We got a tip yesterday about how 100 Tesla Model S convertibles have been ordered by a Chinese investor. The conversion is done by Newport Convertible Engineering, a company that, much like the Girls Gone Wild guy, makes a living by arranging to have tops taken off. The Tesla one actually looks pretty good!
There's two versions of the convertible Model S — one's got a soft tonneau cover, and one has a hard one. You'll pay $29 grand for a soft conversion, and $49 for a hard one, on top, of course, of the cost of the original car. There had to be a bunch of stiffening and reworking of body sections to maintain rigidity, but I suspect that since the Tesla is essentially built on a skateboard-like platform, this may have been less difficult than on some unibody cars.
I also wonder how big a hit the range takes when you take the top down, ruining your aerodynamics. I bet it's pretty significant.
Anyway, there's got to be a ton of other cars that would benefit from a convertible version — Ford Flex? Mitsubishi Mirage? Juke? It's finally looking like summer, so, let's do some appropriate speculation, and dream of wind in our alarmingly thinning hair.