Why I love… convertibles
As a student with an unhealthy obsession with cars and recently acquired a part time job, what better way would you spend your money than a convertible for summer? Well that’s exactly what I did back in May. Having seen fellow friends fall for the same bug it was a matter of time before I was perusing the classifieds for 2 seater roadsters. My options, either an E85 generation BMW Z4 or a Mazda MX5 NC. Both were tempting but in the end, I chose the Mazda. Specifically a 2006 2.0 sport model with the all important limited slip differential. £1995 later it was mine (that fiver making all the difference), I had my own sportscar at 19! And what a peach it was, B hi-fi, heated leather seats and coilovers the previous owner had fitted. It was all I could ever ask for. With summer approaching it was the perfect tool to enjoy the weather in.
Convertibles have always been a part of my life. My mum had a Steel grey BMW e46 convertible when I was a child. Harmon/Kardon speakers, leather seats and rain sensing wipers, we like high specced convertibles. There was something so special about that car to me. We once drove all the way home on the motorway in it with the roof down. That’s where you can probably trace my love of top down motoring from. Convertibles will always be some of the best cars out there for me. It’s how man has roamed the world for centuries, whether that be on horseback or in a carriage. We need a sense of being open to the elements when in motion. It makes it feel more dangerous, more alive. However, I’m not saying that all cars should be convertibles. Imagine if they made a volante version of the Aston Martin DBR9 racer? It would probably fold in on itself going round maggots and becketts at Silverstone. Some cars should stay a hard top as taking a hack saw to the roof does sometimes spoil the looks and handling. This leads me back to my own story of how I just can’t keep the roof up on the MX-5. Hour blast on the motorway? Roof down. 30 degrees weather? Roof down obviously. Torrential rain storm? Yeah why not. As this summer's been particularly parched the idea of being boiled alive and turning into a tomato somehow slips my mind as I reach for the mechanical roof. I think it might be because I'm British. Savouring any and all sunshine available before the weather eventually goes down the drain. Well now as I write this it’s raining and cold, so maybe it wasn’t all so bad being burnt all summer.