Originally, roadsters were a range of two-seater, open-topped sports cars, with little in the way of weather protection, gradually over time growing to include convertibles and spiders among others. This is probably a good thing if you reside in countries with wetter climates, like Britain, for example.
At one time, Britain ruled the world in automotive design, famous sports cars such as the legendary E-type roadster dominated the press and sales, only for Jaguar to eventually ruin the recipe with its overweight V12 engine. British roadsters are cool, if not always perfectly made or reliable. Triumph, despite huge successes with their TR range, marred its reputation with the shoddily built Stag, gorgeous to look at, even more so when it broke down.
All the ups and downs do have their merits, any hint of issues puts these cool roadsters well within our budget, roofless motoring has gotten a lot cheaper
10 Lotus Elan SE (M100)
Poor sales and high-asking prices put paid to the Lotus Elan SE, making it one of the best-used roadster bargains money can buy. Critics slammed Lotus for the front-drive layout, enthusiasts who had driven one hailed it as the best handling front-wheel-drive car ever.
Even the parts bin build cannot detract from the driving experience. Isuzu turbocharged 1.6-liter engines topped the range, with 165 hp delivering spirited performance combined with near bomb-proof reliability and maintenance-free bodywork. What's not to like?
9 Jaguar XJ-S Convertible
Unloved from its introduction in 1976 the XJ-S eventually went on to become Jaguar's longest-running production model until its demise in 1996. During that time a series of model updates and tweaks transformed the quirky coupe into one of the great British open-topped sports cars. But is it a roadster? Officially, roadsters are two-seaters, the XJ-S having a token rear seat. With the roof down, the rear seat was at best suitable to a soft travel bag.
Ignore the tempting gas-guzzling V12 option, instead, we'd recommend Jaguar's AJ6 4-liter 237 hp straight-six returning a more wallet-friendly 20 mpg and still good for a top speed of 145 mph.
8 TVR Chimaera 400
Forget Rule Britannia, Cool Britannia is more fitting with this early 1990s TVR Chimaera. Unlike its bigger, more raucous Griffith brother, the Chimaera was a softer and more refined sports car clad in a fiberglass body that epitomizes the classic British roadster perfectly.
It wouldn't be a proper TVR if it didn't have its share of niggling faults, the electricals are a known weak point of pretty much every car the Blackpool-based carmaker produced. However, these are simple fixes and one of the reasons why so much performance can be picked up cheaply. One of the last TVR's to use V8 Rover engines, entry spec Chimaera's making excellent use of a 240 hp 4-liter unit, topping out at 152 mph.
7 Vauxhall VX220
The Lotus Elise for gearheads who wanted a lot more performance without huge stickers prices, Vauxhall's VX220 fitted the bill perfectly. While we're not 100% convinced about how it looks, there is nothing to dislike about how this thing drives. Swapping out Rover/Toyota naturally aspirated engines for GM's 2-liter Z20LET turbocharge four-pot transform the two-seater roadster into a serious sports car.
Lightweight aluminum and fiberglass construction paired with 200 hp could only end one way, lots of lag, followed by an explosion of acceleration 0-60 mph in 4.7-seconds.
6 Triumph Spitfire 4 (Mk.1)
This staggeringly pretty two-seater sports car endured one of the longest production runs of any UK car, spanning from 1962 through to 1980. Designed by Michelotti in 1962, early Mk.1s were arguably the purer and cleaner design, later updates cluttering the simple front light and bumper arrangement to meet safety requirements.
A simple body-on-frame layout using Standard's OVH 1.2-liter straight four produced a respectable 63 hp, twin SU carburetors bestowing the Spitfire with a deep-throated roar under load making up for the otherwise average performance. However, Triumph never intended the Spitfire to be an outright speed demon, but rather an affordable everyday roadster.
5 MG-B Convertible
Around the same time Triumph gave us the Spitfire, BMC had similar ideas for an affordable, open-topped two-seater, only a little more refined and modern. In place of the traditional body-on-frame process, the MG-B used a unibody structure adding greater strength, rigidity, and highly innovative crumple zones.
The modern construction approach pretty much stopped there, BMC equipping the MG-B with its dated B-series engine that traces its origins back to the later 1940s, early cars making do with 95 hp 1.6-liter units. A lengthy production life with little in the way of updates makes this one of the cheapest British roadsters you can buy, $5-10K is a good starting point, depending on year and condition.
4 Caterham 7 170
Billed as the lightest Caterham to date, weighing in at 970 lbs and boasting power to weight ratio of 170 hp, from where the latest 7 takes its name. Latest, that's right, this pocket rocket is all-new, and in kit form starts at $31,000, while not as cheap as some of the roadsters on this list, it's still a bargain.
Weight-saving materials pushed the limits, aluminum making up Caterham's minimalist bodywork, leaving a surprising choice of engine. Instead of the regular four-cylinder engine line-up, Caterham has gone down a different path, adopting a turbocharged 3-cylinder 660cc Suzuki engine.
3 Sunbeam Alpine
It doesn't take much imagination to see where Rootes Group had their sights firmly fixed with the Sunbeam Alpine, the wide chrome grille, and distinctive rear fins, all popular styling features of American cars of the '50s and '60s. The Alpine like other British roadsters of the time designed and built primarily for overseas gearheads rather than domestic buyers.
At the time, Britain's car industry could design and build some seriously cool-looking cars, even if they lacked the grunt to back up their sporting intentions. The Alpine, despite its looks, was more like a lazy roadster cruiser than a sports car, 1.6-liter four-pot engines cranked out 80 hp and promised a top speed just short of 100 mph. Gearheads craving the same cool looks with more power should seek out the US, tweaked sunbeam Tiger.
2 MG TF 160
Three different manufacturers, one mid-engined sports car design that endured throughout Rover's decline, the MG-TF showed that given enough time and financial support MG Rover could still build good sports cars. Unfortunately for Rover, by the time all the gremlins had been eradicated, it was too late.
Despite the hardships and early reliability issues, the final run of MG-TF 160s were decent performers, agile, and even looked good. However, convincing gearheads at the time that a Rover 1.8-liter K-series engine could be reliable and still deliver 160 hp means used examples are stupidly cheap. Speaking of stupidity, how many gearheads realized the same "unreliable" engine powered the Elise?
1 Jaguar XK8 Convertible
Our second big convertible Jaguar, the XK8 following on from the XJ-S suffering the cruel fate of rapid depreciation costs from new. Even the inclusion of E-type-inspired styling cues couldn't save the XK8 from ending up at the cheaper end of luxury roadsters.
Decreasing resales values are great news for gearheads, setting aside $12,000 is plenty to land one of the later examples with a throaty 294 hp 4.2-liter V8 and slick 6-speed automatic transmission. Upping the budget and high-miler XK-Rs become an option, but both are limited to the same 155 mph.