d find in the 911 GT3, a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six that’s been detuned here to make 493 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque. It soars to a sonorous 9000-rpm redline and sings through a stainless-steel sport exhaust. A seven-speed PDK automatic is the sole transmission choice. Performance figures are appropriately nuts: 0 to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, top speed of 191 mph. Suspension is derived from the 718 Spyder and the Cayman GT4 RS, with standard Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) that lowers the car 1.18 inches. The 718 Spyder RS will start at $162,150, including a $1450 destination charge, and it should reach dealers next spring. Order one, and you’ll also get a custom chronograph watch by Porsche Design that matches the spec of your car.

Exhaust: You can expect three things about a high-powered, flat-six Porsche these days: potent chassis, potent waiting list, potent price. Relative to the normal 718 Boxster Spyder, which starts right around $100,000, the Spyder RS gets 79 additional horsepower, a half-second faster 0-to-60-mph time, 59 fewer pounds, and a 5-mph-higher top speed. We can’t wait. — Nathan Petroelje

No way! Norway gets GM Europe’s first EVs

Intake: As soon as this autumn, GM will re-enter the European car market on the back of an “all-electric” portfolio of vehicles, GM Europe president Jaclyn McQuaid told Automotive News Europe yesterday. Those battery-electric cars will come from a slew of brands owned by General Motors. GM is staying mum on its target markets, but a source tells AN Europe that Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden—will get first dibs on the vehicles. GM didn’t really need to be so secretive: Remember that GM Super Bowl commercial from 2021, with Will Ferrell? “No way, Norway”?

Exhaust: Saying you have an all-EV portfolio sounds virtuous, but the business case for GM pursuing Nordic markets is obvious: Based on New York Times data, EVs represent only 20 percent of European new-car sales in 2022. In Norway—because of a truly wild story involving “Take on Me” and unpaid toll fees—that figure rises to a utopian 80 percent.

Here’s Toyota’s next electric car

Intake: Toyota has shown a teaser of its new electric vehicle. Based on the rendering above, it is nothing like anything Toyota has done before. Automotive News says the actual concept will be shown in Tokyo at the end of October. So far, you can expect a very sleek car, with a low nose and a high rear end that could imply a hatch-style trunk. Renderings are usually exaggerated toward sportiness, but this one looks like it could be accurate. CEO Koji Sato said today that Toyota would invest an additional 1 trillion yen ($7.44 billion) into EV development and production through the end of the decade. That brings Toyota’s total commitment, through 2030, to 5 trillion yen ($37.2 billion).

Exhaust: The new EV is scheduled to debut in 2026, Automotive News says. We’re definitely seeing a new, modern design language at Toyota for its battery-electric vehicles, starting with the surprisingly handsome new Prius. — Steven Cole Smith

Alpine announces hot hatch for 2024

Intake: Alpine, the raciest brand under French firm Renault, has revealed its first EV. The A290_β is just a concept for now but heralds a full production version due in the next year. The car is based on its sibling, the Renault 5 show car, but with an added helping of performance and aggressive styling. In silhouette and stance, there are echoes of the classic Group B Renault 5 Turbo 2, but overall it’s a forward-looking design, hunkered down and ready to rip up a backroad. While the exterior appears near-finished, the cabin design, with its central driving position, is clearly still at the concept stage. Alpine hasn’t revealed any stats yet, but we expect the A290 to have a pair of electric motors driving the front wheels, in contrast to the now-common rear-drive setup of many compact EVs.

Exhaust: The A290 will mark Alpine’s move into mass production and build on the French flagship’s global presence, which it is currently boosting through its Formula 1 program. The A290 probably won’t be coming to the U.S.A., however: CEO Laurent Rossi states that the company’s American debut will be in 2027 or 2028 with a pair of sporty electric SUVs. — Nik Berg

Car prices are down a bit, and incentives are up in April

Intake: The average transaction price (ATP) for a new car dipped in April, says Kelley Blue Book, dropping to $48,275, a month-over-month decrease of 0.03 percent ($14) from an upwardly revised March reading of $48,289. New-vehicle transaction prices in April were up 3.7 percent ($1744) compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, auto manufacturers’ incentive spend rose to the highest level in the last year at 3.6 percent of the ATP in April, averaging $1714. After 20 months of new-vehicle prices holding above the average sticker price, transaction prices are now trending downward. In April 2023, the average price consumers paid fell to $378 below sticker price. For comparison, a year ago, the average ATP was $600 above MSRP. Sales volumes were down month over month by 1.5 percent but up 9.0 year over year in April, higher than most forecasts and fed by higher inventory levels and a healthy dose of fleet deliveries.

Exhaust: “New-vehicle transaction prices are trending downward in 2023, which should feel like a breath of fresh air to buyers following the last few years of low supply and rapidly rising prices,” said Rebecca Rydzewski, research manager of Economic and Industry Insights for Cox Automotive. “Now that inventory levels are starting to climb and manufacturers are increasing incentives, the market will respond accordingly. High auto-loan interest rates are still a major issue for many buyers, but inventory and price trends are a positive in the market right now.” — SCS

***

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Ferrari Portofino M bows out in favor of new Roma Spider

Intake: A new report from Road & Track indicates that the Ferrari Portofino M will cease production soon. The recently revealed Roma Spider will take the Portofino M’s place as the company’s entry-level droptop ride. It uses the same 612-hp twin-turbo V-8 that the Portofino did, and it carries the same front-engine, rear-drive 2+2 playout, but the new car ditches the Portofino M’s bulky folding hardtop in place of a much lighter soft-top setup. The origins of the Portofino begin back in 2008 with the arrival of the Ferrari California, which first employed a 453-hp 4.3-liter naturally aspirated V-8. In 2014 the California T arrived, scoring two turbochargers and a power bump to 522 hp. The California T morphed into the Portofino in 2017, and power was bumped to 591 hp. Then in 2020 the Portofino M arrived, lifting power to 612 hp, where it has remained to this day.

Exhaust: Though it was much easier on the eyes than the California, the Portofino always struck us as a bit too aggressive for its form factor. The new Roma, on the other hand, is a bit softer around the edges, and the elegant shape is more befitting of the front-engined droptop grand tourers of Ferrari’s heyday. — Nathan Petroelje

2024 Nissan GT-R order books open in Japan

Intake: It’s too early in the U.S. to order a 2024 Nissan GT-R, but the car has just become available in Japan, and if the prices there hold similar for the U.S. market, you’d better plan to work a little overtime. Carscoops pulled out the calculator and converted the prices to dollars, and they say the base model, or the Pure, starts at $104,788, increases to $116,982 for the Black edition, $113,095 for the Premium Edition, and $144,494 for the Premium Edition T-Spec. The Nismo-engineered Track Edition is $134,510. It will cost you a whopping $218,341 for the GT-R Nismo, and $222,152 for the Nismo Special Edition.

Exhaust: Despite some tweaks for 2024, it’s amazing that a vehicle as old as the GT-R still commands such premium prices. The Japanese version of the base GT-R has a twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V-6 that pumps out 565 horsepower, and it’s attached to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The car still works amazingly well and has a classic look that every car-loving teenager covets, so we expect the U.S. allocation to sell out as usual. Nissan has promised the 2024 model will show up this spring, so U.S. pricing should come soon. — Steven Cole Smith

Ford recalling Mavericks, Broncos

Intake: Ford is recalling a relatively small number of Broncos and Mavericks for separate issues—with the Maverick, 2716 of the 2023 pickup trucks need work on electric circuits in the engine bay to fix trailer taillights that may not illuminate. Letters should go out to owners on March 27. Also, 1651 Broncos from 2021 and 2022 are being recalled for rear-view camera issues. Apparently, these affected vehicles might show the rear backing camera on the 8-inch SYNC infotainment system after backing up has ended and the vehicle is put in forward gear. Letters should go out to owners on May 1.

