Friends, we’re in the dog days of Summer right now. Temperatures are at an all-time high, and morale is at an all-time low. Do you know what will fix both those things? A convertible, baby. Here’s the thing, though: not all convertibles are created equal, and that’s what has led me to today’s question.
I want to know what you consider to be the best convertible of all time. What convertible is so good you’d give up on things like torsional rigidity and some level of refinement because it’s just so damn nice to throw the top down and cruise? If you think about it, convertibles are some of the oldest cars ever made. Hell, the first car ever — the Benz Patent-Motorwagen — was kind of a convertible. OK, maybe it was more of a speedster, but we’re just getting into semantics here. The point is that it has no roof. That’s good enough for me, and it counts for this question.
My choice
I am famously — and for the time being — a convertible owner. My 2007 BMW Z4 has served me reasonably well (if you ignore the fact it has been a reliability nightmare) since I bought it in 2020. Here’s the thing, though: despite my ownership of it, I don’t consider it the greatest convertible of all time. That being said, I did buy it because it was the next best thing to what I think is the greatest ‘vert of all time: the BMW Z8.
There are a billion reasons why the Z8 should be considered the best convertible to ever grace God’s green Earth, but let’s consider the main ones. First of all, it’s drop-dead gorgeous with its seamless blend of modern styling cues while paying homage to the gorgeous BMW 507. Second, it got a naturally aspirated 4.9-liter V8 and a six-speed manual transmission sourced from the legendary E39 BMW M5. What’s not to love about that? Third, it’s literally a Bond car, and we all know James Bond drives the coolest cars. Finally, it’s super exclusive. BMW built fewer than 6,000 of these things for the whole world, so if you see one, it’s a treat, and you know the owner has great taste.
Anyway, that’s enough yapping out of me. Why don’t you head on down below and share with your fellow Jalops what you consider to be the best convertible of all time? As always, I’ll be giving out snacks and awards to commenters who actually explain their answers. Oh, and if your answer is that convertibles suck because they’re not as rigid, save that crap. You and I both know you’re not a good enough driver to feel chassis stiffness differences in a coupe versus a convertible. Have fun!
