Who doesn’t love a summer road trip? Bags in the back, wind in your hair and tailbacks on the M25. And there’s no better way to make the most of clear skies up above, however fleeting, than with a classic convertible from the 1960s – as these appealing retro drop-tops prove.
Aston Martin DB5 Convertible
As arresting and capable as the iconic coupé favoured by 007, the DB5 in drop-top guise added breezy thrills to an already intoxicating recipe. Launched in 1963, Aston Martin built just 123 examples of its evocative grand tourer in convertible spec (the Volante name only arriving with the Short Chassis batch after 1965), hence a price tag north of £1m today. Worth it to cruise like Bond and tan while you’re at it? But, of course.
Porsche 911 Targa
Porsche set the bar for all sports cars with its 911, delivering a durable, distinctive and addictively drivable machine that, over countless generations, became a true legend of road and track. Makes sense, then, that when the German marque created one with a roll-hoop and removable roof panel, the result was equally as seminal. Named in honour of the firm’s numerous Targa Florio victories, the open-top Targa variant arrived in 1967 and soon became a star in its own right, offering drivers both a riveting experience and rain exposure.
Fiat 124 Sport Spider
An Italian two-seater sports car with a Pininfarina shell, Fiat’s 124 Sport Spider might have been labelled a poor man’s Prancing Horse were it not such a lovely thing in its own right. First seen in 1966, its combination of stylish lines, tight handling and zippy twin-cam performance made it a properly appealing thing on the open road, which probably explains why the Italian firm built the model for the best part of two decades. Even more appealing, though, is the price tag for a decent one today: just £15k.
Lotus Elan
Like to feel the asphalt through your fingertips? No convertible can hold a candle to the lithe Lotus Elan when it comes to balance, handling and sheer B-road enjoyment. A bonny Sixties distillation of Colin Chapman’s belief that low weight and nimble steering trumps, well, anything, the glass fibre British sports car was compact, reactive and compellingly agile. It was practical, too, with enough space in the boot for camping equipment – though it’s such fun to drive that the roadster’s foldaway roof is the only canvas you’d want to be under.
Jaguar E-type Roadster
It’s hard to find a paragraph written about the E-type that doesn’t include the word iconic, and for good reason: Jaguar’s long-nose sports car was a stunning thing in any guise, with race-bred performance and a shell so beautiful it still tops polls today. Built in three generations between 1961 and 1975, the glorious two-seater was at its best in early open-top form, the fabric roof folded back into those shapely haunches, the slender screen doing little to shield the pilot from the breeze blowing along the sculpted snout. Good ones now cost upwards of £80k.
Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider
If you needed more evidence that the Italians knew how to make a nice roadster in the Sixties, this is it. Launched in the same year as the Fiat 124 Sport Spider, Alfa Romeo’s Duetto Spider – named in finest Blue Peter tradition by means of a write-in competition – was a compact classic with fizzy twin-cam zip and a sharp yet slender shell penned by Pininfarina. Sound familiar? While it had much in common with the 124, the Alfa was very much its own thing, with stellar handling, good stopping power and a distinctive boat-tail rear.
MGB
An MG might seem like an odd fit on a list populated by exotic drop-tops, but the MGB remains, to many, the definitive British sports car – a simple, affordable and entertaining proposition that looked good, went well and occasionally leaked in heavy rain. Built in droves over a 17-year production run that began in the Sixties and outlasted all its rivals (including the tempting Triumph TR6), the B was born as a roadster and broke cover in the early Sixties, offering open-air excitement for the driving masses. Nice examples cost £20k today.
Ferrari 250GT SWB California Spyder
Italy’s answer to the DB5, Ferrari’s short wheelbase 250GT California Spyder is probably the most expensive way you can go road-tripping with the top down this summer: the example pictured sold for $8.5m with RM Sotheby’s back in 2012 and prices for the ultra-rare machine have only risen since then. Still, at least the outlay would bag you a one-of-55 Ferrari with a perfect shell, a thrumming V12 under the hood and the knowledge that you’ll be centre of attention in any traffic jam.
Ferrari 330GTS
Fancy a convertible Ferrari but only got a million or so to spend? Try one of the California Spyder’s mid-Sixties follow-ups. First came the 275GTS, with its simpler steel bodywork, better cabin and beefier 3.3-litre V12. Then, in 1966, it evolved into the gorgeous 330GTS – again bodied by Pininfarina but now good for 300bhp and almost 150mph, making it pretty much the fastest open-top sports car around. Just 100 were built, each a picture of refinement, style and performance, including the example shown above, which fetched $2m in Arizona earlier this year.
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