Mazda has revealed the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata roadster, marking the ninth year of production for the current ND generation. The latest model, known as the “ND3” generation, comes with notable mechanical and design upgrades, maintaining its reputation as a reliable and spirited roadster.
Under the hood, all models continue to be powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine generating 181hp and 205Nm of torque. The Sport and Club trims come with a six-speed manual transmission, while the Grand Touring trims offer a six-speed automatic as an option. The 2024 model year introduces enhancements to the electric power-assisted steering system, including a revised rack for reduced friction and improved on-centre feeling during cornering.
In terms of design, subtle tweaks include new LED daytime running lights in the headlight units, updated LED taillights, and fresh multi-spoke wheel designs. The colour palette now features Snowflake White Pearl, Zircon Sand Metallic, and a new Aero Gray shade, each available for an additional $450 (RM2,127) charge, along with Machine Grey Metallic or Soul Red Crystal Metallic for $595 (RM2,812).
Mechanical upgrades include a new asymmetric conical clutch limited-slip differential for Club and Grand Touring trims, offering improved stability during cornering. The Club models also introduce a “DSC-Track” mode, elevating the dynamic stability control system’s threshold.
Inside, the ND3 Miata boasts additional centre console padding, an enlarged 8.8-inch infotainment screen with touch functionality for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a new Amazon Alexa voice-activated assistant for hands-free commands. The gauge cluster receives a revision for improved readability.
A notable option for Club models is the $4,800 (RM22,692) Brembo BBS Recaro package, which includes a gloss black aero kit, Brembo brakes, gunmetal grey 17-inch BBS forged wheels, and heated Recaro sport seats.
The 2024 Mazda MX-5 Miata lineup sees a modest price increase, with the base Sport trim starting at $30,150 (RM142,534) and the fully-equipped RF Club trim reaching $41,375 (RM195,600), before options. Mazda anticipates the updated model year to be available sometime in March.
Pagani has revealed its latest creation, the Imola Roadster, a convertible version of the Imola hypercar, and it’s set to be an exclusive production with only eight units. Building upon the track performance of the Imola coupe and incorporating the open-air experience and advanced technology of the Huayra Roadster BC, this roadster is poised to be a show-stopper.
Under the hood, the Imola Roadster boasts a potent 6.0-litre V12 engine sourced from Mercedes-AMG. This powerplant has been tuned to deliver an impressive 838hp and 1099Nm of torque. Paired with a Pagani-tuned 7-speed Xtrac sequential transmission, the roadster can achieve a top speed of 350km/h.
Pagani baru sahaja mengumumkan Imola Roadster, versi convertible bagi hypercar Imola yang terhad kepada lapan unit sahaja. Ia menggabungkan prestasi litar dari coupe Imola dengan pengalaman berhibur terbuka dan teknologi canggih Huayra Roadster BC.
Dikuasakan oleh enjin V12 6.0 liter yang dimelengkapi dari Mercedes-AMG, Imola Roadster menghasilkan 838hp dan tork sebanyak 1099Nm. Ia mampu mencapai kelajuan tertinggi 350km/j dengan transmisi berurutan tujuh kelajuan Xtrac yang telah diselaraskan oleh Pagani.
Reka bentuk badan telah mengalami pengubahsuaian untuk menampung peningkatan kuasa, meningkatkan aerodinamik dan kecekapan penyejukan. Ciri-ciri mencolok termasuk saluran udara hadapan yang diperbesarkan, saluran keluaran udara panas yang senyap, dan satu scoop penstabilan di atas tempat duduk. Elemen-elemen reka bentuk ini menyumbang kepada 600kg daya turun pada kelajuan 280km/j, menghasilkan daya sampingan dan pengereman yang ketara.
Walaupun tumpuan diberikan kepada aerodinamik, Pagani berjaya mengurangkan berat menggunakan bahan-bahan canggih seperti Carbo-Titanium HP62-G2 dan Carbo-Triax HP62 untuk rangka, menghasilkan struktur ringan seberat 1,260 kg. Cat Acquarello Light turut mengurangkan berat sebanyak 5kg.
Imola Roadster memasukkan ciri-ciri terkini seperti empat flap untuk bantuan aero aktif dan sistem suspensi pintar untuk kawalan seperti kereta perlumbaan. Di dalamnya, kabin memaparkan kemewahan dengan hiasan kayu Carbo, kulit yang diukir dengan halus, dan butiran yang rumit. Kereta ini juga dilengkapi dengan sistem audio tujuh saluran untuk pengalaman yang mengagumkan.
