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- Why convertible driving became so elitist
- Classic revisited
- The convertible version of a pocket-sized Ferrari
- Wide range of expensive cars
- Oldsmobile 442 – The convertible with muscles
- Everyday life and open air bite each other
- Porsche premieres in a double pack
- When fresh air cars are no longer convertibles
- Opel blows a lot of air into Adam
Why convertible driving became so elitist
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Better driving: along the coast with the Nissan 370Z Roadster. With 328 hp, the Japanese car is almost a bargain for 33,150 euros.
Source: Manufacturer
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The sporty high-price alternative: the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster with 700 PS costs from 357,000 euros.
Source: Manufacturer
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Classic, completely redesigned: The new Mazda MX-5 will be launched on the market for around 23,000 euros in late summer.
Source: Manufacturer
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The premium alternative: the new 2 Series convertible from BMW for at least 35,350 euros for the time being.
Source: Manufacturer
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The wannabe convertible: There’s a lot of fresh air in the Opel Adam Rocks too, all you have to do is order the fabric roof, which at least allows you to look upwards. The prices start…en at 14,990 euros.
Source: Manufacturer
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Slow-moving goods under palm trees: With the VW Eos, one of the last representatives of the steel roof convertibles is about to end.
Source: Manufacturer
The market share of convertibles has been shrinking for years. The variety of models of cars with a textile top is nonetheless large. Except for the small cars, there is another solution.
D.Pull back the top, drive towards the sun, suck in air. Preferably on a picturesque coastal road. Alone: Only a few drivers are still fulfilling this dream.
New registrations of convertibles in Germany have been falling for years. At the turn of the millennium there was a real boom. After that it went downhill.
Between 2008 and 2014 alone, sales collapsed by more than 40 percent; according to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), the number fell from 131,000 new registrations to 77,000.
Especially models with a steel roof are a severely decimated species. The fact that the manufacturers are now turning more to the classic textile top, paired with a touch of luxury, does not exactly turn the open-air models into mass-produced goods on the streets.
Classic revisited
But the variety of models of open cars is still there. In keeping with this, a classic is currently being reissued that once created the new desire for fresh air driving when it came onto the market in 1989: the Mazda MX-5.
The fourth generation of the Japan roadster refines the well-known two-seater recipe for success. It remains with rear-wheel drive and a spirited, not too powerful naturally aspirated engine. But driving fun increases because the weight has decreased and the wheelbase has been shortened. The MX-5 will cost around 23,000 euros when it hits the market in late summer.
The convertible version of a pocket-sized Ferrari
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The wording "near-series study" has been deleted. Instead, the Italians in America are now officially speaking of the Alfa 4C Spider as a "2015 model-year car"…
Source: Alfa Romeo
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…and promise the start of sales on both sides of the Atlantic for this summer, at prices from an estimated 55,000 euros.
Source: Alfa Romeo
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There is a construction that is closer to a Targa than to a real roadster. Because there is still an engine in the rear of the Spider, there is n left for a large convertible top…not much space.
Source: Alfa Romeo
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That is why the braggers from Italy limit themselves to a narrow plate with a fabric cover, which, when the weather permits, hums backwards at the push of a button and the Ferrari for them… Makes your pocket a matter of your heart.
Source: Alfa Romeo
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Although only 1.8 liters in size and almost a measly 240 hp for a sports car, it enables driving performance at Ferrari level:
Source: Alfa Romeo
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The rear light has the typical Alfa design language.
Source: Alfa Romeo
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The ugly light pimples in the bow have given way to conventional headlights.
Source: Alfa Romeo
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An annual production of just 3500 coupes is planned.
Source: Alfa Romeo
The roadster currently has little to fear from competition. The only direct competitor in Germany is the Mini Roadster. However, it is currently uncertain whether it will take part in the current model change in the small car family and whether it will be launched again. On the other hand, a Fiat version of the MX-5 is a foregone conclusion, although it will only make its debut in mid-2016.
