Geneva 2010: Renault Wind roadster drops its top

Remember the Honda Civic Del Sol? We sure do, and we couldn't help referencing it in regards to the new Renault Wind roadster. This funky little coupe/cabriolet takes everything that we love about two-seat convertible motoring and puts it in a more functional, compact, everyday-drivable package.

Unlike the Del Sol (or even the recent Pontiac Solstice Coupe), the Wind's roof panel is operated by a power mechanism that flips the roof back 180 degrees and stows it under the rear trunk lid. The whole operation only takes 12 seconds, and Renault says that with either the roof on or off, there's still roughly 9.5 cubic feet of usable cargo space out back. Not bad, especially for a car that's only slightly larger than a Mini Cooper. (The Cooper convertible, by contrast, makes due with six cubic feet of trunk volume with the rear seats in place.)

It's cute and compact while offering top-down thrills, and we'd be happy to take one for a spin any day of the week. Scroll through our gallery of images to see the Wind live on the Geneva show floor.

Live photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright ©2010 Weblogs, Inc.