Roadster

Featuring a design inspired by Bruce McLaren’s minimal 1960s racers, the McLaren Elva is a modern day roadster that is said to be the lightest production car the UK automaker has ever created. Weighing in at just 2965 lb, the $1.7 million-plus, open-top supercar packs an 804 hp turbo V8 in back that can launch it from 0 to 62 mph in less than 3 seconds, and 124 mph in 6.7 seconds, making it even faster to that mark than the Senna.

Hot on the heels of my tiny Italian carspotting in Japan a couple of weeks back, comes a far more modern, mid-engine approach to automotive engineering. Commonly referred to as “the new NSX’s baby brother,” the Honda S660 is a Japan-exclusive two-seat roadster that fits neatly within the Japanese kei car category, so it has to have less than a 1.0-liter engine.

BMW made a major discovery for fans of the classic 507 roadster and for fans of Elvis Presley. While Elvis was doing military service in Germany, he owned a slick little 507 that was thought to have been lost forever.

Bristol is an old British manufacturer that went insolvent and closed its doors. The small automaker is now back with new owners, and its first new car in over a decade. The Bristol Bullet arrives just in time for the celebration of the company’s 70th birthday.

Audi has unveiled the 2017 Audi TT RS Coupe and TT RS Roadster. Both cars get a new aluminum 5-cylinder engine making 400hp, 60HP more than the outgoing model. Audi says that the new RS can sprint from 0-62.1 mph in 3.7 seconds for the coupe and 3.9 seconds for the Roadster.

A new Dubai-based car company called Jannarelly has turned up with a roadster called the Design-1. The car is incredibly sexy and has elements that hearkens back to some of the hottest cars of the late ’50s and ’60s.

In the US, all 2016 MX-5 models get the 2.0L 155hp four-cylinder engine. In other parts of the world, a smaller 1.5L 129hp engine is also available. Mazda has a special version of the MX-5 offered in Japan only that has some cool go fast bits and awesome new seats inside for drivers.

With all the talk about the Tesla Model S and its soaring popularity with EV buyers, it’s easy to forget that the Model S wasn’t the first EV that Tesla made. That distinction goes to the now discontinued Tesla Roadster sports car.

I have been a fan of Lotus since James Bond drove the Esprit that turned into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me. I also loved the Lotus Elise and Exige since they launched.

When I was turning 16, all I could think about when it came to getting my first car was having an old British roadster like an MGB or Triumph. Fast forward a few months and I was the owner of a 1975 Triumph Spitfire with a hard top and rotting interior.

If you have a hankering for the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5, we already know everything about the car from pricing to how fuel efficient the car will be (it gets 36 mpg if you are wondering.)

Jay Leno’s Garage recently featured the Davis Divan, one of the aberrations of the post-World War II automotive boom. This particular unit of the three-wheeled hardtop has a 47hp Hercules engine and is currently in the hands of the Petersen Automotive Museum, which is trying to restore the car.

We have seen all there is to see when it comes to the new 2016 Mazda MX-5. I’m still on the fence about the styling personally and if you are too, the good news is that Fiat will be selling a version of the car.

Morgan has been building cars for over a century, and the vehicles it makes will remind you of that heritage in one glance. Last year Morgan started production of its oldest of old school cars yet, the Morgan Plus 8 Speedster.

After almost 10 years of production, Bugatti finally put the Veyron name to rest this year. XCAR had the rare opportunity to test the Veyron’s $2.5M roadster variant, the Grand Sport Vitesse, and waxed poetic about the car’s legacy.