Gallery: ten of the greatest speedsters ever

Mazda is preparing a speedster for next week’s SEMA show. It is based on the MX-5, and judging by the teaser picture we’ve shown you, promises to be quite a thing.

But then speedsters are inherently just… great, aren’t they? With a chopped windscreen and excellent rear deck, they are the very symbol of motoring freedom. Just remember to keep your mouth closed while driving. Bugs aren’t tasty.

Anyhow, the upcoming Mazda – surely a company on top form at the moment following Tokyo's rather lovely RX-Vision concept – prompted us to round up ten of the finest speedsters of all time.

Pick your favourite, and then make your finest vroom vroom noises while mimicking oversteer.

Surely one of the prettiest speedsters ever built, no? It first appeared in 1954 after US distributor Max Hoffman convinced Porsche that a cheaper, bare-bones roadster was required to keep up with British sports car efforts.

And so it was. The 356 Speedster was born, with side curtains in place of roll-up door glass, a removable windscreen, thin-shell bucket seats and, um, not much else.

It was light, so didn’t need much power, either; a 1.6-litre air-cooled boxer engine produced around 60bhp. It was enough to cement the Porsche’s place in history, which is referenced today by the rather excellent Boxster Spyder. A fine lineage.

Before Lewis Hamilton, Sir Stirling Moss was the last British racer to drive for the Mercedes-Benz Formula One team (and one of the few people who said it was a good move for Lewis from McLaren at the time).

Sir Stirling was also very handy in his old SLR during the 1950s, too. So back in 2008, Mercedes did the good thing by honouring his racing career with the SLR Stirling Moss edition.

It was, in essence, a chopped roof version of the SLR supercar, with 641bhp, a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds and a stunning, straked body. Just check out that aero. Gorgeous.

In the same year we got the SLR Stirling Moss, Audi built a slightly smaller homage to the roofless genre, ushering out the Clubsport Quattro for Worthersee.

Following on from the TT Speedster from 2007, the Clubsport featured a tuned 2.0-litre TFSI engine with 300bhp, which is significant. Then came the hacked windscreen, roof delete, wider track and 19-inch wheels.

Yes. This is exactly what we need from BMW. This 2011 concept car honours its 1930s namesake – a Mille Miglia legend, don’t forget – with a 3.0-litre straight six, carbon-fibre reinforced plastic body, leather, aluminium, a couple of iPhones and a stunning silhouette.

It’s been four years and WE’RE STILL WAITING FOR IT, BMW. You know what to do.

We’re rather taken with the Eagle in the TG office. The most cursory of glances will explain why.

It’s 100 per cent bespoke, housing a 4.7-litre Jaguar straight-six engine with much torque, weighs just 1100kg, features sports suspension and a wider track. Very desire.

Mazda has form in the Speedster department, namely this 2009 concept built for the Frankfurt Motor Show.

And as its name suggests, the Superlight had been stripped to the bone: there was no windscreen, no roof, carbon-fibre and aluminium body parts, and a stripped back cabin. Overall, 160kg of bulk was carved out of the not-exactly-lardy last-gen MX-5.

Which mean the 124bhp, 1.8-litre engine had less to hustle. Mini McMerc SLR Stirling Moss, anyone?

Referencing the gorgeous 356 Speedster of the 1950s, this 2010 production car – yes, production – was a 997-gen 911 (keep up) which featured a chopped, steeper raked windscreen, a double-bubble roof with a folding soft top, and a 3.8-litre flat six with 408bhp. 0-62mph? 4.6 seconds.

OK, so it’s not the purest incarnation of the chop-screen ethos, but whatever: it’s called ‘Speedster’, and it’s a Porsche. Plus, windscreen.

It would be foolish of us to omit Lamborghini’s roofless, windscreen-less efforts in this department. While earlier cars have all broadly followed the same pattern, Lamborghini’s effort does so too. Just with 90 per cent more ANGLES.

The stunning Aventador J is based on an, um, Aventador, but is much more than just an Aventador with parts chopped off and a 'J' in its name. There are new diffusers at the front and back, a pair of humps in place of the Lambo’s slatted rear deck, and of course, a socking great 6.5-litre V12. The 'J'? That references the Jota. Yeah, exactly.

Don’t forget there was also a Gallardo Concept S speedster, which is actually coming up for auction too…

It looks old, it’s got a relatively modern BMW-sourced 4.8-litre V8, it’s made from aluminium and produces 367bhp. And without a windscreen, the Morgan’s 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds feels bally considerable.

Turns out it’s actually a good thing to drive, too, as we found out earlier this year…

What with new Bond adventure Spectre now upon us, it seems fitting to end on an Aston Martin. And not just any AM, but the bonkers CC100, built in 2013 to honour the company’s 100th anniversary.

Aston’s designer Marek Reichmann and exterior stylist Miles Nurnberger wanted to bring back the class and style of the Le Mans-winning DBR1 from 1959. Job done, Marek.

Underneath, there’s Aston’s familiar 6.0-litre V12 with 555bhp, meaning a 0-62mph time of four seconds and a top speed of 180mph. Quick, then.