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ENJOYING SUMMER
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Want a classic companion with which to make the most of the British summer? Look
no further than these eight convertibles, each of which offers something for everybody
I
t’s odd how we Brits love
convertibles. We’ve been buying
drop-tops for decades despite
meagre rations of sunshine. And
that’s why there are so many on the market
and why the choice is sometimes, quite
literally, bewildering. However, with the
promise of a summer that’s free from social
distancing and coronavirus restrictions,
there really is no better time to buy an
open-air classic that you, and your family and
friends if you so choose, can enjoy.
What we have done here is assemble eight
convertibles that each offers something
different. Be it the charm of the Morris
Minor or the Sunbeam Alpine, the beauty
of the Alfa Romeo Spider or MGB or the
pin-point sharp handling of the Porsche 944
or Vauxhall VX220, each offers something
unique. In short, we’ve something for every
kind of enthusiast.
The fact that any one of our open-top
classics can be bought in at least usable order
for less than £10k can not only be seen as
a bonus but also one that reflects just how
much fun and excitement you can get for not
a lot of outlay.
Get that hood down and enjoy the sun!
MGB prices are all
over the place so there
really is something for
everyone out there.
MGB ROADSTER
‘CHROME BUMPER’
(1962-74)
WHAT IT OFFERS Ubiquitous
motoring free from ownership hassles
WHAT TO PAY £3000-17,000
It’s important to look beyond the MGB’s
inherent ubiquity otherwise it can seem like an
unadventurous choice. The looks are beautifully
executed – it may be mass-produced but it
doesn’t look like some cheaply-engineered, illproportioned
thing built on saloon underpinnings.
Instead, it sits low on fat tyres conveying a sense
of grand-touring weight and substance, its chrome
windscreen positioned neat and low behind a
well-proportioned long bonnet. Climb aboard and
it’s reminiscent of a Jaguar E-type – all black leather,
vinyl and chrome-ringed Smiths dials.
This prevailing sense of satisfaction continues
once the five-bearing B-series engine in this
Seventies MGB fires up. Its syrupy and burblingly
warm sound conveys lazy torque rather than
shrieking power – and that’s precisely what it
delivers. It may not be fast, but it doles out grunt
and waft with aplomb.
You’d never win a closed-road sprint in a
standard-spec ’B, but that just doesn’t matter
because the heft conveyed through the steering
wheel, pedals and gearshift has an extraordinary
transformative power. While manufacturers
perpetually search for ways to make bigger cars
feel smaller, lighter and more nimble, the MG
manages to convince you that it’s a heavyweight
With a snug and cosy driving position, you never feel
overly exposed even when the hood is removed.
Few ‘B parts are no longer available. Any half-decent
mechanic can fix one, but there are specialists galore.
grand tourer, and in doing so turns your favourite
B-road into an Alpine pass. That’s the magic of the
MGB – it puts GT motoring into everyone’s hands.
While the ’B feels wonderfully long-legged and
smooth, it’s not fast, running almost completely
out of puff soon after 70mph. Fortunately, sedate
speeds seem very quick, especially with the
roof off. The BMC B-series engine suits the car
beautifully, too – the cosy thrum makes it feel
indomitable – and it stops well too, even without
brake upgrades.
1973 MGB ROADSTER ENGINE 1798cc/4-cyl/OHV POWER 95bhp@5400rpm TORQUE 110lb
ft@3000rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 107mph 0-60MPH 12.6sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 25-
32mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, 4-sp manual + o/d ENGINE OIL Castrol Classic XL20w50 4.3
litres GEARBOX OIL Castrol Classic XL20w50 2.3 litres AXLE OIL Castrol Classic EP90 1.3 litres
TVR S3 (1990-94)
WHAT IT OFFERS British grunt in a
genuine hand-built sports car
WHAT TO PAY £3000-11,000
You can’t think about a roofless sports car without
considering some kind of TVR. The Eightiesrevived
TVR S3 series occupies an odd place in
the marque’s hierarchy, especially in Ford Cologne
V6 form. The S has been forgotten between the
3.9-litre V8S, which trades blows with Griffiths, and
the cheaper 280i and 350i wedges.
The noise the exhausts make at idle grab your
attention first. The noise is more like a V8, and it
needs 2000rpm to get off the line cleanly, so you
inadvertently make a racket everywhere you go.
