- Safety - The general consensus is that open cars are less safe than enclosed cars in the event of a rollover. There are clubs that won't allow convertibles on the track at all.
- Chassis Rigidity - When you remove the top of a car you weaken the chassis which means it flexes more in corners and over bumps. This affects the car's handling on the race track because the suspension can never be precisely tuned; it needs a rigid chassis to function optimally. Most modern and high end convertibles are actually very stiff so this is not a huge issue. But still, a coupe will always be stiffer and thus handle a bit better at the limits than a convertible.
So, given the choice, for a track car, I'll take a coupe over a convertible.
On the street, my main issue with convertibles is the interior noise, mainly in heavy commuter traffic. This is with the top up; top down can be deafening.
Now that my "commute" is either a slow suburban drive to Cantrell Motorsports or a nice country drive to Pacific Raceways to do a photo shoot as Red Mist Photo, a convertible seemed like fun!
So, I've been shopping convertibles since last summer. Having owned several convertibles in the past (1969 Austin Healey Sprite in High School and College, 2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder, 2000 Boxster S, 2003 Mercedes Benz SL500) I had lots of past experience to fall back on. Given that I didn't plan to track the car and that I wanted it to be quiet with the top up, I considered two cars initially: BMW 335i and Mazda MX-5. The advantage of the Bimmer is that I could haul the family in it. But, I also know from my M3 experience, that I seriously disliked not having rear doors for the kids. They both look a bit goofy with their tops up so I remained uncertain.
During the winter my right shoulder started to give a lot of pain, to the point that shifting gears hurt. It seemed time to get an automatic so the BMW was starting to look like a winner, but in the end, I just could not go for a two door family car. So, I traded my 330i 6 speed sedan on a 335i automatic sedan (fantastic car BTW!). The convertible was put on the backburner while I healed the shoulder.
The shoulder is now much, much better, the sun is starting to show its face more, and I'm shooting photos at the track more often. It's convertible time!
In order to get a new car, I'd have to sell something. Well, the only other running car that I had was the Cobra. But, it is my only track car right now! Well, I could take the 335i to the track, but really, what would be the point?!
So, now the convertible needed to be a decent track car until the Turbo or Lotus return, which is a few months away... What to do???
For me, the options were:
- Mazda Miata
- Honda S2000
- BMW Z4
- Porsche Boxster
Yet again, the poor Miata was ruled out fairly quickly, simply due to its lack of power. The Bimmer is fast and cool, but a bit goofy looking and a bit overpriced in my opinion.
I found a really nice 2007 S2000 at Honda of Bellevue so I went to look at it. When I arrived, it had a "SOLD" sign on it. I thought to myself "this is a sign that I should get a Boxster", so off to the Porsche dealer I went. As I pulled in there was a really nice looking red (I love red!) Boxster S parked out front. I walked over to it and it was a pre-owned 2006 and was for sale... a couple of hours later, it was mine! It had only 1800 miles on it because the lady that bought it became pregnant with quadruplets soon after buying it. She now drives and Escalade, I hear. I found a new baby bottle under the passenger seat, which confirms the story :)
I took the Boxster to Portland International Raceway on Monday and we had a great time (despite spinning on the first corner... rather embarassing since it happened right in front of several of my track junkie buddies).
Here are some photos of our fun:
And, here is a little trip down memory lane; me and my 2000 Boxster S at Laguna Seca in late 2003:
The shot to the right is taken in the famous Cork Screw at Laguna.
Given the safety and rigidity issues, on that Boxster, I removed the convertible top and installed a custom rollbar and left the hardtop on permanently; I think I drove the car with the top off, about 6 times in the time I owned it. I really wanted a mid-engined coupe, but all reasonably priced mid-engined cars were either convertibles (MR2 and Boxster) or Targas (Acura NSX). Since then, Porsche came out with the Cayman, which is a coupe version of the Boxster.
