If you were enamored of the new Peugeot RCZ when it finally debuted in production guise at the Frankfurt show last month, the latest product of the French rumor mill has got more in store for you. According to emerging reports from across the pond, Peugeot is planning to compliment the svelte coupe with a convertible counterpart.
Because the existing 308 on which the RCZ is based already offers a four-seat hard-top cabriolet in its range, sources anticipate that the drop-top RCZ will feature a lighter and more compact conventional cloth roof that will take the place of the rear seats, giving Peugeot its first proper roadster in years. Alternative reports, however, suggest that the French automaker could go a different route with a removable carbon-fiber roof panel to give the RCZ a targa-esque option. In any event, Peugeot isn't expected to return to the North American market any time soon, so we'll just have to suffice with the superior engineering of the Audi TT whose styling the RCZ apes.
There are few people in this world for whom we hold more contempt than European bureaucrats. They're the pencil-pushers that, if they had their way, would put an end to some of our favorite exotic sportscars and have us all driving Smart ForTwos. But every gray cloud has its silver lining, and in the case of Belgium's bureaucracy, is the sneak peak we get from time to time when a carmaker files its designs to register them as trademarks.
What we're looking at this time is the upcoming Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabrio. Although there were rumors that the model could be delayed, by and large we knew this was coming, and have even seen plenty spy shots of test mules preparing for their market launch.
Replacing the outgoing CLK convertible, this new model is based on the slick new E-Class coupe but, you know...with a convertible roof. It's a fabric job, unlike its rivals from BMW, Lexus, Infiniti and Volvo, which have all gone with folding hard-tops by now. The mechanicals are otherwise expected to carry over from its fixed-roof counterpart, although the jury's still out on whether an AMG version will be on offer as well. For now, we'll just have to peruse these grainy black-and-white images until the new drop-top Benz drops in the first half of next year.
According to a recent report, Porsche will produce a Panamera Convertible. Now, it's not the hoped for four-door convertible. Rather, in the interest of keeping some semblance of chassis rigidity, Porsche is going with a two-door, four-seat convertible. Two doors will also help to keep the weight (ha ha) down. Besides the fact that lots of folks like convertibles, why is Porsche building this car? "We have a broad range of 14 derivatives of the 911 that are very successful," development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer told Automobilwoche. "So it stands to reason we should diversify the lineup for the Panamera as well."
Perhaps a little more interesting is what comes at the end of the article confirming Porsche's newest drop top. Since Volkswagen now owns Porsche, the Panamera platform could be used for other products. Imagine the next Bentley Continental GT being built off a Porsche chassis, instead of the one used for the PhaetonA8. Or, potentially even better, the Lamborghini Estoque. Neat stuff. Says an unnamed VW board member, "The new Porsche (Panamera) offers the potential for synergies." We're 67% convinced that's good. But uh, as long as they're going two door, might we make a suggestion? 928! 928! 928!
![SEMA Preview: Drop Top Customs bringing convertible Camaro to Sin City [w/VIDEO]](http://www.niot.net/blog-images/sema-preview-drop-top-customs-bringing-convertible-camaro-to-si.jpg)
We've been waiting for a convertible version of the new Camaro for almost as long as we've been waiting for the Camaro itself, but Chevrolet has yet to deliver. In fact, the convertible was delayed by The General, so it could be more than a year before we ever see one at our local Bowtie showroom (although dealers are reportedly getting their first look at the 2011 model as we speak). That hasn't stopped many from guessing just what a Camaro ragtop might look like.
The lucky folks attending this year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, however, won't have to rely on their imaginations to see what a Camaro convertible looks like. Drop Top Customs (founded in 1976 as Coachbulders Limited) will be showing off the car you see here, a genuine Chevrolet Camaro SS convertible, albeit one they had to build themselves. Drop Top did a similar cut job on the Camaro's pony car title Challenger from Dodge for last year's SEMA show with pretty spectacular results. The Camaro chop will cost owners about $18,000 at the firm's Florida shop. If the Camaro isn't your thing, Drop Top will also take a Sawzall to a Chrysler 300, Cadillac CTS or even a DTS if you'd prefer.
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It is a travesty that the initials "MG" are coming to be a convenient epithet for the term "woe." The British sportscar maker has had an exceedingly trying history recently, and things haven't got any better with word that its owner, MG Motor UK Ltd. (which is really Nanjing Automobile Corporation), is reportedly closing the company's Longbridge plant.
Production of the MG TF was back in order early last year, but economic turbulence made the factory's fortunes equally bumpy. It hasn't helped that the last couple of special editions the company has put out, the MGTF LE500 and the 85th Anniversary MGTF, haven't been so well received. MG Motor said it couldn't guarantee stability and now, 2009 production has ceased. There were rumors of a new 2010 MG model coming out... but that was a long time ago, and things have lately been as quiet as the now-shuttered Longbridge factory.
There are a few things Maserati could do to make the GranTurismo look better than it does, but not many. One option is to surround it with unspeakably beautiful women. Another is to remove the roof. Thankfully, they opted for both here in Frankfurt, where the Trident marque took the wraps off the new GranCabrio.