Exhaust: If you think you might have an affected vehicle, have your VIN number ready and either log onto Ford.com, or call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at 1-888-327-4236. — SCS

European Union: E-fuels could become a legal alternative to electric

Intake: Reuters is reporting that the European Commission has drafted a plan allowing sales of new cars with internal combustion engines that run only on climate-neutral e-fuels, “in an attempt to resolve a spat with Germany over the EU’s phasing out of combustion engine cars from 2035,” similar to the plan adopted by California and a number of other states. The draft proposal, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, suggests creating a new type of vehicle category in the European Union for cars that can only run on carbon-neutral fuels. “Such vehicles would have to use technology that would prevent them from driving if other fuels are used, the draft said. This would include a ‘fueling inducement system’ to stop the car from starting if it was fueled by non-carbon neutral fuels.”

Exhaust: While e-fuels have been most often mentioned as a way to keep ICE-powered race cars on track, there’s a groundswell of research going into the manufacture of e-fuels for street cars, too. Check out our visit to a plant in Chile that’s at the forefront of the technology. — SCS

VW responds to “Gold Rush” atmosphere in the U.S.

Intake: In a story titled “VW Says There’s Never Been a Better Time to Build an EV Factory in the U.S.,” Bloomberg outlines the reasons why Volkswagen moved so quickly to build a new plant in South Carolina to make the new Scout SUV. Volkswagen said lucrative new U.S. incentives for EV makers “were just too good to pass up when weighing to pick a partner or build its own factory to make cars for the new Scout brand.” VW will build the $2 billion factory to produce electric SUVs as part of Scout Motors, Inc. The factory is due to open in 2026 and will eventually build 200,000 EVs a year. 

Exhaust: “We view it simplistically a little bit like the Gold Rush,” Scott Keogh, chief executive officer of the Scout brand told Bloomberg, as Keogh was “equating the 1849 California Gold Rush with the federal Inflation Reduction Act that provides incentives” for domestically produced EVs. “There’s never been a better time to build a factory in America,” Keogh said. — SCS

2007 F1 champ goes NASCAR Sunday at COTA

Intake: The 2007 Formula One World Champion, Kimi Räikkönen, will make his second NASCAR Cup Series start on Sunday driving the No. 91 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in the NASCAR Cup Series race on the road course at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Although it is his first time in a race car in 2023, the Finland native has one big advantage this weekend: He knows the COTA circuit well, as one of Räikkönen’s 21 Formula One victories, and his most recent, came at COTA on Oct. 21, 2018, when he led 39 laps on his way to victory driving for Ferrari. He’s raced eight times on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile permanent road course. He’ll be part of the Trackhouse Racing team, joining Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez.

Exhaust: “Obviously, it’s helpful that I know the track,” said Räikkönen. He raced with Trackhouse at Watkins Glen in August of 2022. That day Räikkönen used his skills in the rain to climb into the top 10 before a late-race accident ended his day. – SCS

The post Ferrari’s droptop swap, Ford’s Maverick and Bronco recall, e-fuels offer hope appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Fifty years ago, Fiat brought mid-engined sophistication to the masses with its X1/9. The TR7 was Triumph’s riposte, but was it ever enough to restore faith in the U.K.’s once great sports car industry?

Welcome to Retro Rematch, a series from our friends at Hagerty UK, which pits contemporary rivals against one another in the here and now. Check out Hagerty UK here.

You could say that the writing had been on the wall for some time. In 1968, British Leyland Motor Corporation’s multi-brand offering included some of the most successful mainstream sports cars in history. The MG Midget and B, Triumph Spitfire and TR6 were all in their prime. But by the mid-‘70s, their ‘50s-derived design and engineering was wearing thin, and the market was ripe for a new kind of affordable sports car. This time, though, it came not from Britain, but Italy.

Take a bow, the Fiat X1/9

Launched 50 years ago, in 1972, the Fiat X1/9 gave a shot in the arm to the enthusiast car sector. Its clever mid-engined platform was a revelation at such a low price, and its futurist wedge design was right on point for buyers ready for a new flavor of sports car. That it was intelligently packaged, practical and drove like a dream must have been the worst nightmare for Triumph, MG et al.

They may already have had an inkling, though. In 1969, Autobianchi had shown an alluring concept based on its A112 model, called the Runabout Barchetta. Fiat purchased Autobianchi soon after, and the concept was put on ice, until company chief Gianni Agnelli realized that it had the makings of a perfect successor to the company’s 850 Spider.

Development started immediately, with Fiat using its all-new and highly advanced front-wheel-drive 128 model as a base, but re-engineered with a mid-engined configuration. Design of the X1/9 was by Marcello Gandini at Bertone and its 128-derived 1290cc, inline-four engine by Aurelio Lampredi, which gave the car instant provenance from the creators of the Lamborghini Miura and Ferrari V-12.

Mounting the high-revving, 73-hp engine amidships, gave the car a rearward bias for good traction, but confined major masses well within its axles, giving it highly responsive handling. The 128’s MacPherson struts were employed all around, and braking was by un-servoed discs at each corner.

The X1/9 was immensely practical. There was a generous cargo area at the front, large enough for not just luggage, but also for its targa roof panel to slot neatly above any contents. An additional trunk behind the transverse engine was also good for two soft overnight bags.

It was safe, too. Anticipating new U.S. safety regulations, the X1/9 became one of only two cars to pass the impending 50-mph head-on crash tests. However, the extra weight needed to make it so strong (which still only contributed to a 1940-pound weight for the first-series model) blunted performance somewhat, with 100 mph being only just attainable.

Which is why, despite a positive press reception, Fiat’s U.K. importer opted not to take the car after its debut at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, holding out for a more potent 124 Spider replacement that never materialized. But in 1977, it finally grasped the nettle, and never looked back. Despite Motor magazine only achieving a maximum speed of 97 mph and a 0-60 mph figure of 12.2 seconds, its tester proclaimed: “(The X1/9) is stylish, fun to drive, economical and next to our own aging rag tops is about the nearest you can get to real wind-in-the hair motoring at the price … What a car it would be with a bigger engine, though!”

Which is precisely what the X1/9 received the following year in time for the facelifted model’s world debut at the British Motor Show in October 1978. Taking the new Strada model’s 1500-cc version of the Lampredi engine, the X1/9 became the car it always should have been. With power now up to 85-hp, as well as a commensurate lift in torque, performance was markedly improved. While it was hardly the cheapest car in its class, it resonated with buyers, and even when Fiat stopped final assembly at its Lingotto plant in Turin in 1981, Bertone continued full production, re-badging the car as the “Bertone X1/9.”

Production drew to a close in 1989 after 17 years, with 160,000 X1/9s sold globally. But as Motor opined when it welcomed the X1/9 to its pages: “Its closest rival is Leyland’s TR7 …”. But exactly how close was it?

The TR7 brought a tear to Giugiaro’s eye

“Oh my God! They’ve done it to the other side as well.”

Allegedly, these were the words uttered when Giorgetto Giugiaro saw the TR7 coupé at its Geneva Show debut in 1975. The legendary designer had mistakenly assumed that the car on display was a concept, split, as they often were, to show two design approaches. But what he actually saw was Triumph’s new two-seater sports car in its final production guise.

To find out why the TR7 looked the way it did you need to go back six years to 1969. MG and Triumph, despite both being owned by BLMC since ’68, remained rivals. So when Corporation chief Donald Stokes decreed that a new sports car was needed to mitigate lost U.S. Triumph and MG sales, due to the launch of rivals like the Datsun 240Z and Porsche 914, each brand started to develop its own new sports car.

Interestingly, MG’s—known as “ADO21″—was mid-engined, whereas Triumph’s “Bullet” concept was configured as a more conventional front-engined, rear-driver. Only one car was to be approved for production, and with U.S.-buyer feedback equating conventionality with reliability, Triumph’s proposal won the day.

With Spen King heading up engineering development of the new car, Harris Mann, fresh from designing Austin’s new Allegro, was drafted in to the program. Dead-set against giving the new Triumph a traditional look, he later told Classic Cars: “Subconsciously, I was influenced by the Lancia Stratos. That car, with its low front end and interesting body design features, gave a completely new look to the sports car.”