Walaupun harga masih dirahsiakan, eksklusiviti Imola Roadster, teknologi canggih, dan prestasinya mencadangkan harga berjuta-juta. Dengan hanya lapan unit yang tersedia, dijangkakan menjadi barang koleksi yang paling diidamkan.
Audi recently announced the end of an era for its beloved TT sports car, but not before giving it a grand send-off with the Audi TT Roadster Final Edition. This special edition model pays tribute to the TT’s legacy with a range of distinctive features.
The Audi TT Roadster Final Edition comes in Audi Exclusive Goodwood Green Pearl paint, a nostalgic nod to the first-generation TT, which offered this colour as an option. The roof is grey, a first for the TT Roadster. The matte grey bumpers and side profile accents complement the grey roof. Based on the S Line trim, this Final Edition features 20-inch wheels as standard.
Audi made subtle changes by removing most of the S Line badges on the exterior and interior. The brushed aluminium accents have been replaced with carbon fibre, adding a touch of sportiness. The seats are upholstered in Palomino Brown leather, described as a “modern interpretation” of the original TT’s baseball seats.
In terms of performance, the TT Roadster Final Edition boasts a base turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with 228hp and 350Nm torque, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It accelerates from 0 to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds and includes all-wheel drive and magnetic ride control as standard, which is part of the S Line trim and reduces the ride height by 0.3 inches.
This special edition is exclusive to the US, with only 50 units available. The Audi TT Roadster Final Edition is priced at $68,895 (RM325,838), providing a fitting farewell to this iconic sports car.
Rolls-Royce has introduced a beautiful two-door, two-seater roadster known as the Droptail, demonstrating its steadfast adherence to a modern approach to coachbuilding. The Droptail continues the fashion started by the Sweptail in 2017 and the Boat Tail in 2021. Like its predecessors, the Droptail is a custom Rolls-Royce design created in collaboration with “the marque’s most ambitious clients.”
While it is understandable that the identity of these customers remains a secret, we do know that they fit the description of “significant collectors, patrons of the arts, and business leaders.” It’s important to note that the project will involve the development of four unique Droptail models, each tailored to the tastes and requirements of four different clients.
MG may sound like an old name and most Malaysians who do know of the brand might only have those old British sportscars in their minds. The MG brand is also no longer owned by a British company but by China’s SAIC since 2007.
The MG brand has actually been doing quite well in some markets and is sold in Thailand. It was supposed to come into Malaysia at one time but that has not happened yet. Perhaps we’ll see it soon with the wave of brands from China starting to sweep in.
MG’s modern products have been mainstream models but it is starting a new chapter with a high-performance electric sportscar. This is the Cyberster, just unveiled at Auto Shanghai in production form after the concept model was first shown two years ago at the same event.
Ferrari is an exclusive brand and owning one is already something special. But for those who must have ultra exclusivity, the company’s Special Projects programme will create a ‘One-Off’ model that is literally one-of-a-kind in the world. Each of these unique Ferraris will take around 2 years from start to finish and the latest example is the SP51.
Commissioned for a customer in Taiwan, this latest addition to Ferrari’s One-Off series was designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre and sits on the 812 GTS platform. The front-engined V12 spider’s most striking characteristic is its total absence of a roof, making it an authentic roadster in every respect.
Well over 40% of all Bugatti vehicles ever created have been open-top in design but in the Chiron era, a roadster was never offered. Therefore, as a farewell to the legendary W16 powerplant, Bugatti decided to create a roadster which it has named the W16 Mistral.
“The introduction of the W16 Mistral continues the legacy, and also opens the next chapter in the Bugatti roadster story, inspired by over a century of open-top legends,” said Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac.
Being a very special Chiron, much consideration went into the name it should have. Inspiration came from the mistral, a powerful wind that blows from the Rhone River valley, through the chic towns of the Cote d’Azur in southern France and into the Mediterranean.
Built around the 1,600 ps W16 engine, first used in the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the W16 Mistral offers superlative performance unlike any open-top car. Its design and engineering is completely bespoke. The existing monocoque is not simply cut off above the A-pillars to make way for the new open-top design but has been reengineered and reshaped to create a more rounded silhouette without compromising performance.
“We know the W16 Mistral will always have significance in the story of Bugatti, marking the last time that perhaps the greatest ever automotive powertrain is used in a roadgoing production car. We, as a design team, felt enormous pressure to deliver styling that immediately conveyed this landmark moment, drawing inspiration from some of the most beautiful roadsters in Bugatti history,” said Achim Anscheidt, Bugatti’s Design Director.