Driving a convertible is also a question of price. Anyone looking for a more or less classic roadster must therefore look in the upscale segments. There is a special offer, at least in view of the performance of the Nissan 370Z Roadster, which is available with 328 hp for 33,150 euros.
Wide range of expensive cars
The models from the premium manufacturers are more expensive. Audi is asking for at least 37,900 euros (230 PS, front-wheel drive) for the currently cheapest version of its recently launched TT Roadster, but will also submit cheaper and less powerful versions.
The 340 hp Jaguar F-Type convertible is still relatively fresh. With its intoxicating design and emotional engines, it has made its way into the top league of open dream cars right from the start. The British model costs from 74,000 euros.
Oldsmobile 442 – The convertible with muscles
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The auction house RM Auctions is auctioning a very special muscle car, the 1971 Oldsmobile 442 Cabrio.
Source: RM Auctions
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The designation 442 originally referred to the quadruple carburetor, the four-speed gearbox and the two-pipe exhaust system.
Source: RM Auctions
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In the W-30 version, however, the American muscle car has a lot more to offer.
Source: RM Auctions
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It has a Dr. Oldsmobile engine under the hood, a V8 with a bombastic 7.5 liter displacement.
Source: RM Auctions
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This made the Oldsmobile 442 one of the fastest convertibles in the early 1970s.
Source: RM Auctions
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The manufacturer stated the power was around 350 hp …,
Source: RM Auctions
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… However, subsequent re-measurements have shown that the machine was around 500 hp.
Source: RM Auctions
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Only 32 copies of the extremely potent muscle car with manual transmission were built as convertibles.
Source: RM Auctions
For 24,000 euros less, you can get an open-top Porsche: The Boxster with 265 hp offers less engine power, but can keep up with driving fun. This can be felt all the more in the new, puristic Spyder version with 375 hp, which is then already listed for at least 79,945 euros.
In the eyes of no few sports car fans, the Boxster Spyder even pushes the 911 from the throne in terms of driving dynamics. The classic is also available in two fresh air versions: as a classic fabric roof convertible (from 350 hp, 103,150 euros) and as a Targa with roll bar (from 109,338 euros).
Two other prominent representatives of the segment, the Mercedes SLK and the BMW Z4, both with a steel retractable roof, are less uncompromisingly designed for driving dynamics. For the SLK, the output range extends from 184 hp (from 39,359 euros) to 421 hp (from 73,542 euros), for the Z4 from 156 hp (from 34,250 euros) to 340 hp (from 57,900 euros).
Everyday life and open air bite each other
The concept of the luxury sports car, the Mercedes SL, takes it to extremes, bigger, stronger and more expensive than its little brother with the following K. The steel roof two-seater costs at least 97,282 euros even in the entry-level version with 333 PS, and is a 630 PS twelve-cylinder but also available for 238,833 euros.
There is even more choice for rich customers: In the upper luxury class, Bentley, for example, plays with the four-seater Continental GTC, which can be powered by a V8 or W12 engine and costs from 187,068 euros. The top model Phantom is available from Rolls-Royce as a Drophead Coupe with twelve cylinders for almost half a million euros. If you like it expensive but sportier, you might choose the Lamborghini Aventador Roadster with 700 hp (from 357,000 euros) or the 560 hp Ferrari California T (from 184,000 euros).
Porsche premieres in a double pack
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For the trade fair in Detroit, Porsche even conjured up two new products with which the model family is now being expanded even further: From the 911 series, it’s turning…That’s why I have a Targa 4 as a GTS on the premiere stage for the first time, …
Source: Porsche
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… and the newly relaunched Cayenne will be crowned by a Turbo S again in the future. Both cars will go on sale this spring, and Porsche has not yet announced a final price…ben.
Source: Porsche
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However, the two model variants are not surprising. The Cayenne Turbo S was also available before the facelift. Now, however, the 4.8 liter V8 puts out another 20 hp…d 50 Nm.
