Perhaps the most romanticized and coveted subjects of the automotive industry, convertibles provide the purest driving experience—the wind coursing through your hair, the sun shining down from all angles, and the amplified tone of an increasingly vociferous engine as the revs build and your speed climbs—not to mention the smile that remains long after the top goes up.
Many convertibles are a topless deviation of a coupe, intended for
“cruising with the top down.” These models, known as cabriolets, cater more to the comfort-minded consumer; the Mercedes CLK-320 or Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolets embody this class of car.
Other convertibles are roofless and ruthless—such as the Porsche Carrera GT, a rakish roadster that actually is faster than it looks: a sweeping carbon-fiber body, and an aluminum V10 that screams when its adrenaline-addict of a lead foot driver lets the 605 horses out of their corral on its way to 205 mph.
|
