5 best cars for some September motoring
Autumn always feels like a fresh start: someone recently wrote that it was a better time than January for New Year’s resolutions. The cold, crisp air, the change of countryside colours, the rose-tinted sun occasionally spreading a little late-summer warmth across town and field. So what better time for a last fling in a convertible or sports car, before the roads get icy and salted and you have to stable the horses until next spring?
Here are our five best cars for September sun:
Porsche 718 Boxster GTS
If a Boxster is too blousy for you, but a 911 too hardcore, the Boxster GTS is your answer. With the exhaust button pressed for extra NOISE, and that handsome red fabric roof furled behind the seats, the first scents of autumn waft up your nose as you twist the mid-engined two-seater round country lanes. Perfecto.
365hp, 0-62mph in 4.6sec.
From: £61,727
BMW i8 Roadster
On the other hand… engaging rear-wheel-drive performance and silence are no longer polar opposites. The i8 Roadster will go for 30 miles on electric power only, before the engine kicks in, alongside an augmented engine noise pumped into the cabin and out of the car. In the striking bronze paintwork available, this is a fine way to celebrate the leaves turning a similar colour. Weirdly, it has the same 0-62mph time as the Boxster GTS. The (very different) choice is yours.
369hp, 0-62mph in 4.6sec.
From: £124,735
Abarth 124 Spider
This is a properly great car, unsurprisingly, given the black scorpion on the bonnet. It’s a simple, easy-to-use, every day commute-mobile, in the manner of its donor car, the Mazda MX-5. But it’s also rare, and aggressive enough when you want to put your foot down to turn heads. Takes the if-it-ain’t-broke format of front engine, rear drive and manual gearbox and adds a matt black bonnet into the mix. Job done.
168hp, 0-62mph in 6.8sec
From: £26,665
Jaguar E-Type Reborn
This is the expensive one. But without doubt the loveliest. Sixties icon, without '60s engineering. Instead, every example of the 20 initially promised last year is built from a donor car, with every component inspected, cleaned and upgraded where necessary using original tooling manufacturer parts. Choose from coupe or convertible, and 3.8- or 4.2-litre engines. New pistons, valves, wiring loom and gear sets. Original splendour.
Stats? Too vulgar.
From: £295,000.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Forget the V12 engines or the AMR performance specifications; for the seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness, the perfectly balanced V8 Vantage coupe ticks the boxes. The glorious rumble of the 4.3-litre engine, the sharp metal suit cutting through the crisp air… Yes, it’s Aston’s “entry-level” car, but that makes no sense in this context: what you have is a tempting alternative to a 911 – a pin-sharp sports car with best-in-class design, showcasing the new, successful Aston Martin.
503hp, 0-62mph in 3.6sec
From: £120,900