2020 BMW M4 CabrioletChris Balcerak / Driving So, you want a BMW M4, more specifically the drop-top M4. Youre not alone, I suspect, in your desire. The M4 Cabriolet previously known as the M3 before BMW started complicating its model nomenclature is one of the most desired cars on the planet. BMW M rortiness married to top-down freedom is a treat too tasty to resist.That said, recent M cars have become hefty beasts and their engines a little clumsy in their turbocharged over-the-topness. The current generation halted that trend though didnt quite reverse it with a switch back to BMWs famed 3.0-litre inline-six, this time twice-turbocharged to 425 horsepower, or 444 if you opt for the Competition package. Its a good one; lively, grunty, and especially when mated with the optional titanium exhaust system, sonorous as well. I really loved this piece of the puzzle, as the big six almost sounded normally aspirated as it revved to the moon. An option a loud one to be sure; I put that caution in there just in case you have sensitive neighbours but definitely worth having nonetheless. An inline-six at full blaze has always been BMWs best foot forward.It also handles a treat, BMWs legendary steering feel well present and accounted for. Ditto for minimized body roll, especially when flipped into pure sports mode. Indeed, the M4 cabriolets sole comportment issue is its, as I alluded to earlier, a tad hefty at a whopping 229 kilograms heavier than the coupe. Besides making the M4 feel ever so slightly ponderous, the other issue is that anyone who actually tracks their cars admittedly a small minority will find themselves going through tires at an alarming rate. Now, one assumes that owners of any BMW M product are well-healed, but blowing through $2,000 and more worth of rubber every time you hit the track could get very expensive.Part of the reason for the Cabriolets avoirdupois is, of course, BMWs choice of a hard retractable top. Making the top out of metal rather than cloth has all manner of advantages better body rigidity, a quieter cabin, etc. but one does pat a weight penalty. And, oh, all those clumsy gizmos, motors and panels eat up a lot of space in the rear trunk. Do not expect to take an extended vacation in an M4 cabriolet if you plan on driving al-fresco.That said, theres a certain sophistication a folding hard top brings to a convertible and the M4 certainly exudes that. Quiet save for that rorty engine and enormously rigid i.e. no cowl shake the $89,000 M4 cabriolet is very rapid open-air BMW driving. 2020 Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Handout / Mercedes-Benz You want even more moxie. Well, step right into the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Cabriolet. Upping the ante with two more pistons and four litres of displacement, the C 63s twin-turbocharged V8 pumps out 503 horsepower and no less than 516 lb.-ft. of torque, all delivered to the rear wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission and a limited-slip differential. The result is an almost supercar-like 4.1-second sprint from rest to 100 km/h, and should you live near an autobahn, a top speed of nearly 290 km/h. Cornering grip is prodigious, no less than Car Driver recording 1.02 lateral Gs of cornering force, albeit in the coupe. It also has a somewhat more refined, certainly more brightly accoutered interior. The only issues I have with the C 63 is that it doesnt sound as rorty as the M4 it sounds a little Corvette-ish to me and the suspension is firm enough for a Ram dually. Otherwise, the C 63 S is one of AMGs finer products. 2018 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 Handout / Jaguar You want(ed) something truly unique. Holy-moly, theres a Jaguar with you name on it. Called the XE SV Project 8, Jaguar extracts no less than 592 horsepower out of its 5.0-litre supercharged V8. Whew! It will also accelerate from rest to 96 km/h (60 mph) in a Porsche 911 Turbo-threatening 3.3 seconds and will continue gaining speed right up to 320 km/h. The brakes are carbon ceramic, and for the boy racer in you, theres also a giant rear wing adorning the rear deck. Said aerodynamic appendage also happens to produce 125 kilograms of downforce at 300 km/h, which no doubt, helped the Project 8 circulate the famed Nurburgring Green Hell in a Ferrari-challenging 7 minutes and 21 seconds. In other words, this is the mightiest of entry-level supercars. Theres only one problem: Jaguar only produced just 300 units worldwide! and only as a sedan. Oh, and priced at $208,000, theyve been long spoken for, though here’s one listed in Richmond, B.C., with but 100 kilometres on the odometer. You’re willing to wait for the ultimate BMW convertible. Well, the current M4 is an aging platform and is about to be replaced. Rumours posit that, though the basic engine configuration a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged inline-six will remain the same, output will be pumped up to 473 horsepower in standard versions, and a C 63 S-baiting 502 horses available from
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