I saw my first roadster in person at the dealership. Here are some observations for anyone who is curious.

(My roadster should be here in early October)

The top sealed fine. I don't know what that other poster saw, but I saw the back of the roof sealed against the boot nicely. No light showed through. Maybe that other one was completely closed or adjusted wrong or something. (whew)

The seat does not recline as far as in the coupe. It is close, but the roll bars and their horizontal support bar are forward of the top of the rear bulkhead. In other words, they are about 4-5 inches in front of the little top storage cubbies. I am 6'2" tall with a large frame and I still fit in it, but if you are much taller than that you might want to sit in one before making a decision.

The top is not fully lined. It is (strangely) partialy lined. I am not sure why, but it looks like it makes some tight folds so maybe two layers was a no-go for that reason.

The windows sealed well on the top.

The one safety item of concern is that the top mechanism (bolt heads etc) is not padded or otherwise protected from hitting your head if you are sideswiped. (the parts in question were to the side of my head) I am not sure this is a major concern, but it sort of bugged me. Iam suprised they didn't even put a plastic plate there to distribute the force in an accident.

Overall it was sweeet. The trunk is bigger than I expected and will (apparently) hold a golf bag. There is a label in the trunk showing how to put a golf bag in!

The car with the top up looks better in person than in pictures.

AndyB

 

Thanks greatly for the details.

I am a little surprised that at 6' 2", you apparently feel a little close. Supposely the Roadster has one more inch of headroom.

Keep us posted with your impressions.

Thanks

 

Last night I saw a Redline Z Roadster. I have to agree with Andy, that in person the top does not look as bad as everyone is saying. Also, the "*** factor" did not bother me. It looked fine.

All of this Z Roadster talk and sightings is making me crazy to get mine!!!! Supposed to be here in 12 Days! And yes I am counting down!

 

Just out of curiosity, how is the top partialy "lined" ? does it have a headliner up front and then the rear part doesn't have a headliner? Please elaborate! =>

Thanks

 

Does anyone have the ventilated seats and are they true ventilated (air conditioned) seats?

 

Well, if you imagine the folding roof in section from front to back, the front section (the one you mostly see while sitting in the car with the top up) has fabric inside covering the front of the frame. However, directly over head, and behind the driver the folding frame mechanism is not covered.

If you look to your sides and up, you can see the articulation of the top exposed.

I hope that makes sense.

I would say a fully lined top looks better, but this setup doesn't bother me at all. In fact, if the top was lined over my head I would probably lose about an inch of height. I would rather have the height.

 

Hi Andy,

Question: Are these bolt heads in a position that you could hit them during normal moving around, aggressive driving etc? It seems to me that leaving any hardware protruding in such a fashion as to allow contact with the human anatomy, especially the head, would be extremely dangerous.

That's something I'll "definitely" look into the first chance I get!

Drive Safe,
Steve R.

 

Well.... depends on how you normally move I guess.

It seems to me you would not hit it in normal street driving, even if aggressively driving.

I am a large guy and it was essentially outboard of the edge of my left shoulder up near the roof.

If I leaned my shoulder on the drivers door/window and tipped my head left a little I could hit it. I think this would happen if you got side swiped from the left (not cool) and that worried me a little. On the other hand my truck has the seat belt mount there.

It is a little troubling so I may design some pad or plate to go there after I have my roadster.

I only had one sitting to look at this car (it was being delivered that day) so I didn't absorb as much detail as I would have liked.

 

Wow, that could be scarry. I'll have to look at that when I get the opportunity. Thanks for pointing it out.

Good luck with your car,
Drive Safe,
Steve R.