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Roadsters
Every roadster we cover, across all makes. Choose a model to explore its history.
43 models
Models
AC Ace
AC's lightweight aluminium roadster (1953–1963) — a Le Mans class winner and the direct chassis basis for the Cobra.
AC Cobra
The legendary Ford-V8 roadster — AC's Ace chassis fitted with American V8 muscle for Carroll Shelby from 1962, now produced as a continuation series.
AC Brooklands Ace
A 1990s revival of the Ace name — a modern aluminium roadster on a stainless-steel chassis, only about 50 built before receivership in 1996.
AC Mk VI / Series 1
AC's current Cobra-derived roadster — composite-bodied and Chevrolet V8-powered, with an electric variant announced in 2020.
Alfa Romeo Spider (Series 1–4 / 105 series)
Alfa's long-running Pininfarina roadster — the 'Graduate' Spider that ran from 1966 to 1994 in four distinct series.
Auburn Speedster
Auburn's legendary boat-tail roadster — culminating in the 1935–36 supercharged 851/852, an Art Deco icon designed by Gordon Buehrig.
Autobianchi Stellina
Italy's first production car with a fibreglass body (1963–1965) — a two-seat spider on the Fiat 600D chassis, with only 502 units built.
Berkeley Sports
Berkeley's founding model — a lightweight GRP two-seater with motorcycle-derived two-stroke power and front-wheel drive, built 1956–1960.
Berkeley B95 / B105
Berkeley's four-stroke Sports variants (1959–1960) powered by Royal Enfield 692 cc twins — up to 100 mph in B105 form.
BMW Z3
BMW's 1990s roadster — the first BMW built solely in the US, famous from the James Bond film GoldenEye.
BMW Z4
The Z3's successor — BMW's two-seat roadster across three generations, latterly shared with the Toyota Supra.
BMW Z8
A limited-production retro roadster with a V8 — a 507-inspired halo car of the early 2000s.
Brush Runabout
Alanson Brush's wooden-framed, coil-sprung single-cylinder two-seater — the 'Everyman's Car' of the brass era, priced from about $450.
Cadillac Allanté
Cadillac's Pininfarina-bodied two-seat luxury roadster (1987–1993) — bodies flown from Italy on the 'Allanté Air Bridge.'
Datsun Sports / Roadster
Datsun's open sports roadster of the 1960s — a SCCA champion that paved the way for the 240Z.
Donkervoort S7
Donkervoort's first car — a Lotus Seven-derived open roadster with a Ford Crossflow engine, hand-built in a Tienhoven shed.
Donkervoort S8
The S8 family — four variants spanning 1983–1994 — widened the chassis, added fuel injection, and introduced a turbocharged option producing up to 170 hp.
Donkervoort D8
The D8 line (1993–2012) bridged Ford and Audi power, culminating in the 270 hp D8 GT and a Nürburgring lap record, before the GTO generation succeeded it.
Donkervoort D8 GTO
The D8 GTO (2013–2022) — an all-carbon-fibre body, Audi's five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI, and 0–100 km/h in 2.8 s — became Donkervoort's definitive model.
Eunos Eunos Roadster
The lightweight two-seat roadster sold in Japan as the Eunos Roadster and worldwide as the Mazda MX-5 Miata — the car that single-handedly revived the affordable sports-car segment.
Innocenti 950 Spider / 1100 Spider
Innocenti's open two-seat sports car — a Ghia-styled body on an Austin-Healey Sprite chassis, later enlarged to 1098 cc.
Jensen Jensen-Healey
Jensen's volume Lotus-engined sports car (1972–1976) — its best-seller, but its troubled launch helped sink the firm.
Jensen S-V8
The Ford-V8 revival roadster (2001–2002) — a brief, underfunded attempt to restart Jensen that built only a handful of cars.
Jordan Playboy
Jordan's celebrated sporting roadster (1919–1931) — the subject of the legendary 1923 'Somewhere West of Laramie' advertisement.
Mazda MX-5 Miata
The best-selling two-seat roadster in history — a lightweight, rear-drive sports car that revived the class.
36 model yearsMercedes-Benz SLK / SLC
A compact folding-hardtop roadster — the affordable SL, renamed SLC in 2016.
NSU Wankel Spider
The world's first production car with a Wankel rotary engine — a Bertone-bodied open two-seater, 2,375 built.
Panoz Roadster
Panoz's first car (1992–1995) — a stark, topless aluminum-bodied two-seat roadster on a Frank Costin-derived chassis with a Ford 5.0 V8.
Panoz AIV Roadster
An 'Aluminum Intensive Vehicle' roadster (1996–1999) — roughly 70% aluminum, powered by the 4.6-liter Ford modular V8 from the SVT Cobra.
PGO Speedster II
PGO's long-running retro open-top sports car — debuted at the 2000 Paris Motor Show with Porsche 356 styling cues and a mid-mounted engine.
PGO Cévennes
PGO's more refined open roadster introduced in 2005 — named after the Cévennes mountain range near the factory, available with an optional removable hardtop.
Puma Puma GTS / GTC
Puma's open-top roadster line — the Spider that became the GTS, then the GTC, all on VW Brasília underpinnings.
Saturn Sky
Saturn's rear-drive two-seat roadster (2007–2010) — a Kappa-platform sibling of the Pontiac Solstice, with a turbocharged 260-hp Red Line variant.
Saxon Four
Saxon's debut $395 two-seat four-cylinder runabout — a budget rival to the Ford Model T that launched the company and anchored its peak production years.
Siata Amica
Siata's first wholly original car (1948–1952) — a lightweight Fiat 500-based roadster that marked the firm's transition from tuner to manufacturer.
Siata Spring
Siata's retro-roadster swan song (1968–1970) — a Fiat 850-based open two-seater aimed at Italian youth; around 3,500 built before bankruptcy closed the company.
Singer Roadster
An affordable open four-seat tourer that carried the Singer sports tradition from before WWII into the early 1950s.
Tauro Sport Auto V8 Spider
Tauro's debut model — an open-top, front-engine, rear-drive roadster on the GM Kappa platform with a 440 hp Chevrolet LS3 V8.
Tauro Sport Auto V8 Portago
An open barchetta variant named in honour of Marquis Alfonso de Portago, the Spanish F1 driver who died in the 1957 Mille Miglia.
Triumph Roadster
Triumph's aluminium-bodied post-war tourer — the last production car with a rear 'dickey' seat, later famous from TV's Bergerac.
Vignale Gamine
A retro-styled Fiat 500–based micro-roadster (1967–1971) — Vignale's most widely recognised proprietary model.
Wiesmann MF3 Roadster
Wiesmann's founding roadster — launched in 1993 with a BMW six-cylinder and upgraded to the S54 M3 engine, the car that established the brand's retro-forward identity.
Wiesmann Project Thunderball
Wiesmann's all-electric comeback roadster — 671 hp, 0–100 km/h in 2.9 seconds, priced from €300,000, with the first year of production sold out at launch.