Nine cars you don’t want to drive in the rain

Strange how you can be asked to pay almost £3 million new and a roof doesn’t even come as an option. Not to worry – with the Veneno’s 6.5-litre V12 engine that hits 62mph in 2.2secs and powers on to a 220mph top speed you can outrun any weather system. 

The Atom’s 612kg kerbweight is impressive among modern cars, but it’s achieved at the expense of essentials such as doors, windows and bodywork. It all makes for exciting performance, but in the rain it’s like standing in the garden while someone hoses you down. 

You can party like it’s 1939 with this nostalgia-fuelled roadster. Part motorbike, part Spitfire, it wears its harrowing lo-fi driving experience as a badge of honour. Biggles goggles and leather flying cap are compulsory purchases. As are extra warm layers of underwear.

If you’re going to drive a car with a mid-90s Megane Coupe engine, far better it’s this and not a Megane Coupe. A whopping 1,800 Sport Spiders were sold during the car’s three-year production run, and it was a year on sale before a windscreen was available as an option.

This is exactly the sort of car you need if you live in the more rarified parts of the Cote d’Azur, where it’s sunshine guaranteed or your income tax money back. This Spiaggina was a nod to a 1958 version of the original 500, albeit slightly fancier. The original car didn’t even have doors, just little lengths of rope like on a childrens’ fairground ride, but this 2018 car has cork flooring and a shower for rinsing off after a dip.

The Elva was pitched by McLaren as a tribute to the open-topped Sixties racing cars enjoyed by founder Bruce McLaren, but in truth it’s a homage to 249 high net worth individuals around the world who will stump up £1.4m and keep the lights on in Woking. It was supposed to be a run of 399 cars, but then everyone started doing million-quid roadsters.

Sure, a 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 with 700bhp and 555lb ft of torque might sound impressive, but the coolest feature is the Batmobile-style split cockpit. A twin roadster, rather than a double. Most impressive is the £765,000 price, which is an absolute bargain among some of the rarified vehicles in our list. 

It’s not so much that you wouldn’t want to go out in the rain in this car, but rather you mightn’t want to be seen in it at all. Finland isn’t known for its sports cars, and the Norster went on sale back in 2010. It’s the antithesis of everything on this list, though, with cutesie looks and a 580cc engine. Technically it’s a quad bike (don’t ask) and has a top speed that’s restricted to just under 60mph.

This 2009 special edition car was intended to pay tribute to Stirling Moss, the lack of a roof in honour of his 1955 Mille Miglia win in the 300 SLR roadster. The engine was a 651bhp beast, propelling the car to a 217mph top speed. Goggles essential.