The Best Roadsters Ever

A roadster, also known as a spyder or spider, is a two-seat car, traditionally without either a roof, side or rear windows.

Most modern day two-seaters have windows and feature retractable roofs (and are thus convertibles). While retractable soft-tops are nevertheless marketed as roadsters/spyders, retractable hard-tops are commonly designated as coupe roadsters.

The SLK is a compact roadster manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in two generations, R170 and R171, since 1997.

As one of the first modern retractable hardtop convertibles, the SLK followed the 1995 Mitsubishi 3000GT Spyder and preceded other retractable hardtops such as the Peugeot 206cc, Lexus SC, Mercedes-Benz SL-Class, Pontiac G6 and the Chrysler Sebring.

The designation SLK derives from the company's design mission to create a roadster that was at once sporty, light and short — in German: Sportlich, Leicht und Kurz. The roadsters are back TIME'' William A. McWhirter / Detroit December 2, 1996

The term SLK-Class is a Mercedes marketing term referring to the vehicle in all its engine configurations across both design generations.

The BMW Z4 is a rear-wheel drive sports car by the German Car maker BMW. If follows a line of past BMW roadsters such as the BMW Z1, BMW 507, and the BMW Z3. The Z4 replaces the Z3. First generation production started in 2002 at BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina plant, with production of both roadster and coupe forms. When debuted, it won Automobile Magazine "Design of the Year Award". Starting with the 2009 model year, the second-generation Z4 is built at BMW's Regensburg, Germany plant as a retractable hardtop roadster. In 2009, the BMW Z4 won the Red Dot Design Award.

The XLR is a retractable hardtop convertible marketed by the Cadillac division of General Motors, assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Intended to be Cadillac's flagship sports car, the XLR was based on the Chevrolet Corvette's Y platform. The XLR featured its own unique styling, interior, and suspension, and power-retractable aluminum hardtop, along with the Cadillac Northstar engine.

Cadillac introduced the XLR at the 2003 Detroit Motor Show and began production in the 2004 model year — forshadowed by the Evoq concept vehicle.

The XLR features as standard equipment heated and cooled leather seats, wood interior trim, remote keyless access, 18 inch alloy wheels, side airbags as well as a navigation, audio, and DVD system sharing a 7-inch dashboard screen. The retractable hardtop itself is constructed of aluminum (i.e.,lightweight), requires 6'-10½" of vertical clearance during retraction, and is manufactured by a supplier joint venture between Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

The engine is Cadillac's 4.6 L Northstar tuned for , mated as of the 2007 model year to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

The XLR is the second roadster offered by Cadillac in recent years. The first was the Cadillac Allanté, produced from 1987 to 1993.

The XLR was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award for 2004.

Engine:

* 2004 Northstar 4.6 L (280 in³) V8

The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car manufactured in six generations by General Motors (GM) since 1953. The first Corvette was designed by Harley Earl and named by Myron Scott after the ship of the same name. Originally built in Flint, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri, it is currently built at a GM assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The National Corvette Museum and annual National Corvette Homecoming, also located in Bowling Green, celebrate the car's world-wide history.

The generations produced so far, sometimes referred to as C1 (the first) through C6 (the current one), each have multiple versions with differing features; for example, C6 includes the ZR1, which has the most powerful engine used in a production Corvette to date. Over the years, versions of the car have won awards from magazines such as Motor Trend and Car and Driver and from organizations like the Society of Automotive Engineers, and have been used from time to time as pace cars for the long-running Indianapolis 500 race since 1978.

While sold under the Chevrolet marque in the United States and other locations in the world, it is sold under its own Corvette marque in Europe and Japan, where the car is also rather rare. The car has been built in coupé, targa top and convertible versions.

The Chrysler Crossfire is a rear-wheel drive, sports car marketed by Chrysler as both coupé and roadster and built for Chrysler by Karmann of Germany.

The Dodge Viper (sold as the Dodge SRT-10 in the United Kingdom) is a V10-powered sports car manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler LLC. Production of the two seat sports car began at New Mack Assembly in 1992 and moved to its current home at Conner Avenue Assembly in October 1995. The car, as well as numerous variations of it, has made countless appearances in TV shows, video games, movies, and music videos.