Originally conceived with a targa-top, the TR7 eventually appeared as a fixed-head coupé, with Triumph initially fearing U.S. regulations would kill off open-topped cars. Its radical design, which cleverly integrated the U.S.-mandated 5-mph bumpers from launch, while introducing a distinctive swage line from its bustled rear to its ultra-low front end, disguised a well-engineered car, but one with orthodox underpinnings. The Dolomite’s slant-four engine was uprated to 1998 cc (the Rover V-8-powered TR8 came later) and mated to a four-speed gearbox (later five-speed). Suspension was by a well-located live rear axle and independently sprung at the front, with braking courtesy of front discs and rear drums.

With first cars from Triumph’s new Speke factory going to the U.S., U.K. sales didn’t start until May 1976, the British press praising the TR7 cabin’s practicality, size and comfort, but remaining polarized over Harris Mann’s exterior design. That changed in 1979 with the launch of the Michelotti-designed convertible, which buyers found altogether easier on the eyes. It was also marginally lighter (by 20 kg, or 44 pounds) than the coupé, despite having a strengthening box-section added to tie together the B-posts, as well as reinforced quarter panels.

All of a sudden, Triumph had an answer to Fiat’s newly revised X1/9 1500—they were even priced comparably, the Fiat only costing around £400 less in 1980. Alas, production woes linked to industrial action resulted in variable quality for the TR7, and despite a warm press reception to the convertible after its U.K. launch in March 1980, by May the following year British Leyland announced that it was to end all TR7 production, with the last cars rolling off the line that October. In all, 115,000 TR7s were built during its six-year production life, nearly 29,000 of which were convertibles.

Driving the X1/9

Andy Rowley’s immaculate and original 35,000-mile Gran Finale edition X1/9 is, as its name suggests, from 1989, the final year of build. As such, it wears “Bertone” badges, rather than Fiat, but in almost every other respect it represents the original facelifted 1500 model from 1979.

You sit in the driver’s seat adopting a slightly long-arm, short-leg position. Facing you is a lovely, thin-rimmed, three-spoke leather-trimmed steering wheel devoid of any branding. Four dials for oil pressure, water temp, speed and revs (the latter’s needle sweeping from right to left to its 6500-rpm redline) are all present and correct.

The sun is out, so the targa-top is stored away in the front boot as we set out on our rural Shropshire test route. At lower speeds the Fiat feels taught and instantly biddable; its unassisted steering is light, despite relatively high gearing, and alive with feedback from the road’s surface.

As we pick up speed, ignoring the shakes and shimmies from assorted interior trim, the X1/9’s control over crests, and slicing through a series of well-sighted bends, is impeccable; it just asks for more, and only prudence and the fact that it’s not my car keeps me from fully exploiting its potential. But even powering through an open bend for photography reveals only the merest trace of oversteer on these dry roads, accompanied by mild body roll over the rear axle.

Power from the zesty 1500 “four” is delivered with the kind of brio that makes you want to dip into its upper-rev band time and time again, as you keep it on-cam, quick-shifting the slightly wooden, but accurate, five-speed gear mechanism. A few months ago, I tested a 1988 Ferrari 328 GTB, and to me, the X1/9 feels like a scaled-down version of that car. Poised, sharp and exciting, and completely belying its 50-year vintage.

Driving the TR7 DHC

Like the Fiat, Steve Smith’s lightly modified TR7 Drophead Convertible is from the last year of production (in this case, 1981). It wears 14-inch, period-correct Revolution wheels, a Safety Devices rollover bar, and Spax Adjustable dampers at the rear, but mechanically it’s standard, save for electronic ignition and a more free-flowing exhaust manifold.

Compared with the Fiat’s cabin, the TR7’s is a more salubrious place to be, with larger seats, more shoulder and leg-room and more comprehensively equipped, with twice as many HVAC controls and a six-clock instrument binnacle. You sit higher than in the Fiat, but it’s easier to find a more comfortable driving position.

Also like the X1/9, the Triumph is a practical car, with an easy-to-erect soft-top, and boot large enough for two golf-bags. Where it scores over the Fiat is engine accessibility for carrying out maintenance; the longitudinal engine is positioned well back, mainly behind the front axle, leaving ample room to the sides and front of the unit.

And to drive? Chalk and cheese with the Fiat. To me, the TR7 was/is the ultimate evolution of the MG B/MG BGT. Over gnarled road surfaces, it feels better screwed together than the Fiat, accompanied by a ride which is more pliant, but—as you pick up speed—less controlled and more prone to feeling like a product of the ‘70s, which the X1/9 does not.

That said, there’s ample grip, with only mild understeer on tighter bends when you push on. Smith’s TR has had variable (via a rotary control) electric power steering (EPAS) fitted at some point, and while the standard ratio remains, with assistance on or off, it feels vague on turn-in and never inspires confidence like the Fiat’s steering does.

The TR’s engine is a peach, though. Sure, it’s not one for revs, but it’s lusty from low-down, and you find yourself motoring along at 500 rpm less than in the Fiat, enjoying the subtle pop-pop from its exhaust on the over-run, content that this is still a superb convertible in which to cover big miles in comfort.

A winner?

If you start with the premise of “to each their own,” there is no clear victor here. The TR7 DHC would have been the natural progression for many TR4/5/6 and MG B drivers, because despite its modernist aesthetic, deep down it embodied a chassis and powertrain approach that was well-proven and well-loved among traditionalists.

The Fiat X1/9, on the other hand, shook convention to the core. Subjectively, not only was its futurist design better resolved, but the engineering that underpinned it was so advanced and brilliantly well-judged that it resulted in one of the best-driving, affordable cars of any type from the ‘70s/’80s.

That both are criminally undervalued today (both our well-preserved test cars are insured for under £10,000, or $13,000) is as good a reason as any to start trawling the classifieds before prices start to rise.

1989 Fiat (Bertone) X1/9 1500 vs. 1981 Triumph TR7 Drophead Coupé

Price range (Fair #4 to Concours #1): $8000 – $26,400 vs. $3600 – $16,100 (£4000 – £21,000 vs. £3000 – £12,000)
Engine: 1498cc inline four-cylinder vs. 1998cc inline four-cylinder
Power: 85 hp @ 6000 rpm vs. 105 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 87 lb-ft @3200 rpm vs. 119 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
Gearbox: 5-speed manual vs. 5-speed manual
Curb weight: 2028 lbs vs. 2248 lbs (920 kg vs. 1020 kg)
0-60 mph: 9.9 secs vs. 9.5 secs
Top speed: 107 mph vs. 114 mph

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With the last of the snow melting up north, it’s time to shut off the heat, open up the garage, and declare that driving season has finally arrived. Once spring has sprung, what better way to enjoy the open road than in a convertible?

We’ve updated our price guide twice since last winter began, and it should come as no surprise that just about everything fun on four wheels is more expensive that it was a year ago. Values of some traditional “budget” or “underappreciated” collector cars even stretched past what we would consider entry-level territory. Cheap classics are a good thing for the hobby, so this development was somewhat concerning—but fear not. We ran through the data and found a plethora of vehicles that, even in #2 (Excellent, or like-new) condition can still be bought for under $20,000. And because spring is here at least, here are seven convertibles.

1962–80 Triumph Spitfire

Median #2 value: $15,600

Cheap and cheerful motoring is what old British roadsters are all about. This being 2022, though, things aren’t quite so cheap, even if the cars remain plenty cheerful. Over the past few months, condition #2 values for chrome-bumper MGBs and early Sunbeam Alpines slipped past 20 grand, and these days even driver-quality Triumph TR3s and TR4s are in $20K territory. Fortunately, anybody on the hunt for a cheap English two-seater is still spoiled for choice, especially if they’re willing to think a little smaller.