The girls are a regular fixture for Maserati. But the convertible version of the GranTurismo coupe has been a long time coming. Details and the first batch of photos broke a few weeks ago, and we just got our first up-close-and-personal with what is, believe it or not, the only proper four-seat cabriolet currently on offer from Italy.
Former Ontario, Canada Attorney General Michael Bryant made a name for himself as a tough-nosed lawmaker that took a hard line against street racing. Among Bryant's hard stance anti-racer policies was a law that gave the police the right to crush any car that was modified for racing – even if the vehicle had no complaints against it. If a report from The New York Times is true, Mr. Bryant could ironically spend the rest of his life behind bars for a brutal hit-and-run accident involving a bicyclist.
The incident reportedly began as a minor event and quickly escalated. Bryant allegedly brushed the bicyclist while he was driving, who then held on to the driver's side door of his black Saab convertible. Witnesses told a local Canadian television station that Bryant was heard swearing and swerving in an apparent attempt to shake the biker from his door. Bystanders told police that Bryant was driving on the sidewalk near lamp posts at a high rate of speed, in an apparent attempt to knock the biker off.
The incident ended with the bicyclist, Darcy Allen Sheppard, striking a mailbox. Sheppard later died due to injuries sustained from the accident. According to the NYT, Bryant went to a nearby hotel after the incident where he was later arrested for what appears to be a most heinous hit-and-run incident. It looks like Bryant was right when he said that cars could be as dangerous as explosives...
The first and possibly most important thing you need to know about the new 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster is that Nissan knew it'd be building a convertible from day one. Over beers and some yummy Asian food with Bruce Campbell, Nissan's VP of design, we learned that the 350Z Roadster was an afterthought – at least from a design standpoint. In other words, when Campbell's team penned the 350Z, they weren't thinking the top would be coming off. Which is why the convertible 350Z was – to be kind – awkward looking.
The trophy for best looking Z convertible sits squarely on the 370Z Roadster's mantle. With the 370Z, however, Campbell's team actually started by sketching the roadster first and the coupe was somewhat of an afterthought. Not totally, of course – they knew there would be a hardtop – but the regular 370Z's creased and angled roof is essentially lifted from the GT-R. It's not bad, per say, and after the Nineties 300ZX and the original 240Z, the new 370Z is probably the best looking Z of them all. Probably, because you could make a strong case for the 280Z, funny bumpers and all. And some folks will argue that the 350Z is actually the best looking of the bunch, even though it's a bit too Audi TT for our tastes.
There is no debate, however, about the best looking convertible Z – that trophy sits squarely on the 370Z Roadster's mantle. The 1993-1996 300ZX convertible was just weird, 99% due to the fact that Nissan left the basket handle B-pillar in place. It also came with an MSRP of $44,678 – over a decade ago. Comparing the 370Z to its forebearer, the last model looked painfully hemorrhoidal. Junk in the trunk and then some. Top up it looked like the car was wearing an ill-fitting wig. The "design" didn't work because, as Campbell it explained, it was more marketed than designed. This time out, all one has to do is take in the deeply curved mainline to grok the essence of Z.
Retrobuilt's 2007 meets 1969 Shelby Mustang – Click above for high-res image gallery
Want the muscular, retro look of a 1969 Shelby Mustang without any of the rust, engine problems and, well, cachet of a 40-year-old classic? Then fire up the eBay and check out what Retrobuilt has wrought.
What you see is not a 1969 Shelby fully restored to better-than-new condition. Nor is it a 1969 Mustang Fastback retromodded to look like said Shelby. The car you see is listed on eBay as a 2007 Shelby Mustang GT 350 custom-made by Retrobuilt to fool most casual observers into thinking the car is 38 years older than it is.
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If there's one television show we love here at Autoblog, it's Sex and the City. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda – all aflutter over noontime glasses of Kristal, gossiping about Prada, Mr. Big, converting to Judaism for all the wrong reasons and whoeverwhatever Samantha humped last night. It's so fab! Just kidding, we hate that show and the ex-girlfriends that forced us to know this much about it. *Ahem.*
We mention S&TC however, because when the first movie came out, it featured the then-new Mercedes-Benz GLK. And soon there will be a part 2, and that sequel is going to feature the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class convertible. How do we know? Because somebody just snapped a whole bunch of shots of Sarah Jessica Parker, her $600 Christian Louboutin T-Strap sandals, $1,800 Sylvia Drapey Hobo hand bag and a yet-to-be-released E-Class droptop on the set of Sex and the City 2.
So... is this is a trend or just a fad? We know that the Audi R8 Spider will be making its debut in Ironman 2, and to some degree Aston Martin likes to show off their latest dream boat in the latest James Bond adventure. And out of the three, we imagine that Mercedes is going to sell a heckofa lot more E-Class convertibles to Carrie Bradshaw fans than AudiAston Martin will sell to Tony StarkAgent 007 aficionados. Right?
