Phil’s smitten by the idea of driving with a force-ten gale in the cabin, as long he doesn’t get sent to jail for it

Anew day beckons and the early sun promises warmth and vivid colours ahead. It’s a day to drive – breakfast club or pub, office or historic race weekend, doesn’t matter. Twist the key. Churn, chatter, broooom. Tyres crunch grit as they roll out on to driveway. Windscreen clips plucked, roof heaved back. Breathe, warm air laced with floral scent and unburnt fuel. Drive, the world rushing on, sweeping around the windscreen to welcome you in. There’s something elemental about driving an open car that heightens every sensation.

By classic standards £10,000 is a modest sum these days, but it’s enough to drop you into the driver’s seat of any one of the eight varied and engaging convertibles that we gathered for our cover feature. From the cuddly familiarity of the Morris Minor, which offers plenty of time to enjoy the changing scenery, to the synapsepulsing Vauxhall VX220 that will have you locked in tunnel-visioned red alert, there’s temptation and satisfaction for every taste.

As a TVR and BMW recidivist I ought to be drawn there, but as the pension adviser said, life is short. Too short to get stuck in a loop, so my virtual £10k budget would go on the VX220. My pupils still dilate at the memory of the Turbo I borrowed in 2000. That memory also included a sense that if I drove it too much I’d end up in jail or hospital, or even a prison hospital. So our £10k cap would save me from the hazards of the class A narcotic Turbo and keep the intoxication at wholesome, therapeutic levels. Well, relatively speaking.

If the thought of leaky door rubbers, scuttle shake and a force ten gale blowing through your hairstyle doesn’t appeal, we have some exciting features on cars blessed with the wonder of permanent roofing, although civilised motoring must have been pretty low on David Howes’ list of priorities when he bought an AMC Javelin in 1970 and immediately turned it into a 490bhp Group 2 racing car. Its story is one of the most colourful we’ve had in our Life Cycle series. We made a few modifications to Classic

Cars recently and, after hearing your feedback, we’ve fine-tuned them for this issue. I’d like to think that the magazine is now better than ever.

I hope you agree.