Take the Triumph Spitfire, for instance. Carrying the name of a Battle of Britain–winning fighter plane and wearing shape penned by Giovanni Michelotti, this roadster is just plain cool. With over 300,000 built over 18 years, it’s also plentiful, and parts are easy to find. Thanks to a clamshell hood and simple engineering, it’s easy to work on if (erm, when) it breaks. It’s always more fun to drive a slow car fast, right? Well, you can drive a Spitfire like a bat out of hell in the right lane even as CR-Vs and Outbacks breeze past in the left. And even though median values for #2 examples are up 34 percent over the past two years, they’re still affordable. Scruffier, driver-quality Spitfires can still be had for well under five figures.

Although the Spitfire changed significantly over its nearly two-decade run, #2 values are broadly similar, holding steady in the mid-teens (add a few hundred bucks for a factory hardtop) because each version has its pluses and minuses. Earlier ones with swing-axle rear suspension have tricky handling at the limit, but they look better. Later models have better suspension and more creature comforts but aren’t quite as handsome.

Other open-air Brits under $20K include the Lotus-powered Jensen-Healey, Morris Minor 1000 convertible, TVR 280i, and Series II Sunbeam Alpine. The equivalent MG Midget/Austin-Healey Sprite also offers a similar experience to the Spit but commands a few grand less.

1997–04 Porsche Boxster

Median #2 value: $18,500

Alas, there are almost no cheap Porsches anymore. The 996-generation 911s (1999–05) have started to appreciate, 944s have crossed the $20K mark, and even four-cylinder 914s carry a #2 value of 40 grand or more. So it seems strange that clean examples of early base-model Boxsters, which started at over 40 grand when new, are still so cheap in 2022. Sure, the Boxster isn’t the best-looking thing to wear a Porsche crest—and it has been the butt of many a joke—but you could say the exact same thing about the 914, a car that’s now twice as expensive as its droptop relative.

Boxsters are well-balanced and fun to drive but still comfortable, and with one trunk in the front and another behind the engine, they’re more practical than they might appear. Their reputation was tarnished by the infamous IMS bearing failure issue, but after two decades any blown engines are unlikely and some cars have had their motors preemptively fixed.

Other sub-$20K German droptops that rubbed shoulders with the Boxster include base model (non-Kompressor) Mercedes-Benz SLKs, early BMW Z3s, and Audi TT Quattro Roadsters. All have their strengths, but the Boxster is the enthusiast's choice. Comparing it to the Benz and the Bimmer, Car and Driver concludes: "If there has been a contest going on among BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche to see which German automaker could build the best-performing small roadster ... Porsche should be passing out cigars right now."

1985–90 Alfa Romeo Spider Graduate

Median #2 value: $18,400

Even more so than the Spitfire, the original Alfa Spider is one of those cars that kept factories buzzing for decades. Running from the 1966–94 model years, it's also one of a precious few made-in-Italy two-seaters that an average enthusiast could dream of parking in their garage. That said, #2 values for even the cheaper, later Alfa Spiders have surpassed 20 grand over the past couple of years. In fact, there's only one version left under our $20K ceiling, and that's the Spider "Graduate."

Named as a nod to the 1967 film in which Dustin Hoffman's most memorable costar (other than Mrs. Robinson, maybe) is his red Duetto Spider, the Spider Graduate was introduced for 1985 as a cheaper entry-level Alfa. It came with steel wheels, manual windows, and vinyl seats, but it's powered by the same famously eager 2.0-liter twin-cam four as the better-equipped Quadrifoglio and Veloce models. Same style and same driving experience, but at a tempting discount.

1985–95 Suzuki Samurai

Median #2 value: $15,100

You don't need racing pedigree and a storied badge on the nose to enjoy a top-down drive. You don't need roads, really, if you have a capable rock-hopping 4x4 like the Suzuki Samurai (called the Jimny overseas). An affordable, reliable pint-sized 4x4 with similar dimensions to the original WWII Jeep makes a whole lot of sense, and yet nobody sells anything quite like the original Samurai in the U.S. anymore. That's one reason why we picked the Samurai as one of the car most likely to appreciate in value this year.

And appreciate it has. Median #2 values jumped 22 percent with the latest update of the Hagerty Price Guide, but that stat is still just $15,100 (add $1000 for a hardtop). As of this writing, the most expensive Samurai in our price guide is $17,100.

Samurais may have been popular with '90s sorority sisters and surfer dudes, and they may need a tailwind to get a speeding ticket, but they are tough little things. With a curb weight barely over a ton, a Samurai weighs less than almost any sports car on the market today, and with twin live axles on leaf springs and a hi-lo transfer case, it can hang with the big guys in the rough and tumble. Clean examples are getting hard to find, but they are out there.

1982–85 Buick Riviera Convertible

Median #2 value: $17,650

If the noise of the Triumph and the spine-stressing ride of the Suzuki don't sound appealing, then there are plenty of good ol' fashioned American luxo-cruisers to waft you down the boulevard. Unfortunately, many of the big Cadillacs and Lincolns that come to mind exceed our budget in #2 condition—but there are alternatives.

Take the Buick Riviera convertible, for example. The sixth-gen Riviera shared its E-body platform with the Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Toronado, and for 1982 Buick introduced a soft-top version. It was the first-ever Riviera convertible and, in fact, the first convertible from any GM brand since the '76 Eldorado.

Droptop Rivieras started life as standard coupes before they were shipped to ASC in Lansing, Michigan, for an extensive conversion process. The two-part process and shipping costs helps to explain why they were so expensive; At nearly $24,000, a droptop was $10K more than a base coupe. Riviera convertibles were only available in White or Red Firemist with either a Claret or a Maple interior.

The sixth-gen Riviera has the unenviable title of Buick's first front-wheel-drive car, but who cares where the power's going when you're on a cruise listening to tunes? Only about 4000 convertible Rivs were built, so if you can't find one that hasn't been trashed or turned into a slab, other domestic convertibles under $20K include the 1971–75 Pontiac Grand Ville, 1988–91 Buick Reatta, and 1987–93 Cadillac Allante.

2006–10 Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky

Median #2 value: $14,800 for Solstice; $18,500 for Solstice GXP; $14,900 for Sky; $18,000 for Sky Redline

The list of American sports cars that don't end in 'vette is, sadly, a short one. GM in particular has always been unease about building two-seaters, scared of buyers straying away from Chevrolet's precious two-seater. And even though Pontiac was supposed to be GM's performance division, its only real sports car was the 2006–10 Solstice.

GM's Miata-fighting four-cylinder drop top isn't perfect. Its 2.4-liter Ecotec four was never designed for track duty and instead came from boring GM front-drivers like the Pontiac G6 and Chevy HHR. Its five-speed gearbox hailed from the Chevy Colorado pickup. The interior is standard 2000s GM: cheap plastic everywhere. It is a fun driver for the price, however. Road & Track concludes "it's not perfect, but it's a pure, satisfying roadster for 20 grand."

On track, the Solstice won the SCCA Showroom Stock B and Touring 2 championships, and in 2007 the lineup got a higher-performing Solstice GXP model. For only a few grand more, it ditched the 177-hp Ecotec for a new 2.0-liter dual-scroll turbocharged engine with 260 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque and got a limited-slip differential. Meanwhile, GM jazzed up the ailing Saturn lineup with a reskinned version of the Solstice called the Sky. Neither lasted long, however, as both fell victim to GM's Great Recession bankruptcy.

As memories of both Pontiac and Saturn fade, the median #2 values for the Solstice are up 19 percent for the Solstice and 14 percent for the Sky. Those increases are real, but compared to some other formerly "cheap" sports cars, they are neglibile. And compared to some of the more beloved Japanese roadsters out there, the homegrown Solstice/Sky twins offer a tempting value. Or you could do the boring, predictable thing and buy a Miata.

1990–98 and 1999–2005 Mazda Miata

Median #2 value: $18,300 for 1990-98; $15,900 for 1999-2005

... and nobody would blame you if you did do the boring, predictable thing and buy a Miata. There's a reason why it's the king of cheap sports cars and why the "Miata is always the answer" meme exists.