By contrast it’s a world of calm inside. You settle
into a traditionalist cockpit with a low, long-legged
seating position and a spread of big round dials.
TVR boss Peter Wheeler was a vocal fan of the
Austin-Healey 3000 and the S always seemed
closest to his muse.
You can drive the TVR with the roof lowered, or with
the central panel off but the plastic rear screen raised.
TVR is all about the thrill
of fast cornering and
full-bore acceleration.
It doesn’t take long to realise that the TVR’s
chassis is exquisitely balanced, albeit on a knifeedge.
It’s raw but not rough, with disarmingly fast
and accurate turn-in and every twitch transmitted
to your fingers. There’s a lightness to the rear of
the car mid-corner, as though it’s offering you
the opportunity to boot it into oversteer without
forcing it on you, but no sense that there will be
safe warning understeer beforehand.
There’s plenty of urge from the powerplant
but it’s a coarse-edged, buzzy acceleration that
vibrates the entire carat the revs need to achieve
peak power. There’s no salvation in its sound,
either – while it chunters potently at idle, it sounds
shrill and strangled from 3000rpm. Although the
chassis rewards hard driving, it actually feels more
comfortable as a fast tourer.
It rides extremely well, progressive damping
avoiding stiffness in corners while remaining
impressively level and resisting roll. In top gear,
sitting on that slab of torque cruising at 80-90mph,
you enjoy the sensation of the air rushing by while
being well-shielded from windchill by the steeply
raked screen and low seating position.
Leaning on the 2.9-litre V6’s torque provides a more
refined driving experience than if you just rev it.
1990 TVR S3 ENGINE 2933cc/V6/OHV POWER 168bhp@5400rpm TORQUE 191lb
ft@3575rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 140mph 0-60MPH 6.8sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 21-32mpg
TRANSMISSION RWD, five-speed manual ENGINE OIL Castrol Edge 10w60 4.7 litres
GEARBOX OIL Castrol SMX-S 3 litres AXLE OIL Castrol Dexron 111 7.4 litres
SUNBEAM
ALPINE (1959-68)
WHAT IT OFFERS Open-top touring
in classy surroundings
You’ll get almost as
many glances as you
would in an Aston
thanks to its rarity
and elegant style.
VAUXHALL
VX220 (2000-05)
WHAT IT OFFERS Supercar motoring
for a fraction of the price
You get the
sense that the
roof comes off
primarily to aid
entry and exit.
WHAT TO PAY £4000-16,000
WHAT TO PAY £5000-17,000
The Sunbeam Alpine seems far rarer and more
glamorous than the likes of the MGB, its appeal
helped by the fact that James Bond drove one in
Dr No. There is another fact that certainly makes
the later Alpines such as this one feel even more
exclusive. From the 1965 Series IV onwards a
re-style gave the car simpler grille ornamentation
and replaced the Fifties-style tailfins with a neat
straight-lined, barrel-sided profile. The styling house
was none other than Carrozzeria Touring, which
also gave us the Aston DB4.
Keep this in mind when you climb aboard and it
makes the driving experience all the more enticing.
The seating position is upright and roomy – you can
see from the windscreen and higher waistline, it’s
built for proper, long-distance touring.
It’s a sense that extends to the controls. Rather
than typical sports-roadster rack-and-pinion, the
Alpine features a recirculating-ball box controlled
by an enormous wheel with an elaborate combined
horn-press and indicator ring finished in chrome.
The result is steering so light that you can twirl the
wheel with your fingertips. The same goes for the
Sunbeam’s gear lever, which responds to a flick of
the fingers rather than a grab-and-shove.
As you might expect, though, a lot of the Alpine’s
easy-driving smoothness comes from a reliance on
saloon-car parts – in this case a mixture of Hillman
Husky and Sunbeam Rapier – and this conspires
against it when you try to drive it like a sports car.
The steering is vague, with a lot of dead-ahead
slop and very little feedback. Pitch into a bend at
high speed and it lurches, leaning hard on its outer
springs and bouncing in an ungainly fashion before
breaking into understeer.
Yet these criticisms feel harsh because it’s a
supremely comfortable cruiser and its issues are
common shortcomings of nearly every Sixties
tourer. The Alpine is a dignified, high-class car and
you feel compelled to drive it with decorum.
