2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

What Is It?
2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

What's Special About It?
Nineteen seconds. That's how long it takes the soft top on Mitsubishi's Eclipse Spyder to retract ? less time than you usually wait at a stoplight. And once it's retracted, it hides under a hardtop tonneau cover, a feature more often found on far pricier convertibles.

"You get a lot for your money with the Spyder," said Michael Evenoff, Mitsubishi's manager of product strategy on the Spyder. "Even the base car comes with the Rockford Fosgate 650-watt stereo and starts at less than $26,000."

That high-falutin' stereo, which first appeared in the Eclipse Coupe, has a new feature: automatic sound control raises or lowers the volume to compensate for wind noise when the top is retracted. It's an effective feature we've enjoyed on other convertibles. The stereo comes standard with an 8-inch subwoofer between the rear seats.

Powertrain options remain the same on the Eclipse Spyder as they are on the coupe. The GS comes with a 162-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder and either a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmission. For about $2,000 more, the GT comes with a 260-hp, 3.8-liter, iron-block V6. Due to a change in exhaust routing, however, the larger engine makes slightly less power and torque (3 hp and 2 lb-ft) in the Spyder. GT models are available with a five-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission.

At 3,475 pounds, the Spyder is also about 200 pounds heavier than the hardtop thanks to necessary reinforcements to the car's chassis. Despite the extra plump Mitsubishi says the front-wheel-drive Spyder GT will hit 60 in about 6 seconds flat.

Eclipse Spyders will hit dealers at the end of March.

What's Edmunds' Take?
Most go-fast geeks left the ranks of the Eclipse crowd when the third-generation car debuted, and the heavier fourth-generation Eclipse Spyder isn't going to lure them back. Although it's more cruiser than bruiser, at that price Mitsu's ragtop is sure to find a following. ? Josh Jacquot