The story of the Miata and why it's so darn good has been told a million times. The trend of clean examples becoming frustratingly pricy, however, is a somewhat recent phenomenon. A few months ago we bemoaned the end of the cheap Miata. Looking back at #2 values over the past five years: First gen (NA) Miatas are up 118 percent. Second-gen (NB) cars, 83. The fact that a 1994 Miata in #2 condition is worth the same as a 1994 Corvette still has us scratching our heads.

Let's take a deep breath here. A nice NA or NB isn't as cheap as a lot of us feel it should be, but nothing is lately. Doesn't matter whether we're talking about convertibles or houses. Four-figure Miatas still abound, and even if cars in excellent condition are still nowhere near as cheap as they used to be, anything less than 20 grand for an iconic do-anything roadster that's endlessly fun and customizable is still a great value in the grand scheme of things.

The post 7 clean convertibles that are (still) under $20K appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Polestar is flexing the muscles on its new aluminum platform with a new concept, and it’s a beauty. This sporty hardtop convertible, the O₂, is a sharp-edged, neatly styled 2+2 GT car with serious presence.

We recently had a chance to behold the Polestar Precept sedan concept in person and the O₂ clearly holds some family resemblance—a good thing. The taut lines and flared haunches evoke classic GT lines, while the short overhangs and angular top are clearly modern. Polestar is taking advantage of its new aluminum platform that will underpin its upcoming flagship sedan and shortened it for the O_2. 

We spoke with Maximilian Missoni, Polestar’s Head of Design, who explained that the Precept and the O₂ were both designed with the same battery pack in mind. With the upcoming all-electric 5 sedan (whose basis is the Precept concept), the battery placement allows for the rear footwell to drop down for extra rear passenger room. For the O₂, which is a 2+2 EV whose rear seats are meant more for car seats and small children, the wheelbase has been shortened by the length of that rear passenger footwell.

The fact that it’s a 2+2 also let Missoni give the car traditional GT lines like dramatically flared fenders and quarter panels. “That’s how it should be. That’s the good thing about these cars, you’re not so constrained with interior space because it’s all about driving dynamics.”

While there’s quite a lot of Precept DNA in the O₂, the GT concept has a different take on the front-end sheet metal, with a noticeably lower hood line. Like the Precept, the O₂ houses SmartZone sensors for Level IV autonomy behind the front fascia. It also has split lighting elements that were inspired by Thor’s hammer and will become a defining feature for the brand. Mirroring the black upper element of the headlight that houses the beams is a cleverly sculpted air duct that channels air over the wheel openings for improved efficiency. Likewise, the taillights serve to reduce turbulence as the car cuts through the air.

“We are evolving this design language. I think we have achieved, design language-wise, this kind of shark-nosed treatment and precise lines . . . that is unique for Polestar.”—Maximilian Missoni, Polestar Head of Design

Because the O₂ is envisioned for top-down driving among beautiful scenery, Polestar has given the concept an autonomous video drone, from a company called Hoco Flow, that can be deployed from behind the rear seats where it’s protected from buffeting. The location allows the drone to launch and land while the car is moving and it can follow along at speeds up to 56 mph.

“We wanted to emphasize the experience you can have with a car like the Polestar O₂ in new and unusual ways,” continued Missoni. “Integrating an autonomous cinematic drone was something that allowed us to push the boundaries on the innovation front. Not needing to stop and off-load the drone before filming, but rather deploying it at speed, is a key benefit to this innovative design.”

Just as the Precept concept will become the Polestar 5, expect a production version of the O₂ concept to eventually get the green light. While the 5 may be the official flagship of the brand, this drop-top could easily become the halo as its classic GT packaging is right at home with Polestar’s design language. Now we’ll just have to see if its battery and motor performance can match the performance that the car’s design all but promises.

The post Polestar’s O2 concept is a drop-dead gorgeous drop-top appeared first on Hagerty Media.

A funny thing started to happen when the American auto industry moved from the go-go ’60s into the uncertain ’70s. Over the course of the decade, Detroit’s Big Three seemingly lost the will to build convertibles.

In reality, the downfall of the American drop-top was deliberate and strategic. During the five-year period following their 1965 U.S. sales peak, convertibles plummeted in popularity, felled by increasingly affordable air conditioning in fixed-roof models, the popularity of sunroofs, and the rising frustration of owners tired of dealing with noisy, leaky, fussy tops that often needed repair or replacement within a few years from new.

Unwilling to invest in a slice of the industry that had dwindled to a mere two or three percent of total business, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors began to slowly excise open-air models from their lineups, starting with full-size machines and moving down gradually to their smaller siblings. This cull was accelerated by the fear of toothier regulations regarding rollover safety, a specter dangled by the federal government. Many in the industry feared such regulations would make it impossible to build a compliant convertible.

By 1976, the final American-built convertible of the era—the Cadillac Eldorado—had rolled out of the factory and into the garages of nearly 14,000 collectors. These enthusiasts were confident they had just purchased the last of a dying breed, and for a time they were right on the money. Automotive designers and product planners alike left ‘verts in the rearview, turning their backs decades of history.

Then, hope. Out of nowhere, it seemed, convertibles made a stunning comeback in the early 1980s after a nearly six-year absence from the nation’s highways. Standing at the forefront of this renaissance were three letters—ASC—representing the company responsible for reviving America’s love for windblown hair and scalp-searing sunburns.

From sunroofs to no roofs

The roofless rejuvenation spearheaded by the American Sunroof Company (ASC) didn’t arrive without a hint of irony. After all, ASC was both an accelerant of the convertible’s demise as well as the spark for its resurrection.

First, some context. Heinz Prechter, who founded ASC in 1965, had democratized sunroof access as both an in-house option (starting with the Mercury Cougar in 1967) as well as an aftermarket addition, but that accomplishment did not scrape the surface of his ambition. By 1975, ASC had expanded its coachbuilding operations, producing limousines, wagon conversions, and unusual “custom” interpretations of various Cadillac models. It also jumped in on the T-top craze, standing alongside Hurst and Fisher as a purveyor of open-air fun for models like the Ford Mustang II and the Chrysler Cordoba.

ASC had also experimented with building full-fledged convertibles of its own. “We were never worried about convertibles being legislated out,” explains Henry Huisman, who worked at American Sunroof in the 1970s and who is currently the keeper of the ASC/McLaren flame. “The demand just wasn’t there for convertibles like it used to be, and major automakers didn’t want to do large-scale production anymore. There was a niche for outside manufacturers to fill.”

And fill it, ASC did. After producing an unusual power-operated T-top design for the Oldsmobile Toronado XSR concept car in 1977 (that was ultimately not produced), ASC continued to make inroads at General Motors. It was with Buick that the company got its break into full-convertible conversion in 1981, first slicing the roofs off of a pair of Indy 500 pace cars based on the Regal platform, and then one year later snagging the contract to build the first official convertible from GM in more than six years: the 1982 Riviera.

Small-firm savvy, third-party revolution

“Building convertibles was cost-prohibitive, it slowed down the assembly line, and automakers at the time weren’t interested in that kind of hassle to sell only a handful of cars,” says Huisman. “It’s not so much that Detroit couldn’t build a convertible if it wanted to, but they had so many alternatives—sunroofs, moonroofs, targa tops, T-tops—that it was no longer on the menu in-house.”

Although coachbuilders like Griffith had recently produced targa-like interpretations of dealer-available cars like the AMC Eagle and the Toyota Celica Sunchaser, before the Riviera true drop-tops remained the exclusive province of staggeringly-expensive third-party conversions. Buick made for an interesting test case for getting mainstream American convertibles back on the road, and Heinz Prechter identified the Riviera as a well-styled vehicle suited for convertible duty. And, critically, GM could sell it at a price point justifying such a project’s extra expense.

ASC’s Riviera convertible prototype so impressed the automaker that it was incorporated into the lineup not as a specialty model, but rather as a full-fledged member of the Buick family. The arrangement was simple: Buick sent Rivieras to ASC’s shop in Lansing, Michigan, and the company shipped them back, sans-roof, so they could be sold at a startling $9000 premium over the cost of the base coupe. That’s a $26,220 mark-up in 2022 dollars.

