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Car and Driver does a comparison between the most desirable cabriolets on the market: the new 2013 BMW M6 Convertible versus a fleet of other convertibles including the 2013 Jaguar XKR-S Convertible, 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, and 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. They didn’t sing all praises for the M6 this time. Learn why on this excerpt below:
None costs less than 130 large with options, though the BMW M6 comes closest as our price leader, even with its optional, special-order $5000 “Frozen Silver†matte paint finish. The Bimmer has a number of -ests on its curriculum vitae. It is the longest, widest, tallest, and heaviest in the group. Its twin-turbo 4.4-liter is the smallest of three V-8s here, but makes the most horsepower in the test, at 560 (the Benz gets the torque medal, at 664 pound-feet).
The dash-S marks this XKR as Jaguar’s hottest number, with a 550-hp supercharged V-8 that blurs the scenery in this aluminum-bodied, British Racing Green (but, of course) sprinter. At $138,875, the XKR-S is complete with no options, though, as with the M6, the premium for the convertible version is $6300 over a coupe.
Optioned to the hilt with, among other things, a $9000 performance package that adds carbon-fiber bits and 27 horsepower, this $171,225 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG lands 10 grand shy of a Bentley Continental GT V-8 coupe. The two-seat SL with its 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 is our only dedicated roadster; no coupe is available. But it is also the only one with a retractable hardtop that turns it into a decent facsimile of a coupe.
Last in both alphabetical and dimensional order is the Porsche. Befitting a Stuttgart stallion, the 911 Carrera S cabriolet is the smallest and lightest car here, and it also suffers the least horsepower. Yet it is not the least expensive, at $136,430. You can get into one for $108,950, but the Premium package ($4445, with heated power seats, bixenon headlamps, and other froth), the Burmester audio package ($5010), Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control ($3160), or any of the many other options might be temptations too many. We asked for a PDK to match our other automatic contenders, but all Porsche could provide was a seven-speed stick with just 350 miles on the odo.