Source: Porsche
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With 570 hp and a maximum of 800 Nm, it is one of the most powerful SUVs on the market. Pulling past this car on the autobahn will be difficult because the Cayenne accelerates in 4.1 Se…customers at 100 km / h, then it storms up to 284 km / h.
Source: Porsche
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The Targa GTS also has at least a little aha potential. After all, this is the first time that this combination is available at Porsche.
Source: Porsche
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However, the upgrade of the bow convertible with a glass lid follows an unsurprising pattern: like the coupe and convertible, the Targa also has a somewhat more aggressive appearance, …extended equipment and, above all, a more powerful engine.
Source: Porsche
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The output of the 3.8 liter boxer engine increases by 30 hp to 430 hp, and the performance becomes even more impressive. Accelerate depending on the gearbox variant…the Targa lowers from zero to 100 km / h in at best 4.3 seconds and achieves up to 300 km / h.
Source: Porsche
While the range of roadsters and similar open-top sports cars is well stocked even in high price spheres, the portfolio of open-air everyday cars has shrunk. Above all, the numerous steel roof models such as Peugeot 308 CC or Nissan Micra C + C have disappeared again after the convertible high.
With the VW Eos, the last representative of this genre is about to end. For four years now, the Wolfsburg-based company has been offering a replacement with the Golf Cabrio with a cloth cap, which at EUR 24,500 is one of the more affordable models on the market. The Beetle Cabrio, which is technically closely related to the Golf, is slightly cheaper (from 22,125 euros).
When fresh air cars are no longer convertibles
Opel has deliberately positioned the Cascada above the two north German models, which is technically based on the compact Astra, but has a significantly longer and decidedly more elegant design (from 26,145 euros). In terms of price, it is more in the segment of compact premium models such as the Audi A3 Cabrio (from 30,800 euros) and BMW 2 Series Cabrio (currently from 35,350 euros), but in terms of dimensions and appearance, the Opel is even more likely to compete with the Audi A5 Cabrio (from 39,850 euros) and BMW 4 Series Cabrio (from 43,200 euros) and Mercedes E-Class Cabrio (47,838 euros).
Opel blows a lot of air into Adam
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Rocks – Opel decided on this onomatopoeic nickname for the new model variant. Main features: a lift kit, robust planking and a…
Source: Opel
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… Electric folding roof that can be completely opened within five seconds.
Source: Opel
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With this mixture of lifestyle speedster, off-road optics and a dash of convertible, the Adam Rocks is pretty much alone among the crossover models in the small and micro car segment… there.
Source: Opel
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A new, turbo ventilator 1.0-liter diesel with three cylinders provides an extra portion of air under the hood, which with 115 HP in the Rocks ensures a good portion of driving fun. Au…The chassis has been revised with this in mind. The four-cylinder from the normal Adam are also available.
Source: Opel
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Opel has also gone a step further when it comes to price: With at least 15,990 euros, the Rocks costs 1,400 euros more than the conventional Adam in the most expensive equipment variant. Wed…t the new turbodiesel will cost at least 18,790 euros.
Source: Opel
In principle, there are no longer any convertibles among the small cars. There are still a few fresh air models – some with a large roll-up roof. With the same, for example, the Fiat 500 is available as a C (from 14,750 euros). A fabric blind that moves back behind the rear bench can be opened. The B and C pillars and the roof pillars remain in place.
The slightly larger Citroën DS3 Cabrio (18,440 euros) as well as the small car trio Toyota Aygo (from 13,900 euros), Citroën C1 (12,050 euros) and Peugeot 108 (from 12,300 euros) in their respective folding roof versions follow a similar concept. The Opel Adam and the SUV-style Adam Rocks with a fabric roof have also recently become available. Prices start at 14,990 euros.
The KBA statistics do not provide any information on how the roll-top cars are selling. Because they are not listed as convertibles.
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