Making the Riviera the most expensive model in the entire GM portfolio might have seemed an unusual strategy, but it was an instant success. In short order, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Cadillac were all knocking on ASC’s door for convertible versions of vehicles like the Cavalier, the Sunfire, and the Eldorado. International suitors soon began turning up for small outfit’s expertise. Prechter took the design lead on Saab’s convertible version of the ultra-popular 900, which incorporated more than a little of his company’s Riviera-derived know-how (as well as a number of the same parts). The Saab project was followed by requests from both Nissan and Toyota to perform similar surgery on models like the 300ZX and Paseo.

The early-’80s convertible whirlwind was entirely dominated by third-party companies eager to exploit the apparent delta between renewed demand for convertibles and Detroit’s reluctance to devote any internal resources to their production. The same year the Riviera hit, Chrysler tagged in Creative Industries to build a convertible version of its wood-laden LeBaron K-car, followed a year later by Ford outsourcing the Fox-body Mustang to Cars & Concepts for the same treatment.

A legacy of excellence

Above all of these contenders, however, ASC looms large. Over the course of the next 20 years, Prechter’s company had a hand in the design and execution of convertible versions of the Chevrolet Camaro, Porsche 944, Buick Reatta, Infiniti M30, Dodge Dakota, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Chevrolet SSR, Toyota Solara, and both the BMW Z3 and Z4. These are merely the highlights of the dozens of models whose owners were shown the light of day by way of ASC’s convertible prowess.

“ASC definitely moved quality up a notch,” says Huisman. “It produced higher-quality tops compared to the older, mass-produced designs, thanks in part to the lower production numbers. It also introduced the retractable hardtop.”

Interest in convertibles peaked in the 1990s, during the NA Miata’s heyday, when models like the Mustang (whose production had been returned to Dearborn) counted on ragtops as an important sales pillar. Today’s convertibles once again represent a diminished niche of the auto industry; the Mustang and Camaro are the only ones left from America’s brands. Still, they never went away entirely like they did after 1976, and for that we can point to ASC’s Riviera-led explosion of coachbuilt convertibles as a major reason why American motorists have been able to enjoy 40 straight years of fun in the sun.

The post How ASC brought convertibles back from the dead appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Two years ago, Mazda released what I, and many others, thought of as the “maximum Miata”: the 30th Anniversary Edition. Maybe it was the Buddhist Miata, because it was the one with everything: a new, high-revving 181-horsepower inline-four, Brembo brakes, Recaro seats in Alcantara, all the luxury options, unique paint, and unobtainium RAYS wheels that weighed just fifteen pounds each. It was a perfect distillation of what Mazda’s sports car has become over the past three decades, and what the marque’s most dedicated customers want.

Viewed in that context, this solid-top Grand Touring is kind of a Minimum Miata. It’s slower than a 30th, nontrivially so; I know, because I have a 30th. Blame the heavy RF mechanism, probably. The interior is white leather, like a 1976 Eldorado convertible might have. Suspension, wheels, tires, and brakes are all the least sporting variants you can get on this car. Give it an automatic transmission, and it would be as far away from the rip-snorting 30th—or the current BBS/Brembo Club—as possible.

Who buys a Miata and then decides it should be this Miata?

Let’s find out.

The retractable top is probably the most polarizing part of the Grand Touring RF. In many ways, it’s the worst of all worlds, because it’s heavy, it’s bulky, yet it doesn’t really count as “roll structure.” If you take your RF to a track day where the operators are clued-in and competent, they’re going to treat you like a soft-top convertible, because if you roll the thing that’s all the protection you’ll get from this mostly plastic cap.

That’s the bad news. The good news: The RF is significantly quieter than a standard Miata. The operating mechanism is robust-looking and it mostly relies on the operation of steel gears. The insane complexity of many German retracting holdtops is notable here by its absence. I had a few automotive engineers look over the thing and the consensus is that it will last a long time, just like the rest of the car.

Aesthetically, some people love the RF and others hate it. I think it makes the ND-generation Miata look E-Type-ish, but there’s a massive hand-wave in the form of the shiny black plastic panels that are meant to convey the appearance of quarter-windows. To me, the convertible is nicer-looking and has more front-to-rear visual balance. Your opinion is no less valid than mine, regardless of what you think.

The aforementioned white leather interior is quite charming, although if you wear jeans on a daily basis you’ll want to think twice about spending the extra $300 for it. The rest of the Grand Touring interior is standard ND-generation fare, both good (superb sight lines, good materials) and bad (an infotainment knob under your elbow, so you will periodically cause the car to start or stop playing music accidentally). As with all upscale Miatas, phone calls are played through headrest speakers, which makes a truly positive difference when trying to chat with the top retracted.

We got this car at the end of its service life and based on the painful clunks of the transmission as it ground into first and second gear it seems safe to assume that some of our colleagues used it to teach themselves heel-and-toe, or maybe just stick-shift operation in general. Mazda took a lot of weight and inertia out of the ND gearbox, but it also took out any ability to suffer fools gladly. This is not a car you should lend to the inept, doubly so because it would be such a shame to not drive it yourself whenever possible.

Truth be told, the differences between this RF and a decked-out 30th Anniversary on 200-treadwear tires aren’t really apparent until you’re traveling way too fast for sanity’s sake. The brakes are strong and predictable in street use, the grip is nicely balanced front to rear, and there’s always enough power available with a single downshift. Maybe it’s two seconds a lap slower on most tracks, tops. You could own and enjoy this car for twenty years of regular back-road driving and never want any more pace than it can offer.

It should also be noted that Flyin’ Miata will happily sell you a very good set of brakes to go along with a wheel/tire set considerably more extreme than anything Mazda offers in the showroom, so if you wanted a white-leather assassin for the Tail of the Dragon, it’s just a phone call away. I would admire the heck out of anyone who turned a Blue Crystal/Nappa White Grand Touring into a canyon specialist.

All the rest of the ND Miata virtues apply to this car. It’s built to last a lifetime and assembled with fanatical precision. No other thirty-five-thousand-dollar car on the market feels this special or this well-thought-out. At all times it is encouraging you to drive a little faster, shift up a few hundred rpm higher, brake a touch later. Yet on long freeway drags it’s more than tolerable, particularly if you fit in it to begin with. (At six-two with just a 32-inch inseam, your author is on the edge of comfort in this car, largely because the Grand Touring seats occupy just a bit more room in the car than the Recaros seem to.)

So let’s get back to our original question: Who buys this Miata? Well, ever since the 1991 Special Edition there’s been a market for people who want a little more comfort and style in their two-seat Mazda, sans the aggression and the obvious track focus. It’s hard to remember this in 2021, but the Miata wasn’t always a club-race special. The original buyer was best described as “MG or Lotus Elan buyer who doesn’t employ a ride-along mechanic,” and that kind of person would probably still gravitate to this sort of MX-5.

Other candidates: empty-nesters whose knees aren’t too bad, autocrossers who don’t have off-street parking, those hardy souls who run a sports car year-round. I’d also suggest that anyone looking at a BMW Z4 or similar “prestige” two-seater check out the Grand Touring RF. It has most of the refinement you’d get in a bigger “hardtop convertible” without any of the size/weight/thirst/durability drawbacks. You’ll want to act fast, however, as there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to buy a Miata like this forever. And that’s a shame, because while this is far from the Maximum Miata it’s still one of the best sports cars ever built. No excuses necessary.

2021 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Grand Touring

Price (Base/As-tested): $35,520/$35,820.

Pros: Brilliantly made, lovely colors, low wind noise, a joy to drive.

Cons: Heavier, slower, less aggressive than other cars in the lineup. For most people, the soft-top car will be more satisfying.

Summary: This upscale Miata will be a rare choice, and for refined palates only.

The post Review: 2021 Mazda Miata RF Grand Touring appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Affordable convertibles are all but gone these days, but svelte, luxurious droptops are very much alive. One of the longest-running nameplates in this department is the Mercedes SL, born again for 2022 as the Mercedes-AMG SL. Following in the footsteps of past heroes such as the sumptuous 300 SL Gullwing and the wedge-tastic R129 SL, the new topless Merc promises the same open-air thrills and generous helping of power, albeit this time with a simpler snazzy soft top, and, for the first time in SL history, four driven wheels.

