which convertible 2 seater?

[bordseye]

Idly thinking of selling the current Ferrari 360 and getting something simpler and maybe more modern. Question is - what?

Always had an open car in the garage as a toy because I like the wind in whats left of my hair. I dont want the ultimate performance because its unuseable on UK roads and in any case its been my experience that there is more fun thrashing something like my wife's Smart Roadster than any of the bigger and more powerful cars that I have had.. The car that best fitted my requirements of go cart handling, comfort and reasonable 0 to 60 was the Elise 111R that I had for 7 years and which had to go simply because my ageing body made getting in and out difficult.

Obvious first thought is the MX5. Any others?

[CraigyMc]

bordseye said:

Idly thinking of selling the current Ferrari 360 and getting something simpler and maybe more modern. Question is - what?

Always had an open car in the garage as a toy because I like the wind in whats left of my hair. I dont want the ultimate performance because its unuseable on UK roads and in any case its been my experience that there is more fun thrashing something like my wife's Smart Roadster than any of the bigger and more powerful cars that I have had.. The car that best fitted my requirements of go cart handling, comfort and reasonable 0 to 60 was the Elise 111R that I had for 7 years and which had to go simply because my ageing body made getting in and out difficult.

Obvious first thought is the MX5. Any others?

Starty doing yoga and get another Lotus

[wong]

This is PH, so the answer is MX5.

[Nickbrapp]

How about something bigger and softer but still enjoyable like a vantage v8 or a Maserati grande convertable

Or a boxter, or Z4 or a SLK55 or even a SL - those are very soft and more GT but not quite in the same league as a Aston or Maserati

[Trevor555]

bordseye said:

Obvious first thought is the MX5. Any others?

Abarth 124 Spider is MX5 in a different dress, but rarer.

Brembo brakes

Bilstein suspension

Monza exhaust

Limited slip diff

Easily remapped to about 200bhp (1.4 Turbo multi air engine)

And a big red rev counter, essential...

Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 12th June 22:10

[brillomaster]

if your priorities are go cart handling, comfort and reasonable 0 to 60, then i'd say a boxster for sure.
an mx5 wouldnt be fast enough, a convertible gt car wont have go cart handling.

an early e85 z4 would be good, though a little dated now. and the e89 z4 is too much like a gt car, so while certainly comfortable, doesnt have the handling of the earlier car.

[some bloke]

Another vote for the Boxster - I had an early one which was a lovely car to drive. Plenty of luggage room and great handling. It just wasn't me though...

[bordseye]

Trevor555 said:

And a big red rev counter, essential...

Edited by Trevor555 on Sunday 12th June 22:10

Get where you aare coming from - it always annoys me that the 360 doesnt have the yellow rev counter my old 430 had. Daft but then toy cars arent meant to be sensible. And I have long fancied the Abarth version of the 600 FIAT.

The consensus seems to be Boxter but when I have test driven them, they always seemed a bit characterless.

[Jamescrs]

bordseye said:

Get where you aare coming from - it always annoys me that the 360 doesnt have the yellow rev counter my old 430 had. Daft but then toy cars arent meant to be sensible. And I have long fancied the Abarth version of the 600 FIAT.

The consensus seems to be Boxter but when I have test driven them, they always seemed a bit characterless.

I own an early Boxster, I imagine you are considering something much newer than mine but in my experience of my own car I find when you rev them over 4ooorpm thats when they really come alive which may not be reflected on a test drive so worth considering.

I've also owned MX-5's previously and they aren't really comparable to a Boxster, a Boxster is a level above in my opinion.

[some bloke]

Jamescrs said:

bordseye said:

Get where you aare coming from - it always annoys me that the 360 doesnt have the yellow rev counter my old 430 had. Daft but then toy cars arent meant to be sensible. And I have long fancied the Abarth version of the 600 FIAT.

The consensus seems to be Boxter but when I have test driven them, they always seemed a bit characterless.

I own an early Boxster, I imagine you are considering something much newer than mine but in my experience of my own car I find when you rev them over 4ooorpm thats when they really come alive which may not be reflected on a test drive so worth considering.