The Alpine’s faithful engine powered various Rootes
saloons and proved to be a rugged, flexible unit.
Ignore the badge on the nose; it was built at Hethel
on the same aluminium chassis as the Elise, so it’s
no less a Lotus. Open the door, and the driving
position is well-devised yet unadjustable, which
isn’t as big a problem as you might think given that
the monastically minimalist interior frees up space
around the key controls; sitting with your knees
bent if you’re tall won’t mean you end up grazing
the centre console. Because there isn’t one.
The only real problem is the hood. It’s not that it’s
difficult to put on – just click the end-rods into the
holes in the header rail and roll bar and stretch the
fabric across – but the roof is so low, and the sills
so high, that tall drivers will find boarding with the
top in place near-impossible. But after contorting
yourself, hit the starter button and you’re treated to
a potent crackle from the exhausts.
It barely takes more than a couple of corners and
a few twitches of the tiny arcade-game steering
wheel to realise just how connected and special
this car feels. The unassisted steering tugs at your
fingers as the front tyres negotiate individual
pebbles, and yet there’s no sense of the car being
hyperactively nervous.
One of the many subtle changes to the VX220’s
setup compared to the Elise’s gave it fatter tyres
and a 33mm-longer wheelbase, all measures aimed
at flattering drivers who’d come to it straight from
an Astra rather than customers steeped in Lotus
lore. The rear end feels unstickable, with overly
hard cornering resulting in a hint of easily-corrected
understeer rather than snap-oversteer.
The 2.2-litre four-cylinder engine is torquey and
understressed and features a much nicer gearbox
with a pleasantly mechanical-feeling flick-wrist
action. Roof off, revs wound up past 4000rpm
in fourth gear and accompanied by a muscular
mid-range roar, the VX220 not only makes 120mph
shockingly easy, it also manages to make it feel
even faster. This really is quite a machine.
The Vectra-sourced drivetrain makes for a better
ownership experience than the concurrent Rover
K-Series-engined Lotus Elise S1’s.
1965 SUNBEAM ALPINE IV ENGINE 1592cc/4-cyl/OHV POWER 88bhp@5000rpm TORQUE 93lb ft@3500rpm MAX SPEED 93mph
0-60MPH 13.8sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 21-27mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, 4-sp man + o/d ENGINE OIL Castrol Classic XL20w50 4.6 litres
Rootes really went all-out to give the Alpine more
than a touch of luxury, with polished wood and
abundant instrumentation.
2002 VAUXHALL VX220 ENGINE 2198cc/4-cyl/DOHC POWER 147bhp@5800rpm TORQUE 150lb ft@4000rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 132mph
0-60MPH 6.1sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 25-41mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, five-speed manual ENGINE OIL Castrol Edge 0w40 A3/B4 5 litres
The roll-bar and glass screen nestling up behind your
head means that the VX220 is actually quite wellinsulated
from the wind, even at high speeds.
54 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 28 April 2021 Wednesday 28 April 2021 CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY | 55

ENJOYING SUMMER
BMW 325i
CONVERTIBLE
(1985-93)
WHAT IT OFFERS
Easy touring for four in comfort
WHAT TO PAY £5000-25,000
MORRIS MINOR 1000 CONVERTIBLE (1956-62)
WHAT IT OFFERS Laid back comfort for four WHAT TO PAY £3000-14,000
Surprisingly, the strongest impression the Minor
conveys (especially in Convertible form) is how
American it feels – a downsized love-letter to
Forties Americana. This continues on the inside,
with a central instrument block that resembles
an art-deco radio complete with its row of toggle
switches and a huge sprung steering wheel.
Sitting in the squashy seat behind a thick-rimmed
windscreen looking at the chromed prow, it feels
like something James Dean might have raced
towards a cliff edge in Rebel Without A Cause.
The driving position forces a bent-kneed posture,
but it’s comfy thanks to the springiness of the seat
and the cabin’s general airiness. First and second
are easily found but third graunches when you miss
it, snicking the edge of non-synchromeshed first in
the process. You’ll rue trying to rush the gearbox
– it makes the Minor’s progress even more sedate.
That said, it drives best in fourth above 30mph. It’s
far better to rest on its modest helping of torque
than to attempt to exploit its meagre 37bhp.