As they considered the project, they looked at the 1934 Bugatti Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid (pictured above), a sporting roadster that represented the pinnacle of elegant design. Marked out by its dual aerodynamic headrests, flowing backwards into the bodywork, and a cut down V-shaped windscreen, this particular Grand Raid was effortlessly sophisticated with an understated sportiness. Finished in a duo-tone black and yellow livery, it would provide the perfect inspiration for this watershed moment in the Bugatti story.
The W16 Mistral has colours inspired by the Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid. A warm black with hints of truffle brown and subtle yellow accents can be seen throughout. Not only is it homage to the iconic coachbuilt body, but also to Ettore Bugatti, who chose the black and yellow combination for many of his personal cars.
The open-top hypercar also captures the essence of the Grand Raid’s V-shaped windscreen and evolves it into a modern-day work of art. A curving windscreen that seemingly wraps around the A-pillars, blending seamlessly into the side windows and creating a ‘visor’ effect that hints at the motorsport levels of performance available. The windscreen itself is a marvel of engineering, curved just enough to create the rounded visor design, without distorting the driver’s vision.
The top line of the windscreen and side windows flows purposefully around the side air intakes. This character line then flows back underneath the side glass to shoot through all the way to the front horseshoe grill creating a new three-dimensional character for the famous Bugatti C-line introduced on Chiron.
To keep the body side section slim, but also allow for optimum airflow to the W16, the oil cooler intakes on the side were deliberately separated from the engine air intakes, which now sit on the roof, just behind the occupants.
The two-new roof-mounted engine air scoops also reference the Type 57 Roadster Grand Raid, as well as the first open top Bugatti of the modern era: the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport. Tighter, more powerful and appearing to leap forwards, the W16 Mistral exhibits an entirely different character.
“To reflect the W16 Mistral’s new character, we also totally reinvented its frontal appearance, in line with the vertical layout of our unique or few-off models like Divo and La Voiture Noire. It’s immediately imbued with a sense of exclusivity; the vertically stacked headlights are completely bespoke and the famous horseshoe grille is reimagined to be much more three-dimensional; both deeper and wider. At the rear, we challenged ourselves to create a striking but also more elegant iteration of Bolide’s X-theme taillight motif, which forever left its mark on the world of automotive design,” Anscheidt explained.
The headlights themselves are intricately shaped, incorporating a 4-light signature that subtly nods to the W16 Mistral’s 4-wheel-drive and 4 turbochargers. But their 3-dimensional surface also functions as an aerodynamic aid that funnels air through the light and out through the wheelarch to improve aerodynamic drag. The wider horseshoe grille allows the high temperature engine radiator to be fully fed purely from one intake, leaving the two side intakes to focus only on providing air to the intercoolers.
The X-taillight, meanwhile, serves the function of venting the side oil coolers through ducts connecting the triangular negative space in between the X beams to the side radiators. Therefore, a pressure drop is created between the side intakes and the outlets at the back, which helps to manage the mid-temperature cooling circuit of the engine most effectively.
Other engineering innovations can be seen in Bugatti’s advanced composite materials are paired with cutting-edge titanium and aluminium 3D-printing for the striking design. A detailed analysis of the W16 Mistral’s dynamic stiffness allowed engineers to develop lightweight solutions that would ensure optimum handling and performance under the most extreme conditions.
The interior follows that in the Chiron, providing an experience that’s both elegant and luxurious, but also functional enough to ensure all information is easily visible at up to 420 km/h. The dedication to material quality remains a hallmark of Bugatti design, with advanced, lightweight titanium, aluminium components milled from a solid block and soft, blemish-free leathers.
An intricate woven leather is used on newly designed door panels, meticulously tested and produced to Bugatti quality standards that envision regular use for over a hundred years into the future. The gear shifter – machined from a solid block of aluminium – features a touch of wood and an amber insert with Rembrandt Bugatti’s famous ‘dancing elephant’ sculpture locked within.
When Bugatti’s last roadster, the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, set a world speed record of 408.84 km/h in 2013, its 8-litre quad-turbo W16 had 1,200 ps. The W16 Mistral has 1,600ps, making use of the same power unit that propelled the Chiron Super Sport 300+ to a world-record-breaking speed of 490.7 km/h in 2019.
“The union of a roadster format and our W16 powertrain is absolute perfection. With the roof removed, and a pair of large air intakes directly behind your head feeding around 70,000 litres of air through the engine every minute at full bore, driving the W16 Mistral connects you to the intricate workings of this revolutionary powertrain like no other Bugatti to date,” declared Rimac.
Only 99 units of the W16 Mistral will be built, each with an ex-factory pricetag of 5 million euros (about RM22.4 million). Orders are no longer accepted as the entire production run has already been taken, with first deliveries due to being in 2024.