With the demise of the S-Class Cabriolet after the 2021 model year, as well as the imminent arrival of a CLE-Class cab replacing the roofless C- and E-Class, the SL occupies a niche for practical-minded Benz fans shopping in the upper echelons of the segment. This two-door now offers 2+2 seating, should you for some reason be stuck loafing two additional dinner guests to your evening of Malibu’s finest Surf ‘n Turf. It certainly looks the part; the new SL retains styling staples from generations past—long wheelbase (106.3 inches), short overhangs, an endless hood, and a tucked-back passenger compartment.

Impressively, not a single body component is carried over from either the outgoing SL or the raucous AMG GT Roadster, a two-seater whose purpose as a dedicated sports car is now further solidified. Up front, we can see on the SL a nod to AMG with a classic 14-slat grille and squinty LED headlamps. As a nod to early models, the new SL features twin power bulges in the hood. Out back, a neatly tucked and sculpted rear end hides similarly small tail lamps and a five-position deployable rear spoiler.

The SL’s chassis is comprised of a witch’s brew of aluminum, magnesium, carbon fiber, and steel, all carefully placed in service of weight savings, optimal aero, and—in the case of the steel windshield frame and rapid-deploy rollover hoop—safety. The blend of materials offers performance gains, too; Mercedes says that torsional rigidity is up 18 percent over the outgoing SL, while transverse rigidity up 50 percent relative to the AMG GT convertible. These gains translate to a tighter-feeling machine, often a challenge when you axe roof bracing to implement a convertible top.

Speaking of convertible tops, the new SL will come exclusively with a fabric roof, doing away with the previous generation’s folding hardtop. Going this route—as did the BMW Z4—the new SL saved some 46 pounds, but don’t expect to be able to cinch it down with a flick of the wrist, a la Mazda Miata. The soft top is power-deployable at speeds up to 37 miles per hour, and it takes just 15 seconds to operate. Rushing is not the point.

If you must, though, there’s more than enough power and torque to get around in a hurry. At launch, SL buyers can choose from one of two trim levels—SL 63 or SL 55—both of which will feature a hand-built AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8. The engine, internally dubbed M177, offers two levels of output: SL 63 buyers will get a whopping 577 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, while SL 55 buyers get a still-respectable 469 hp and 516 lb-ft of twist. Merc estimates 0-60 times of 3.5 seconds and 3.8 seconds, respectively. Power differences are a product of increased boost pressure and different software tuning on the SL 63, according to Mercedes. If a V-8 isn’t your thing, sit tight—Mercedes says a performance hybrid drivetrain is in development.

A nine-speed multi-clutch automatic transmission will handle gear swapping duty. In the SL, the transmission features a new wet start-off clutch in place of a conventional torque converter. The swap saves a few pounds and offers sharper acceleration response, especially during load changes. (Translation: a little less hurky-jerky in low-speed stop-and-go traffic.) There’s a tricky rear-axle steering system that can turn the car’s trailing rollers by up to 2.5 degrees. The system turns the rears the opposite direction as the fronts in speeds below 62 mph, and the same direction as the fronts in speeds above 62 mph.

For the first time in its almost 70-year history, all SLs will come exclusively with AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive. The system can shuffle all of its available torque to either axle, depending on driving conditions and the drive mode selected. SL 63s feature an electronically-controlled limited-slip rear differential as well, to better dole out the torque to left and right rear wheels. (The diff is optional on the SL 55, as part of the AMG Dynamic Plus package.)

The all-new SL features a five-link suspension design front and rear—a first for a series-production AMG vehicle. While SL 55 buyers get electronically-adjustable aluminum shocks and lightweight coil springs with conventional anti-roll bars, SL 63 buyers get a more sophisticated setup. It’s called AMG Active Ride Control, and it’s the first of its kind on a Mercedes-AMG model. The system does away with conventional anti-roll bars in favor of a connected hydraulic system running between shock absorbers. It’s similar to McLaren’s high-tech setup from the 2014–2017 650S supercar and should offer better roll control than even the best mechanical sway bars. The setup also incorporates a front axle lift system for navigating those pesky speed bumps. As with the diff, AMG Active Ride Control is included in the AMG Dynamic Plus package for the SL55.

Massive 20- or 21-inch wheels surround dinner-plate sized brakes front and rear. There are standard steel discs measuring 15.3 inches and 14.7 inches, respectively, but you can spring for carbon-ceramic units that are even bigger—15.8 inches up front and 14.7-inches in the rear.

Inside, a familiar mix of ritzy materials and the latest tech create a swanky atmosphere. Mercedes calls it a “hyper analogue”, which is fancy-talk for minimalist design with high-quality materials. (You’ll recognize elements of this interior if you’ve spent any time ogling the new S-Class.) There’s a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster stuffed below a shapely visor to prevent too much glare from the sun, as well as an 11.9-inch portrait-style central infotainment screen that can tilt from 12 to up to 32 degrees, depending on which angle best remedies glare. A heads-up display is standard on the SL 63, and optional on the SL 55. There’s also high-end Burmester audio for your favorite power ballads, and a high-tech steering wheel with a more buttons and knobs than an Xbox controller.

One of those knobs allows you to select one of six drive modes: Slippery, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, Individual, and Race. The latter-most is standard on the SL 63 and optional on the SL 55. Race mode maximizes the aggressiveness of the driveline components and suspension system, while dialing back the digital safety nets that ordinarily work keep the car out of the nearest guardrail. There’s an on-board data logger for track data, which seems strange for a soft-top convertible with four seats. Who is taking this thing to road-course track day?

Customers can choose from 12 paint colors, including two SL-specific shades (Hyper Blue Metallic and MANUFAKTUR Monza Gray Magno), three different soft top hues, and a slew of interior shades. There are six different wheel designs, as well. If you fancy a more sporting place to sit you can spec optional AMG Performance seats, in place of the standard AMG sport seats, but both choices of throne will breathe warm air onto your neck and provide massage functionality.

While some may be dismayed at the loss of a yet another rear-drive sports car, all-wheel drive and four seats makes the new SL a more compelling year-round daily driver. (If not a direct Porsche 911 rival.) As a weekend or warm-weather toy, the AMG GT Roadster won’t have to compete internally. Expect the new 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL arrive in dealerships during the first half of next year, with a yet-to-be-revealed starting price of around $100,000. We’re also holding out for the possibility of AMG-lite SL variants in the future, with Mercedes’ mild-hybrid turbo inline-six and a more affordable price tag.

The post Revealed: The 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL takes a big left turn appeared first on Hagerty Media.

The Buick GNX. The Nissan 300ZX convertible. The BMW Z3. The Pontiac Trans Am WS6. The Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder. The Saab 900 convertible. The Porsche 944 and 968 convertibles. The Chevrolet SSR. These and other German, Japanese, and American enthusiast vehicles were all touched by one huge business empire with the unlikeliest beginnings. That lineage can be traced back to a single man cutting holes in the roofs of cars in a body shop, in a back alley of San Francisco. That’s where ASC began.

“He really did start from scratch,” says Henry “Hank” Huisman, who worked for the American Sunroof Company in the 1970s. “[Heinz Prechter] had a small shop he rented from George Barris, bringing in Golde sunroof products from Germany. Barris told him to go to the Ford Motor Company, and that’s really where it all began.”

Huisman is currently the go-to source if you’re interested in one of the fairly rare ASC/McLaren Capris or Mustangs. He bought up most of the remaining stock once ASC stopped building their specially modified Fox-body machines and is today something of a walking encyclopedia on ASC history.

The American Sunroof Company was founded in the fall of 1963 by Heinz Prechter, an enterprising foreign exchange student from what was then West Germany. A farmboy who loved wrenching in his uncle’s auto repair shop, Prechter had been training as a mechanical engineer and was on a one-year visa to the U.S. He’d moonlighted as a cab driver in Germany to make the trip possible.