And the sluggishness just doesn’t matter once
you’re cruising along. At as little as 40mph on a
country lane in the sunshine with the roof down,
the Minor forces you to question any desire for
eyeball-flattening performance you may previously
have harboured. Convertibles normally fall into
stripped-down sporty or opulent look-at-me luxury
categories, but the Minor manages to find one all
of its own – perhaps best labelled ‘comfy’. Taking
some friends out in a Minor Convertible is like
going for a drive in your living room.
Although there’s no avoiding the fact that
the Minor feels underpowered by modern
standards, it offers entertaining handling.
And then you take the roof off, and that living
room becomes a roof terrace. Unlike the chore
of the Sixties sports cars, it’s a relatively easy task
thanks at least in part to the fixed roof rails and the
fact that Morris didn’t care a jot as to how neat and
tidy it looked when folded back.
Two-seaters are all well and good, but what about a
convertible sports car you can enjoy with all the
family? As the decades pass the E30 BMW 325i
Convertible seems less a beheaded saloon, more a
lithe and compact roadster that combines classic
rear-driven straight-six thrills with the ability to
transport four adults.
The E30 aged cruelly in the Nineties as its blufffronted,
straight-lined shape was made to look
ancient by the aerodynamics revolution ushered
in by the Ford Sierra. But in a classic context it’s
a bonus because it manages to look older than it
actually is.
Unfortunately, in bulking up the B-post to achieve
admirable rigidity, BMW compromised the driving
position. The driver’s seat doesn’t slide far enough
back and you’ll end up hunched over the wheel
unless you’re vertically challenged. But once you get
underway you realise that this is a minor quibble,
because it rides beautifully, gently breathing its
way over bumps. The 2.5-litre straight-six gives
off a sibilant purr and never sounds stressed and
the steering is quick-witted if not particularly
communicative, allowing you to correct any midcorner
twitch.
So the 325i ends up springing the greatest surprise
of all the cars here – it’s a BMW that isn’t particularly
sporting to drive but revels in its GT nature. The
silken engine, solid interior and near-total lack of
rattles and shakes make it a car for wafting rather
than opposite-locking, and in doing so reveals an
expensively sophisticated side to its nature.
1991 BMW 325i CONVERTIBLE
ENGINE 2494cc/6-cyl/OHC POWER
171bhp@5800rpm TORQUE 167lb
ft@4000rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 135mph
0-60MPH 8.1sec FUEL CONSUMPTION
24-31mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, five-speed
manual ENGINE OIL Magnatec 10w40
A3/B4 4.8 litres
1960 MORRIS MINOR 1000 CONVERTIBLE ENGINE 948cc/4-cyl/OHV POWER 37bhp@4750rpm TORQUE 50lb ft@2500rpm MAXIMUM
SPEED 75mph 0-60MPH 30sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 35-41mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, four-speed manual ENGINE OIL Castrol Classic
XL20w50 3.7 litres GEARBOX OIL Castrol Classic XL20w50 1.3 litres AXLE OIL Castrol Classic EP90 0.9 litres
The smoothness of the straight-six bears comparison
with Jaguar powerplants. It really is that good.
An al fresco Minor is a sublime place to be on a sunny summer’s day and on a quiet
B-road. Best of all, friends and family can enjoy the experience with you.
The A-series powerplant is far more powerful, and yet it still ensures that the Minor
is fun to drive. And, of course, it delivers that all-important flatulent soundtrack.
Driver-centric interior is lined with high-quality
materials, but the steering lacks feedback.
56 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 28 April 2021

ENJOYING SUMMER
ALFA ROMEO
SPIDER S4
(1990-93)
WHAT IT OFFERS
Sixties style in a modern sports car
WHAT TO PAY £6000-19,000
This may be a Nineties car, but the driving
experience is joyously Sixties because certain
design fundamentals remained unchanged for
almost 25 years. Steering is still by unusually sharp
recirculating-ball, the rear wheels are still attached
to a live axle and you’ll find the old chain-driven
twin-cam under the bonnet, albeit controlled by
German electronics.
You enter past chrome finger-pull door handles
and settle behind a bulbous pod of big dials, your
vision framed by a chrome-edged windscreen.
