Difference between a Roadster & Cabrio
 

I was just reading an article in a car magazine about the Saab9-3 Cabrio. And they sayd Saab is making cabrio's for a long time, since the Sonett 1 from 1956, wich was more of a roadster then a cabrio. So I asked myself, what is the difference. I feel stupid that I don't even know this.

Here are some pic's of the Sonette 1
Roadster:
http://w1.520.telia.com/~u52002808/son1_a.jpg

coupé (wich looks very nice):
http://www.martin-roth.com/images/so...te_wimpfen.jpg

Uhm.. hard one dang.. a Roadster should be a strict two seater, while a cabriolet can have 2+2 or 4 places... ( I think )

Ah, oef, I'm not the only one that doesn't know this :)

But I think you're right TT!!

According to the webster dictionary:

Main Entry: road·ster
Pronunciation: 'rOd-st&r
Function: noun
Date: 1818
1 a : a horse for riding or driving on roads b : a utility saddle horse of the hackney type
2 a : a light carriage : BUGGY b : an automobile with an open body that seats two and has a folding fabric top and a luggage compartment in the rear

Main Entry: cab·ri·o·let
Pronunciation: "ka-brE-&-'lA
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from diminutive of cabriole caper, alteration of Middle French capriole
Date: 1763
1 : a light 2-wheeled one-horse carriage with a folding leather hood, a large apron, and upward-curving shafts
2 : a convertible coupe

so... TT is right, I think.

So the only difference is really only the number of seats? Cool! :D

A cabriolet is a car with a removable top , but the model exists also with a fixed roof. I believe a roadster only exists with a removable top. I guess that is the difference...

aaah, thx for the info guys!!!

By the way, what did you think of that old saab (the coupé).

Oh and one other thing, for the people who would like to see Herbie (the VW beetle) again, there is a movie in half an hour (13:00 GMT 14:00Belgium) on BBC1.

yes drag, you're right!

A cabriolet IMO is a derivative of a coupe while the roadster only exist with a removable top and doesn't exist as coupe... anyway in reality the difference is quite obvious, roaster are sunny day cars, two seats, sporty, that can have a roof in extreem conditions, whereas cabrio are everyday cars, practical, 4 seats and not necesserily sporty that can remove the top if needed.

If you want a real example, look at porsche:

911 cabrio: when you see it, it's generaly with the top on, 4 seat's, buisness man on it
boxster : generaly open, 2 seats, blond woman on it.

I bet 1zippo1 will be in front of his TV in a couple of minutes :D Would like to see Herbie again but I'll be at the beach though...too hot... 8)

Is that really a Saab? Looks kinda cool, like an old Corvette. When did they make that one?

The old Saab is super sexy IMO!

And BTW, a saw Herbie at Monte Carlo some days ago :) the one where he falls in love ;)

Don't know from wich year the car is but I think it looks great. Here are some more pics:

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/sonett_und_ich.jpg

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/so...odeschloss.jpg

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/so...heck_offen.jpg

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/sonett_hinten.jpg

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/so...heck_offen.jpg

http://www.martin-roth.com/images/so...ne_fisheye.jpg

I wonder how many were produced...

If I understand you and draak666 correctly your examples dont work heres why...

Lamborghini Diablo VT (hard top)
Lamborghini Diablo VT Roadster (same car but with removable roof section)


I would call all hard top removable section cars roadsters or what other manufacturers might call a targa...(I cant remember what is left on a Porsche after you remove the roof on a targa) I used to have an MR2 T-Bar...I cant remember if you could remove the entire roof or you are left with a T-bar...hence the name maybe....

I would call all soft top convertables either cab's or the Italian equivalent spiders

Well I think it's still working with some explanations:

the only two examples that are wrong I think are pagani and lambo... but put it this way:


those are super cars, so obviously sporty, and I don't think we can call the diablo and the c12 'coupe' so their 'topless' version can't be seen as derivative of 'coupe' . if the top disapear, they moved from supercar to roadster... or perhaps superoadster...

but the mx5 and s2000 are called roadsters