Prechter also worked part-time in a body shop while he studied at San Francisco State, and it was here that he made the introduction sparked ASC’s genesis. In Germany, he’d been at school with Hans-Dieter Golde, scion of a family company that made optional canvas and sliding metal roofs for the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 356. Golde roofs had appeared on American cars before, such as the 1960 Thunderbird, but sunroofs, in general, weren’t all that common. Prechter used his connection with the Golde family to make a pitch to his boss at the body shop.

Soon enough, Prechter had opened up a branch of ASC in Los Angeles and was installing sunroofs in cars belonging to the likes of Frank Sinatra and James Garner. He rented a garage from legendary customizer George Barris, which his business soon outgrew. Barris, however, had been impressed by the young German’s workmanship and recommended him to Ford. Prechter did a number of special projects for the Blue Oval, including a sunroof installation in a Lincoln for President Lyndon B. Johnson, and then landed a larger contract that spurred on his move out of L.A.—to Detroit.

In 1967 and 1968, ASC began installing factory sunroofs in Mercury Cougars, including the highly-optioned XR7-G model. Of the latter, two-thirds left the factory with ASC sunroofs. ASC was now part of Detroit’s supply chain.

As of 1970, ASC was still operating in California and had consolidated its Michigan operations. It had also formed a new subsidiary called ASC Custom Craft, which sold—there’s no other word for it—pimpmobiles. The Custom Craft catalogue was filled with custom hood ornaments, “Super-Fly” headlight treatments, fender skirts, and dash-mounted televisions. You could order all of this stuff from your local Cadillac or Lincoln dealer, and Custom Craft’s body division also converted a number of DeVilles, Fleetwoods, and Eldorados into wagons.

At the same time, ASC’s main operation was to supply sunroofs and T-tops to multiple manufacturers. The company employed over 2000 people and was resilient enough to suffer through tough times in the early 1980s. During that time, ASC would produce possibly the most badass Buick of all time.

McLaren Engines was started by Bruce McLaren in Michigan, in 1969. In those days, it was a specialist engine development team set up to support Indy and Cam-Am racing, with the F1 efforts based in the U.K. By the mid-1980s, McLaren’s racing enterprise had largely moved across the Atlantic, but the Michigan-based outfit still did development work. ASC bought them up as a potential powertrain division, at first using the name when creating the ASC/McLaren Mercury Capris and Ford Mustangs.

Expensive in their day, the ASC/McLaren Fox-bodies didn’t feature much in the way of engine performance modifications, but they did receive some suspension tuning. They’re highly collectible today, especially the Capri versions. ASC/McLaren, however, had something even more potent yet to come.

In 1987, a sunroof company wound up building the definitive turbocharged muscle car: the GNX. Standard Buick Grand Nationals arrived at ASC/McLaren to receive an upgraded Garrett turbocharger, reworked transmission and suspension, and 16-inch mesh wheels with high-performance rubber. At the time, it was one of the quickest machines on the road, capable of holding its own against Italian exotics.

Only 547 GNXs were built, and prices today are steep. Hunt around a bit, and you can find yourself a more affordable ASC/McLaren in the form of the Pontiac Grand Prix Turbo. These have a turbocharged 3.1-liter V-6 with the McLaren touch, and the cars rare but accessibly priced.

ASC helped Saab design its 900 convertible and entered into a contract with Porsche to build the 944 convertible. Prechter GMBH, the German subsidiary of the spreading ASC empire, purchased a well-established German coachbuilder, built a new factory, and began cranking out 944S2 drop-tops. Porsche executives were so pleased with the arrangement that they gifted Prechter a one-off four-doored Porsche 928.

Meanwhile, in Long Beach, California, ASC was turning Japanese cars into convertibles. These ranged from relatively affordable fare like the Celica and Nissan 240SX to the enormously complicated Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder. Cars left Japan with a little extra bracing but their roofs intact. ASC cut and reworked everything, with the Spyder’s folding hardtop a lighter and more elegant solution than the Mercedes-Benz 500SL‘s.

At its peak, ASC was a half-billion-dollar company. If you bought a made-in-Ohio Honda Accord with a sunroof, you took home an ASC product. If you bought a Pontiac Trans Am with the Ram-Air WS6 snout, that hood was also an ASC effort. If you wanted a BMW Z3, then both the original soft top and optional hardtop were both made by ASC. The company also began producing all kinds of conceptual vehicles for OEMs.

Yet things were not well with Heinz Prechter. Battling mental illness, he died by suicide in 2001. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2004, and in the following year, ASC produced its one-millionth convertible. The company would eventually dissolve in 2017.

“My favorite vehicle they made is probably the SSR,” says Huisman, “It was a pretty neat project, something that nobody else was doing.”

Today, the Chevrolet SSR is seen as a unique niche product. A production pickup truck with a folding hardtop and an available six-speed manual transmission is certainly a pretty unusual offering, and its fans love them.

That sentiment is true of nearly every vehicle ASC handled. Heinz Prechter looked up and found some sunlight in an opening. His company changed the automotive world.

For more information on the work going on to better understand brain health, check out the University of Michigan’s Prechter Bipolar Research Program.

The post ASC left a legacy way beyond chopping tops appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Contrary to the logic your parents likely used to fend off your teenage plea to own a convertible, a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reveals that late-model convertibles are no riskier than non-convertibles.

In fact, according to IIHS Director of Statistical Services Eric Teoh, who analyzed crash and fatality rates, both crash rates and driver death rates were slightly lower for convertibles than for non-convertible versions of the same cars.

“These findings don’t suggest that convertibles offer better protection for their occupants than other cars,” Teoh says. “But they do indicate there’s no statistical basis for concerns that the lack of a permanent roof makes them more dangerous.”

With that said, Teoh found that the driver was more likely to be ejected from a convertible in the event of a fatal crash than in a conventional model.

Teoh’s study compared the rates of driver deaths and police-reported crashes per miles traveled (during 2014–18) for convertible and nonconvertible versions of the same models that were 1–5 years from new. Teoh also “compared the circumstances and driver behaviors associated with the fatal crashes, looking at factors like point of impact and whether the driver was ejected from the vehicle, as well as impairment and seat belt use.”

Teoh learned that convertibles were involved in 6 percent fewer police-reported crashes per miles traveled than their conventional counterparts, and driver death rates were 11 percent lower.

Previous IIHS research has shown that for conventional cars, a stronger roof reduces the risk of a serious or fatal injury as well as the likelihood of ejection in the event of a rollover crash. IIHS added a roof-strength evaluation to its crashworthiness testing program in 2009.

“Although stretched-fabric and retractable-hardtop convertibles are exempt from NHTSA’s current roof-crush resistance requirements, some manufacturers have voluntarily strengthened the A-pillars on either side of the windshield and installed roll bars to provide additional protection in rollover crashes,” the IIHS says.

Comparing fatal crashes for convertible and nonconvertible vehicles, Teoh found that about 25 percent of the fatalities occurred in rollover crashes, about 50 percent occurred in single-vehicle crashes, roughly 60 percent resulted from front-impact crashes, and about 20 percent resulted from side-impact crashes.

Convertible drivers were slightly more likely to be wearing seat belts and slightly less likely to be speeding, though they were a bit more likely to be impaired by alcohol. These differences were too small to suggest a big variation in driver behavior for the two vehicle types. Teoh says he couldn’t account for all possible differences in the way convertibles are driven. For example, “it may be that convertible owners more often drive them in nice weather or on less busy roads, and that could affect crash rates.”

Data was provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System, and the Crash Report Sampling System that replaced it in 2016, also maintained by NHTSA.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is an independent, nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses—deaths, injuries and property damage—from motor vehicle crashes.

Teoh concludes, “Based on this study, convertibles don’t appear to pose a particular safety risk. If you’re shopping for a convertible, you should consider crash test ratings and safety features, just as you would if you were shopping for any other car.”

Sorry, Mom and Dad.

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