Best of British: The UK’s Most Iconic Convertibles

Britain’s most iconic convertibles – and the ones you can lease today

TL;DR: What are the UK’s most iconic classic convertibles?

Cars like the Jaguar E-Type, Triumph Spitfire, and Bentley Azure defined decades of British automotive design, though none of these classic British convertibles are available to lease.

The good news? The convertible spirit hasn’t disappeared; current models like the Mazda MX-5, MG Cyberster, MINI Cooper, and Porsche Boxster carry the same roof-down appeal.

Britain doesn’t do many things better than anyone else

We leave tapas to the Spanish, champagne to the French, and pizza to the Italians.

But cult car design?

Now that, we do very well. And nowhere is that more obvious than in our classic convertibles.

From Jaguar to Bentley, British manufacturers have spent decades building drop-tops that people still talk about long after they’ve stopped rolling off the production line.

Beautiful, occasionally eccentric, and every one of them proof that the British convertible has earned its place in the automotive hall of fame.

We can’t lease you any of the three classics below – sadly, nobody’s making Triumphs anymore.

But stick with us, because once we’ve paid our respects to the icons, we’ll show you exactly what you can drive home in.

The classics

Jaguar E-Type

If cars could be given stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Jaguar E-Type would be near the top of the list.

First built in 1961, it was fast, beautifully proportioned, and priced well below anything else that could match it.  

The early cars topped 150mph and hit 60mph in seven seconds, helped by rack and pinion steering, and the independent suspension that most rivals didn’t have.

Enzo Ferrari called it ‘the most beautiful car ever made’.  

We’re not about to argue with the man.

Triumph Spitfire

Named after the fighter plane and styled by Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti, the Triumph Spitfire made its debut at the 1962 London Motor Show.

And it went on to prove that it had the racing pedigree to match the looks – picking up class wins at the Tour de France Rally, the Geneva Rally, and the Alpine Rally within its first few years.

Over an 18-year production run, roughly 315,000 were built.

The very last one off the line was considered too significant to sell and now lives permanently in the British Motor Museum.

Bentley Azure

While most convertibles of its era were compact and sporty, the Bentley Azure went the other way entirely.

Five metres long, nearly three tonnes, and dripping in old money glamour.

Designed by Pininfarina and based on the Continental R, it became the car to be seen in while cruising the Cote d’Azur during the late 1990s.

But then Rolls-Royce released a rival, the Corniche, and the Azure’s time in the sun quietly faded away.

Convertibles available to lease today

Lovely as all that is to look back on, none of the three convertibles above are much use if you actually want to drive one without remortgaging your house.

So, here’s the bit where the daydreaming stops and the good news starts – because the convertibles you can lease right now are just as capable of turning heads as anything in a museum.

And they’re rather easier to insure.

Mazda MX-5 Convertible

Some cars earn their reputation. The Mazda MX-5 was born with one.

For more than 30 years, Mazda’s little roadster has done exactly one job – putting a daft grin on the face of whoever’s behind the wheel. And it still does it better than almost anything else on sale.

Choose between the classic soft-top Roadster or the RF, which trades a fraction of that open-top drama for a folding hard roof and a bit more security.

Either way, you’re getting a car that’s excellent to drive.

It’s agile, light on its feet, and paired with a manual gearbox so satisfying you’ll be finding excuses to change gear more than you need to.

It’s also refreshingly easy on fuel and is the sort of car that doesn’t punish you for choosing joy instead of a car that can fit a kitchen’s worth of shopping (and the kitchen itself) in the boot.

Browse our latest Mazda MX-5 lease deals

MG Cyberster

If you’d told anyone a decade ago that MG would be back making two-seat roadsters – and that they’d be electric, with scissor doors – you’d have been laughed out of the room.  

And yet, here we are.

The MG Cyberster is a proper occasion of a car before you’ve even pulled away, with doors that pivot upwards and a design that owes nothing to MG’s back catalogue.

Go for the entry-level Trophy and you’ll get plenty of poke; go for the GT and you’re looking at 0-62mph in a startling 3.2 seconds.

It’s well-equipped as standard, comfortable for a sports car, and – as with any EV – a smart move if you’re a company car driver watching your tax bill. There’s even a proper boot, which is more than you can say for most cars in this class.

Browse our latest MG Cyberster lease deals

MINI Cooper

The MINI Cooper Convertible is the car you want when the weather is brilliant: Roof down, sun out, good job well done.

Unlike some rivals that only retract a strip of fabric, the Cooper’s roof folds away in full at the touch of a button, giving you an uninterrupted view of the sky.

And it still pairs punchy engines with MINI’s reputation for playful, tuck-in-and-go handling, making it as fun to drive as it is to be a passenger princess in.

It’s stylish inside, holds its value very well, and undercuts several of its more expensive rivals without giving up any of the charm that makes a MINI a MINI.

Browse our latest MINI Cooper lease deals

Porsche Boxster

There’s a reason people go quiet when a Porsche Boxster pulls up.

It’s essentially a Cayman with the roof knocked off with nothing lost in the trade – which is a reasonably remarkable thing to be able to say about any convertible.

The range-topping GTS, with its glorious flat-six engine, is one of the best-sounding sports cars you can lease at any price, and the handling is sharp enough to make you look for excuses to take the long way home.

Clever mid-engine packaging means you get two boots – one at the front, one at the back – so you’re not sacrificing everything for the sake of that badge.

And it is, undeniably, quite the badge to have on your driveway.

Browse our latest Porsche Boxster lease deals

The convertible dream isn’t dead yet

Six decades on from the launch of the Jag E-Type, the British convertible dream hasn’t died – it’s just changed shape. A little.

You don’t need a bike shed, a classic car museum membership, or Enzo Ferrari’s approval to enjoy the wind-in-your-hair feeling.

Whichever convertible catches your eye, we’ve got a lease deal waiting.

Start your search today, and you could be driving into the sunset roof-down before you can say ‘ooh, that’s a lovely-looking convertible’.