The Honda S2000 is a roadster manufactured by the Japanese automaker Honda Motor Company. It was launched in April 1999 and was created to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary.

The car was first shown as a concept at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995, following which it was launched in world markets in 1999. The S2000 is named for its engine displacement of 2 L, carrying on in the tradition of the S500, S600, and S800 roadsters of the 1960s. Several revisions were made throughout the car's lifetime, including changes to the engine, gearbox, suspension and interior and exterior. Officially two variants exist: the initial launch model was given the chassis code AP1, while the AP2 designation was given to vehicles produced from mid-2003 onwards. Though cosmetically similar, the AP2 incorporated significant changes to the drivetrain and suspension. Production of the S2000 ceased in 2009.

The Mazda MX-5, also known as Miata () in North America and Roadster in Japan, is a two-seater roadster sports car built by Mazda in Hiroshima, Japan - introduced in 1989 and now in its third generation.

The Pontiac Solstice was a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the production Solstice is similar to that of the 2002 Solstice concept that preceded it. Production of the Solstice was to be running before summer 2005, but delays at the Wilmington plant pushed volume production to the fourth quarter.[http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102249 ] The new hardtop targa 2009 model was announced in mid 2008. The Solstice uses the GM Kappa platform, which also underpins the Saturn Sky, Opel GT, and Daewoo G2X.

The Solstice was nominated for the North American Car of the Year award and Design of the Year award from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) for 2006. It was a runaway hit for Pontiac, with 7,000 orders in the first 10 days of availability and 6,000 more orders before winter. Although first-year production was planned at 7,000, GM apologized to customers for delays and increased production, delivering 10,000 by March 1.

Production ended with the closure of the Wilmington Assembly plant in July 2009.

The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first vehicle designed by Harm Lagaay from the beginning as a roadster; all previous Porsche convertibles were based on hardtop coupes.

The first-generation Boxster (the 986) was introduced in late 1996 as a 1997 model; it was powered by a 2.5 litre flat six-cylinder engine. In 2000, the new Boxster S variant was introduced with a larger 3.2 litre motor, and the base model received a more powerful 2.7 litre engine. In 2003, styling and engine output was upgraded on both variants.

In 2005, Porsche unveiled the new generation of Boxsters: the type 987. The 987 is more powerful than its predecessor and featured styling inspired by the Carrera GT. Engine output increased in 2007, when both Boxster models received the engines from their corresponding Porsche Cayman variants. In 2009, the Boxster models received several new cosmetic and mechanical upgrades, further increasing engine output and performance.

Production of the 986 began at the former Porsche 928 facility in Stuttgart, Germany in 1996. Valmet Automotive also manufactures Boxsters under contract to Porsche at a facility in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The Boxster was Porsche's biggest volume seller from its introduction in model year 1997 until the company introduced the Cayenne sport utility vehicle in model year 2003.

The Boxster's name is a portmanteau of the word "boxer", referring to the vehicle's horizontally-opposed or "boxer" engine, and the word "roadster", referring to the vehicle's two seat capacity and convertible top.

The Saturn Sky was the first sports car from the Saturn marque of American automaker General Motors. It was released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT. The Sky concept was shown at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, with the production version following at the 2006 show. It was built at GM's Wilmington, Delaware plant, alongside the Solstice and the Opel GT. The Sky features 18 inch (457 mm) wheels and a 2.4 L Ecotec LE5 straight-4 engine that produces as well as a new straight-4 2.0 L direct injected turbocharged engine that makes . Both five-speed manual and automatic transmissions are available.

The styling for the Sky, penned by Franz von Holzhausen, is based on the Vauxhall VX Lightning Concept's design. It is available in some European markets as the Opel GT. A rebadged version named the Daewoo G2X was unveiled as a concept vehicle for the South Korean market in 2006. The production version was released in September 2007. The Solstice, Sky, and GT are built in Delaware, as was the G2X until 2008. The aggressive styling garnered praise as a welcome departure from traditional Saturn design.

The Wilmington Assembly plant closed in July 2009, ending production as both the Pontiac and Saturn nameplates were retired..