In 2016, Bugatti captured the record for the world’s fastest roadster when its Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse reached a speed of 408.84 km/h. Then Hennessey, the American high-performance manufacturer, came out with its Venom GT Spyder which clocked 265.6 mph or 427.62 km/h to claim the title of fastest convertible which it still holds.
Now Hennessey is aiming to push the envelope further by offering an even faster roadster – the new Venom F5 Roadster. This is a continuation from the premiere of last year’s sold-out Venom F5 Coupe and will have a price starting from US$3 million (about RM13.43 million) for each of the 30 units to be built.
To claim the new title, the Venom F5 Roadster will have hypercar performance and is targeted to exceed 480 km/h. This will be achieved with the mid-mounted 6.6-litre Fury V8 engine which can produce up to 1,817 bhp and send it to the rear wheels through a robust automated single-clutch gearbox.
“We created the Venom F5 to be the ultimate expression of a hypercar. The Roadster version takes the Coupe’s speed, exhilaration, and awe, plus a sprinkling of respect-inducing fear, to a new, truly visceral level that brings owners closer to the Venom F5’s extreme performance.” Said John Hennessey, company founder and CEO.
The most conspicuous design feature of the Venom F4 is the new roofline. In contrast to the F5 Coupe, the F5 Roadster’s roof has been re-engineered with an 8-kg removable panel crafted from rigid carbonfibre composites. The weatherproof panel is secured with 4 quick-release bolts and a pair of high-strength latches to withstand the Hennessey hypercar’s staggering acceleration capabilities and aerodynamic forces at extreme speed.
Owners may choose to store the panel in a bespoke Merino wool travel bag or as a standalone work-of-art on a custom-made, sculptural pedestal. The roof pedestal, crafted in carbonfibre like the roof panel, mirrors design themes from the Venom F5 Roadster. Viewed from above, its ‘blade legs’ trace the shape of the car’s rear decklid, while the side profile uses the hypercar’s bodyside air intake form for inspiration.
The Venom F5 Roadster features a new tempered glass engine viewing window. This panel, in the middle of the rear engine cover, spotlights the massive V8 engine. Its development was no simple task as the Hennessey engineers had to make it good enough to be certified for use in jet aircraft. The sizeable glass panel can withstand aerodynamic forces exceeding 480 km/h and temperatures beyond 540 degrees C.
The Roadster is further distinguished from its coupe sibling by its unique wheels. Forged from aluminium alloy and then milled to perfection, the lightweight wheels have 7 pairs of spokes, each resembling an elongated Hennessey ‘H’. The wheels are secured with 5 titanium nuts with high strength, heat tolerance, corrosion resistance, and extremely low mass.
Engineered by Hennessey from the outset with an open-top version in mind, so only minor adjustments were required to deliver coupe-rivaling chassis rigidity, strength, and stiffness. It will be built in Texas starting towards the end of this year, with validation of the model’s high-speed capabilities set to occur as the production rate levels out.
With Rimac now having a majority share of Bugatti (along with Porsche as another shareholder), it remains to be seen if Bugatti will want to reclaim the title in future.
Polestar’s O2 concept shown in March 2022 received such positive and strong response that the Swedish company (part of the Geely Group) has decided to put it into production. The roadster model will be called the Polestar 6 and is expected to make its debut in 2026. Online bookings are now being accepted in markets where the brand has representatives.
884 ps/900 Nm electric powertrain The carmaker makes only battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and the Polestar 6 will have the high-performance, 800V architecture already confirmed for the Polestar 5. This will be able to generate up to 650 kW (884 ps) and 900 Nm from a dual-motor powertrain. The carmaker is targeting a 0 to 100 km/h time of 3.2 seconds, with a top speed of 250 km/h.
When it was presented as the O2 concept, the electric roadster was said to build on the design, technology and sustainability ambitions laid out by the Precept, showcasing the brand’s vision for future sportscars.
“With the overwhelming consumer and press response, we took the decision to put this stunning roadster into production and I am so excited to make it a reality,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar’s CEO. “Polestar 6 is a perfect combination of powerful electric performance and the thrill of fresh air with the top down.”
The hardtop convertible will be built on Polestar’s bespoke bonded aluminium platform. It’s unlikely that the integrated autonomous drone will be included in the production model. This was a special feature with the O2 concept where a drone could be launched from the car and follow it, autonomously recording video from above and around it.
LA Concept Edition To celebrate the launch, 500 numbered units of a special ‘Polestar 6 LA Concept Edition’ are to be produced. They will exclusively feature the unique ‘Sky’ Blue exterior, light leather interior and unique 21-inch wheels of the original O₂ concept.
