Objectively, a convertible might be the best way to experience a supercar. You get the sounds of the engine, the sense of speed, and the feeling of occasion when you finally get to put the roof down in the summer months. But for collectors and serious driving enthusiasts, coupes are sometimes more valuable because of their rigidity during cornering or the purity of an undisturbed roofline. When cars aren’t built as a convertible from the outset, they can sometimes feel a bit soft.
Car values are a fickle thing and can change with market sentiment, but sometimes, the coupe version of a sports or supercar is much more valuable than its convertible sibling. Here are some cars that will return more money when you come to sell them thanks to their tin-top body.
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
It’s all about those doors. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG was the first car built entirely by the brand’s performance AMG division, and when it was revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, it went directly against the Ferrari 458. The doors are a product of the brand’s desire to honor the 300 SL sports car that helped put Mercedes at the top of the road racing world in the 1950s. The reason for the gullwing doors in the ’50s racer was due to the tubular frame, which made normal doors unfeasible.
Two years later, the company released the SLS roadster, which has incredible looks and proportions, but misses out on the sheer coolness factor of the doors. It uses the same 6.2L V8 as the coupe, producing a healthy 563 horsepower and 479 lb-ft of torque, propelling it to 197 miles per hour. Additional bracing was put into the sills and dashboard to increase rigidity and bring the same driving dynamics to an open-top car, but the result is an 88-lb weight increase.
The SLS roadster started out more expensive than the coupe, and both were more expensive than their closest Ferrari rival, the California. Values of the coupe float around the $300,000 mark, but the roadster is nowhere near that, at around $130,000. That’s a huge difference for what is essentially the same car with no roof. But without the doors, the SLS just looks like any other supercar. While that’s no bad thing, it doesn’t feel as special.
There have been some coupes going for close to half-a-million dollars with super-low mileage, and this is sure to be an appreciating modern classic thanks to the V8 rumble and simple yet iconic lines. There was a recent sale of a roadster that fetched $180,000, thanks to its special Rocky Mountains Dark Brown Metallic paint, but this is certainly an exception to the rule and still falls far short of the coupe.
BMW Z3 M
The BMW Z3 M — in both roadster and coupe forms — was never meant to exist. It was the passion project of a few M engineers who worked in secret from higher-ups, and after they were finally given the green light, it was introduced in 1997. In hot-rod style, this tiny roadster got the engine from the BMW M3 E36, which meant a 3.2L inline-six making 240 horsepower in North America. In 2000, after a facelift, the engine was upgraded to the S54 unit from the E46 M3, producing 321 horses.
The Z3 was always meant to be a roadster, but a coupe version was approved at the same time and shared many of its parts with the convertible variant. That’s the main reason for the slightly unusual shape, which helped the coupe gain the nickname ‘clown shoe.’ So few were made (1,112 coupes to a hefty 15,322 roadsters) that they command much higher values. It is a practical shape, too, which lends itself better to daily driving compared to the roadster.
You can pick up a tidy M Roadster with the later S54 engine for around the $25,000 mark, and it’ll feel much better than the primitive pre-facelift models that have fewer driver aids. The Coupe, however, goes for over $30,000, and top-tier models can fetch even higher numbers. In fact, a 7k-mile example sold in April for over $100,000, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see this number become more common as the market picks up and recognizes just how good BMW M used to be.
Porsche 911 (930) Turbo
If you’re buying a car that used to be called the ‘Widowmaker’, a relaxing open-top drive is probably not what you’re after. That’s what the Porsche 930 Turbo was called, and it has the infamous turbo lag of early turbocharged cars. When it came on boost, the kick you felt from the engine was so great that many owners couldn’t control it. Later forced induction systems were much less punchy, but this first model certainly earned a reputation.
The 930 is a driver’s car, so the convertible was never as popular as the coupe version. Similar numbers of coupes and convertibles made their way over to the States, but the coupe often fetches double what the drop-top sports car gets. A low-mileage tin top comes in at over $200k regularly, while the cabriolet (which isn’t on sale often) gets only around $100k. This writer thinks the coupe looks slightly better and fits the overall ethos of the car, so we can only assume the market agrees.
The story gets more interesting with the 930 Turbo when we consider the Flachbau, or Slantnose, design. Here, the market is much more similar. These 930s could only be ordered through the Sonderwunsch program and feature pop-up headlights that are inspired by the 935 Le Mans car. These Slantnose vehicles go for around $250k in both body styles and are much rarer, as the conversion was an expensive undertaking.
Ferrari F355
No doubt, the Ferrari F355 is one of the Italian manufacturer’s best designs. After the 348, this mid-engined V8 supercar was meant to be more user-friendly for the everyday driver, although with 380 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque, it could still shred on track. The F355 was also the first production car to come with F1-inspired shift paddles behind the steering wheel, letting you easily run the V8 to its 8,500 rpm redline.
Of course, there is a six-speed manual, which is the absolute darling of collectors nowadays. Every version of the F355 was loved by journalists upon its release, and felt like a return to glory that was all wrapped up in a sleek body. It even offered power steering as standard, as well as adjustable shock absorbers that could be switched from ‘comfort’ to ‘sport’ for greater customizability on the daily drive. We’re glad the Acura NSX existed, as it really demonstrated how important usability was to Ferrari.
There are three versions of the F355. There’s the Berlinetta Coupe, GTS, and the Spider. The latter is the most affordable (if you can even call it that) of the bunch, and some models go for around $150k. There are special models to be aware of, which can raise the price to a cool half-million, but these are the exception to the rule. The GTS and Berlinetta are pretty similar, but you’re looking at around $240k for a clean example. If you want a manual, be ready to pay even more.
Lamborghini Murcielago
Here, we’re specifically talking about the pre-LP cars, which were produced from 2001 to 2006. It was the start of the Murcielago’s lineage, and the market shows that roadsters are marginally less valuable than their coupe counterparts. It’s powered by a 6.2L V12 engine making around 580 horsepower and can be chosen with either a gated manual or single-clutch automatic transmission that was introduced in 2003. The manual is much more valuable, as fewer customers chose it at the time.
The pre-facelift car is much more angular and ‘simple’ than the upgraded LP-640, thanks to blocky front grilles and a much cleaner rear design with amber turn signals. The roadster was only introduced for the 2004 model year, and only a small fraction of its three-year production run are manual, which can beat out automatic coupe examples in value thanks to their exclusivity. The difference in price may be due to the looks — the roadster has a less sleek overall design than the swooping coupe.
Lamborghini Murcielago models as a whole have risen massively in value recently. Pre-LP roadsters can be found for $400k on a good day, but coupes are easily over $600k. This essentially matches the price of later LP cars, but many enthusiasts simply prefer the more traditional look of the early cars (which are essentially the same underneath as the Diablo). There are a few six-speed conversions, too, which can push the roadster up to match the coupe’s value, but make sure you’re getting a reputable example for those.
Sources: Hagerty, Bring A Trailer, Lamborghini, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Acura, Ferrari.
