Hardtop

During an event in Ponce, Puerto Rico last week where Mini introduced members of the media to the 2013 Paceman and John Cooper Works GP, product planners discussed that the brand's lineup could expand to eventually include up to 10 bodystyles. Currently, the Mini range consists of seven models: the Steven J. Ewing

Spy shots pretty much said it's coming, and here it is: the new Mini John Cooper Works GP. It's making an appearance at the Mini United Festival in France this weekend, and while Mini has yet to detail specific power numbers or show off the car's interior, it has produced a Nurburgring time: 8 minutes, 23 seconds, which, Alex Nunez

Click above for high-res image gallery of the 2010 BMW Z4

Mini is readying its R56-based replacement for the current Cooper droptop, and it will retain its cloth roof. While there's been widespread adoption of retractable hardtops, the Coop is staying soft. That's good for weight and center of gravity, so the 'vert will still handle charmingly. True to the Cooper's retro mission, Senior VP of Brand Management, Kay Segler contends that the cloth roof offers an experience more true to classic alfresco motoring. The reasoning is that traditional convertib

One enthusiast from the Netherlands described the E93 thusly: "Super vette bak!" We're pretty sure that translates to "super fat barge," though the overly-literal "super oily bake" has its own charm. If you're into cabrios, maybe mutating the phrase to "super phat barge" is more palatable. Our friend from NL was referring to the 200-plus extra pounds the M3 cabrio will be hauling around versus its sedan counterparts. The folding-roof M3 doesn'

Automotive News has been pumping out a ton of information about the General's future products, and between buffing fingerprints off the crystal ball and making phone calls to unnamed sources, they've shed some light on the future of Pontiac.

Although we've heard the rumors before, and it still seems like a no-brainer, Lexus has remained mum on the introduction of an IS coupe. With its assault on everything held dear to the Bimmer and Merc people, it's simply a matter of time before Lexus takes aim at the 3-series and C-classes that have remained largely unchallenged in the sports coupe market.

Our reader Mike, tipped us off to an article in the Times of Malta that discusses the development of a hard top folding system for the Ford Mustang. The setup, developed by Peter Muscat, a Detroit ex-pat, folds into what looks like two pieces and resides in the space normally reserved for its cloth counterpart. The powered roof will come down in 30 seconds, although an upgrade will cut off another seven seconds, and won't utilize any space in the trunk, since, according to the article, "golf-mad

Many of you remember shots of this hardtop Pontiac Solstice that features a hatchback-type rear end. The hardtop is a product developed by EDAG that's been in development for some time, but word is out that the EDAG Sportwagon hardtop, as it's now officially called, will be available in January of 2007 for $2,499 plus taxes and shipping. Saturn Sky owners (and Opel GT owners, for that matter) will have to wait until Spring if they want to close the lid on their

ModdedMustangs is hypothesizing that Ford may be considering offering a retractable hardtop option for the 2009 Mustang. The site's reasoning is pretty thin, based mostly on the fact that there are retractable hardtop kits available for the Mustang currently and that engineering expertise for such a project could be culled from the recently unveiled Focus Coupe Cabriolet for Europe.

We reported earlier that Mazda's own North American website revealed that the price of the MX-5 Power Retractable Hard Top would start below $25,000, and Mazda has stayed true to its word. Dave Thomas over at KickingTires is reporting that the price will begin at a very reasonable $24,350, which makes this MX-5 the least expensive retractable hard top convertible on the market by far. The Pontiac G6 Convertible held that title for a short while with a base price of $28,490, but no more. Whereas

Feast your eyes on the newest member of our Hardtop Convertible Video Collection, the Opel Astra TwinTop. The Astra TwinTop takes the cake when it comes to complexity in design. Note that aside from the fact its retracting hardtop is comprised of three separate, long pieces, the TwinTop’s design also automatically flips the trunk lid up to store the three-piece top and puts in motion the rear deck behind the sea