Roadsters

Every roadster we cover, across all makes. Pick a model to read its full history.

Models

• AC Ace

  AC's lightweight aluminium roadster (1953–1963) — a Le Mans class winner and the direct chassis basis for the Cobra.

  Roadster · 1953–1963

• 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.

  Roadster · 1962–present

• 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.

  Roadster · 1993–1996

• AC Mk VI / Series 1

  AC's current Cobra-derived roadster — composite-bodied and Chevrolet V8-powered, with an electric variant announced in 2020.

  Roadster · 2009–present

• 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.

  Roadster · 1966–1994

• Auburn Speedster

  Auburn's legendary boat-tail roadster — culminating in the 1935–36 supercharged 851/852, an Art Deco icon designed by Gordon Buehrig.

  Roadster · 1928–1936

• 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.

  Roadster · 1963–1965

• Berkeley Sports

  Berkeley's founding model — a lightweight GRP two-seater with motorcycle-derived two-stroke power and front-wheel drive, built 1956–1960.

  Roadster · 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.

  Roadster · 1959–1960

• BMW Z3

  BMW's 1990s roadster — the first BMW built solely in the US, famous from the James Bond film GoldenEye.

  Roadster · 1996–2002

• BMW Z4

  The Z3's successor — BMW's two-seat roadster across three generations, latterly shared with the Toyota Supra.

  Roadster · 2003–2026

• BMW Z8

  A limited-production retro roadster with a V8 — a 507-inspired halo car of the early 2000s.

  Roadster · 2000–2003

• 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.

  Roadster · 1907–1913

• Cadillac Allanté

  Cadillac's Pininfarina-bodied two-seat luxury roadster (1987–1993) — bodies flown from Italy on the 'Allanté Air Bridge.'

  Roadster · 1987–1993

• Datsun Sports / Roadster

  Datsun's open sports roadster of the 1960s — a SCCA champion that paved the way for the 240Z.

  Roadster · 1960–1970

• Donkervoort S7

  Donkervoort's first car — a Lotus Seven-derived open roadster with a Ford Crossflow engine, hand-built in a Tienhoven shed.

  Roadster · 1978–1982

• 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.

  Roadster · 1983–1994

• 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.

  Roadster · 1993–2012

• 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.

  Roadster · 2013–2022

• 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.

  Roadster · 1989–1997

• 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.

  Roadster · 1961–1968

• Jensen Jensen-Healey

  Jensen's volume Lotus-engined sports car (1972–1976) — its best-seller, but its troubled launch helped sink the firm.

  Roadster · 1972–1976

• Jensen S-V8

  The Ford-V8 revival roadster (2001–2002) — a brief, underfunded attempt to restart Jensen that built only a handful of cars.

  Roadster · 2001–2002

• Jordan Playboy

  Jordan's celebrated sporting roadster (1919–1931) — the subject of the legendary 1923 'Somewhere West of Laramie' advertisement.

  Roadster · 1919–1931

• Mazda MX-5 Miata

  The best-selling two-seat roadster in history — a lightweight, rear-drive sports car that revived the class.

  Roadster · 1990–present

  37 model years

• Mercedes-Benz SLK / SLC

  A compact folding-hardtop roadster — the affordable SL, renamed SLC in 2016.

  Roadster · 1996–2020

• NSU Wankel Spider

  The world's first production car with a Wankel rotary engine — a Bertone-bodied open two-seater, 2,375 built.

  Roadster · 1964–1967

• 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.

  Roadster · 1992–1995

• 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.

  Roadster · 1996–1999

• 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.

  Roadster · 2000–present

• 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.

  Roadster · 2005–present

• Puma Puma GTS / GTC

  Puma's open-top roadster line — the Spider that became the GTS, then the GTC, all on VW Brasília underpinnings.

  Roadster · 1971–1987

• 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.

  Roadster · 2007–2010

• 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.

  Roadster · 1913–1919

• 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.

  Roadster · 1948–1952

• 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.

  Roadster · 1968–1970

• Singer Roadster

  An affordable open four-seat tourer that carried the Singer sports tradition from before WWII into the early 1950s.

  Roadster · 1939–1955

• 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.

  Roadster · 2012–2014

• 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.

  Roadster · 2014–2014

• Triumph Roadster

  Triumph's aluminium-bodied post-war tourer — the last production car with a rear 'dickey' seat, later famous from TV's Bergerac.

  Roadster · 1946–1949

• Vignale Gamine

  A retro-styled Fiat 500–based micro-roadster (1967–1971) — Vignale's most widely recognised proprietary model.

  Roadster · 1967–1971

• 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.

  Roadster · 1993–2013

• 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.

  Roadster · 2024–present