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The convertible has always been a symbol of freedom and excitement out on the open road, but the segment is slowly but surely shrinking in the USA. Top brands like Audi have recently announced it will no longer have any convertibles in its lineup (goodby Audi A5 Cabriolet). Drop-tops are a luxury item – one that fewer mainstream automakers seemingly want to produce these days. Perhaps because buyers aren’t willing to pony up the cash for them like they used to, or perhaps because of the ever-growing performance SUV craze. Given how expensive cars have gotten in 2025, we can’t say we’re surprised, but it’s hard to see another fun segment wither away.

Almost all the convertibles still on sale are fixed-roof models modified to offer a convertible version. This makes sense, as it allows companies to widen the brand’s audience without having to invest millions into an entirely new vehicle. A convertible-only model is a rare thing, and these days it has become even rarer. So which vehicles are still on sale in the USA in 2025 that only come in convertible, drop-top body stiles?

Defining The Convertible

It seems a simple thing, but there has been a muddying of the waters over the years when it comes to defining what a convertible is. The basic idea is to enjoy the wind in your hair, whether that’s because of a folding soft-top, a hard top that stows away, or panels you can take off and leave at home: if the roof can be taken off, we’re calling it a convertible here, and two of the world’s most respected authorities in the English language agree.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, convertible is a noun that means “A motor car with a collapsible hood. Originally U.S.”. Not exactly how we would put it, so we headed over to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary to see what it had to say, and it described a convertible as “having a top that may be lowered or removed”. According to Merriam-Webster, this means anything with a roof that can be taken off is a convertible, and it even confirms this in its definition of the roadster – although that term specifically applies to two-seater cars.

Now, cars like Porsche’s 911 Targa do complicate things because you can’t remove the entire roof, only part of it. So, it’s more of a “semi-convertible” vehicle rather than a full convertible, but it’s still under the convertible definition in our eyes. Therefore, if a car can be “converted” from having a roof to not having a roof, it’s a convertible.

All The Drop-Top Only Options On Sale In 2025

According to this definition and some excessive scouring of industry lineups, we have compiled a list of all the convertible-only models on sale in 2025. Each is only offered with a removable roof in some fashion or another throughout all of their variants, making them the last of a dying breed of cars.

BMW Z4 Roadster

• Engine Options: 2.0L turbocharged inline-4, 3.0L turbocharged inline-6
• Horsepower: 255 – 382 hp
• Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive
• Starting Price: $54,500

BMW has been making the Z4 Roadster for three decades now, and when it started, it had a healthy amount of competition. Things have changed, and today it’s one of very few performance roadsters on the market without a coupe alter ego (the GR Supra doesn’t count). Fine by us, however, because since it was designed from the ground up as a convertible, it looks great with the top up or down, and it offers thrilling performance thanks to its 50:50 weight distribution and the optional B58 inline-six powertrain. Along with some great paint options (there aren’t enough purple cars), a comfortable modern interior, and daily drivability, it’s one of the most underrated vehicles on the market in our opinion.

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Mercedes-AMG SL

• Engine Options: 3.0L turbocharged inline-6, 4.0L twin-turbocharged V8, PHEV
• Horsepower: 416 – 805 hp
• Drivetrain: All-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive
• Starting Price: $111,950

The Mercedes-AMG SL is an icon of the brand, offering exceptional luxury in a drop-top package for decades. Throughout the years, the model has moved further and further upmarket, and the current generation is the nicest yet since it was designed as the convertible counterpart to the Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. Don’t be mistaken, however, it’s its own vehicle, with different styling and character than the GT despite sharing most of the same powertrains.

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The V8 is a carryover, but it’s still excellent, and it can now be paired with an electric motor to make this the most powerful Mercedes SL of all time. The only engine we don’t love is the base four-cylinder, as it doesn’t really work with the character of the vehicle and is only there to keep the price down. Given the Corvette Z06 can be had for nearly the same price (more on that later), it’s a hard sell in our eyes.

Mazda MX-5 Miata

• Engine Options: 2.0L inline-4
• Horsepower: 181 hp
• Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive
• Starting Price: $29,330

We all knew the Mazda MX-5 Miata had to make this list, and we’d even venture to say it’s the most beloved roadster of all time – and how can you blame us when the model has been this consistently good for so long? For 35 years, the model has been delivering pure driving pleasure at an affordable price point. Even today, it’s the only sports car you can buy for less than $30,000 new (before fees), making it the cheapest sports car left in America. Despite the ND generation’s age, Mazda still has big plans for it, along with some hotter versions that are finally going to satisfy our craziest desires. You can have it with a folding soft top or a retractable hard-top, the latter being called the Mazda MX-5 RF; in both cases, it’s a convertible, although with the hard-top up, you have a ‘fastback’ style car.

Chevrolet Corvette

• Engine Options: 6.2L V8, 5.5-liter V8, 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8, PHEV
• Horsepower: 490 hp – 1,064 hp
• Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive
• Starting Price: $68,300

We very frequently say the newest generation of a car is the best one yet, because it’s true, but we can’t stress enough just how accurate that is for the C8 Corvette. The C7 was fantastic, but switching the car to a mid-engined platform has changed the game, allowing it to compete with other sports cars and supercars in ways we always dreamed of.

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The base Stingray is a great option for anyone wanting a sportscar with useable performance, but you now have the AWD, PHEV E-Ray above it, the nearly perfect Z06 above that, and the upcoming, and game-changing, ZR1 towering above them all. All of them feature a removable roof, with some options also offering a classic convertible option as well. This, in our books, makes the Corvette a member of this list, and a fine one at that.

Why Have Our Drop-Top Options Disappeared?

That’s it. Only four drop-top only vehicles still exist on the market in 2025, and that list will shrink by a quarter once the Z4 is kicked to the curb by BMW. We have already briefly mentioned how high the average new car price has gotten, but in December of 2024 that price inched even closer to $50,000, reaching $49,740 according to Kelly Blue Book. That’s a ton of money to spend on a new car, meaning middle-class buyers who could potentially afford a more superfluous second car in the past, now need to invest their money into the most economical vehicle possible: crossovers.

Building cars is a business, and volume sellers bring in cash. A sports car is never going to be a volume seller, and it may not even make money for the automaker at all. How could they possibly justify investing millions into a platform that’s going to be even more niche than that? It’s just not tenable, and with that, we salute every automaker willing to go out on a limb and create these truly niche models.

Sources: Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Mazda, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Kelley Blue Book.