What is the best electric car for cruising?

Electric vehicles haven’t really got to the point where they have the street cred just to hang around in them. There might be a few that will turn heads because of their relative rarity – a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, a Jaguar I-Pace or a Renault Twizy – or perhaps you’ve got a chunky deposit down on one of the upcoming wave of electric hypercars, you lucky thing.

But for arm-on-the-window lazy boulevard cruising, there’s really nothing out there. Let alone a decent convertible – if you want to go topless in zero emission comfort your mass market choices are limited to the Fiat 500, Smart Fortwo or the beer garden at Wetherspoons. 

Fortunately there’s a ‘luxury Italian coachbuilder’ (a phrase that positively demands single quote marks) with its finger on the pulse that has just the car for you if you ask very nicely. Ares Design, based in Modena, will build you one of these Tesla Model S convertibles, which it made for an anonymous client back in 2020. Although you’ll probably be able to tell who it is if they ever drive it around with the roof down, didn’t think that one through did they.

Why is the Ares name familiar? Well, allow us to remind you – it’s the answer to the question “Whatever happened to that bloke with all the Lotus concepts back in 2010?” for this is the atelier started by former Hethel boss (and ex-Ferrari marketing man) Dany Bahar after he parted ways with the Norfolk outfit in 2012 to the strains of John Denver’s Leaving on a jet plane. 

Ares has worked on a number of aggressively worked over restomod cars, such as a vajazzled Land Rover Defender and a pimped out Porsche 964 Targa, as well as its own hypercar project. But while you’ve been waiting for the really real final on sale date for the Tesla roadster, thanks to the whims of a presumably deep pocketed customer the Italian coachbuilding firm quietly set about modifying existing output to fill the brief. Sort of. 

This privately commissioned Tesla Model S was judiciously reworked into a two-door convertible with the removal of the roof, B-pillars and rear doors and the addition of a longer rear deck and carbon fibre aero kit. Strengthening was required in the sides and under the cabin to ensure that the Model S wouldn’t wobble its way through corners, and the interior was reclad in trendy white leather with orange detailing. No drinks allowed in here. Or shoes. Slippers only, people. 

The Ares Design car also has the added benefit of your Model S having been taken to bits and put back together again by someone who is likely handy with a spanner. And not working in a tent at the time. It’s the little things, isn’t it?

This Model S is a few strips of purple downlighting away from fitting right in at the PC World car park in Croydon on a Saturday night, but if you had your choice of electric cruiser what would you go for? Answers on a postcard to the comments section below.