I've also owned MX-5's previously and they aren't really comparable to a Boxster, a Boxster is a level above in my opinion.

Agree with James - pottering around town or on a motorway a Boxster is just another appliance. When you're out winding it up to 6k in 1-4th gears on a winding B road with the top down, it's another car entirely. I regret selling mine a little, but I got another car that I had wanted a while. I had an 98 986, which I could still do a little work on myself.

[Nickbrapp]

I’m sure I posted yesterday but what about a F type? The 2.0 wouldn’t be too fast for road use and the v6 wouldn’t be too bad either

Better looking than a boxter too

[georgeyboy12345]

I like the Fiat 124 suggestion, and a few choice improvements, taking it to 200 bhp, etc.

In the same vein, what about a nearly new approved used top spec ND Mazda MX-5 like this
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205115...

then take it to BBR GTi for the Super 220 upgrade
https://bbrgti.com/products/bbr-mx-5-nd-super-220-...


Other ideas

Might be a bit too raw/too fast/too much like an Elise, but what about an Alfa Romeo 4C?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203103...


Honda S2000
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203133...

[kevinon]

bordseye said:

Idly thinking of selling the current Ferrari 360 and getting something simpler and maybe more modern. Question is - what?

Always had an open car in the garage as a toy because I like the wind in whats left of my hair. I dont want the ultimate performance because its unuseable on UK roads and in any case its been my experience that there is more fun thrashing something like my wife's Smart Roadster than any of the bigger and more powerful cars that I have had..

Obvious first thought is the MX5. Any others?

Swapsies . . . .


For me, a hard top roof is a great proposition, any time.
But I’m willing to trade mine for yours ;-)

[ZX10R NIN]

I'm going to suggest two ends of the same envelope with these two.

Alfa 4C it may only be a four pot but these have bags of character:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206066...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206106...

SLC43:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112220...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204144...

Somewhere in the middle for me would be the Abarth 124:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202204024...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202205145...

[bordseye]

Nickbrapp said:

I’m sure I posted yesterday but what about a F type? The 2.0 wouldn’t be too fast for road use and the v6 wouldn’t be too bad either

Better looking than a boxter too

Had one in between the two Ferraris. The V6 supercharged version. Great piece of kit but it had to go because the side bolsters of the srivers seat gave me constant pain in the hip that suffered when I had a bad motorbike accident. Tried all sort of cushions etc but to no avail.
That said I dont really see any way in which the F type fits my brief better than the 360.

[bordseye]

kevinon said:

Swapsies . . . .


For me, a hard top roof is a great proposition, any time.
But I’m willing to trade mine for yours ;-)

Thanks for the offer Kevin. I'll think about it.

[renmure]

It really is the case that sometimes the answer is an MX5

I got my ND model in 2018 and it replaced the NC that I'd had for about 6 years, so that's me with an MX5 for the past 10 years. Over that time it has shared convertible driveway/garage space with a Ferrari 360 Spider, a Porsche 987 Spyder, and Elise S, an Elise R, an Exige S (although to be fair I never removed the roof) a Caterham R300, a Westfield MegaBlade, a convertible Merc 320 CLK and a convertible Mini and Fiat 500.

I've still got the 360 Spider but the rest have moved in and moved on, all the while an MX5 has often been the car of choice for a fun run or for a proper journey.

If I didn't have one, I'd get one.

[Panclan]

How about a Honda S2000

[PushedDover]

MX5
V6
275hp
Customisable


https://www.rocketeercars.com/build-options/restom...

[James_Lafayette]

I know it’s not a popular choice, but I test drove a Z4 last week, and actually thought it’s was pretty good. I drove the least powerful engine (think it’s about 200bhp) and I would have definitely wanted more, but the M40i should be plenty.

The front end isn’t that attractive, but otherwise I think they have a lot going for them, decent handling, comfortable, modern tech, good seats and not too expensive to buy secondhand. I’m sure a Porsche drives better, but you either have to wait for 12months for a new one, or pay crazy prices for used.