The twin-cam gurgles and rasps, sounding
complex and high-pitched. It’s free-revving, too,
spinning up to 4000rpm and beyond with silken
ease and feeling far brisker than its on-paper
acceleration figures suggest. It seems to cruise
more comfortably at 80mph than 70mph in fifth
gear, so it feels potent on a motorway drive, with
that sense that there’s always more to come.
Aim the Spider at a complex of bends at high
speed and there’s a bit of body roll but it turns
in sharply and will only wag its tail if you push it.
There’s no untoward scuttle-shake, either, because
it was designed from the beginning as a roadster.
It makes roofless-roadster motoring easy, too.
The hood mechanism can be operated with one
hand and the tall windscreen allows you to enjoy
the summery sense of exposure without the wind
re-arranging your face. It’s ideal for someone
looking for a classic roadster yet harbouring fears
of complex hood frames, flapping leaky vinyl and a
nose-height windscreen.
1992 ALFA SPIDER S4
ENGINE 1962cc/4-cyl/DOHC POWER
120bhp@5800rpm TORQUE 116lb
ft@4200rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 120mph
0-60MPH 10.2sec FUEL CONSUMPTION
26-35mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, fivespeed
manual ENGINE OIL Castrol GTX
10w40 6.5 litres AXLE OIL Castrol Syntrax
75w90 1.4 litres
PORSCHE 944 S2 CABRIOLET (1990-91)
WHAT IT OFFERS Porsche badge with neutral and friendly handling WHAT TO PAY £4000-30,000
Why the Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet isn’t more
revered even by Porschephiles remains a mystery.
It shares nothing with the 911 but its transaxle
platform was conceived to replace the 911’s rearengined
chassis, and represents the zenith of the
front-engined Porsche in three-litre slant-four form.
Perhaps it’s because the convertible’s lines aren’t
entirely harmonious, ditching the coupé’s elegant
rear glass and pert spoiler in favour of a brutally flat
boot lid and awkwardly-stacked hood.
The endlessly adjustable driving position can be
made to fit just about anyone snugly in a straightlegged,
sporty posture. The surprising thing about
the 944’s interior is how things that don’t look
particularly ergonomic turn out to be perfectly
judged. The slick gearchange, for example, on its
square tunnel is a second-nature hand-drop from
the wheel’s wide rim.
Turn the ignition key and you’re greeted with
an underwhelming hiss rather than a sporty bark.
However, it doesn’t take long for the 944 to shake
off its polite understatement and transform itself
into a serious sports car. Plant the throttle, work
your way through the smoothly-oiled gears, and
hear that big ‘four’ transform into a vocal gymnast
as it urges you to its 5800rpm power peak.
It’s a similar story with the handling – the
power-assisted 944 feels so insulated and easy to
manoeuvre at low speeds that it promises little
involvement in the bends. But the tyres’ solid grip,
together with the 50/50 chassis balance, involves
you in the car’s abilities intensely.
The whim-obeying handling and
screaming twin-cam makes the 944
Cabriolet feel like a grown-up Lotus Elan.
As a result, the 944 isn’t boringly efficient but
rather ultra-compliant. Everything about the driving
experience, from its power delivery and intuitively
faithful steering, to the application of the brakes
and the way in which the car holds the road harder
the more you push it, is viceless and linear.
1991 PORSCHE 944 S2 CABRIOLET ENGINE 2990cc/4-cyl/DOHC POWER 211bhp@5800rpm TORQUE 207lb ft@4000rpm
MAXIMUM SPEED 149mph 0-60MPH 7.1sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 27-36mpg TRANSMISSION RWD, five-speed manual
ENGINE OIL Castrol Edge 5w40 7.5 litres AXLE OIL Castrol Transmax Universal 75w90 2 litres
Sonorous Alfa twin-cam produces a glorious noise
from the exhaust – it never, ever sounds flat or dull.
Comical gear lever angle aside, the Alfa’s interior
ambience is very close to that of a Sixties Ferrari.
The steering wheel, with its four parallel spokes, is easy to grasp at a maximumcontrol
quarter-to-three or ten-to-two. It’s more ergonomic than it looks in here, too.
Four-pot sounds underwhelming when you’re pootling, but comes alive with a
bucketful of revs – peak power doesn’t come on song until a lofty 5800rpm.
58 | CLASSIC CAR WEEKLY Wednesday 28 April 2021