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Ares built the convertible, 2-door Tesla Model S convertible we didn’t know we needed – Roadshow [CNET]

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How about a little Lexus LC 500 convertible in your Model S?

Ares

If you’re a Tesla fan — or really, a fan of EVs in general — and you have a burning desire to live your best life in the sunshine with a convertible, your options are limited. In fact, they’re almost nonexistent unless you find some enterprising coachbuilder to make your dreams a reality.

Thankfully, now there’s just such a firm that will chop the roof off of your Tesla Model S and leave you with not only a functional convertible but one that — against all odds — looks pretty damned good. That company is called Ares.

The Model S that Ares completed on commission from a customer is interesting in a few ways, but mostly in the way that it ditches the rear doors and somehow manages to end up looking like the Lexus LC 500 convertible — aka one of the best-looking drop-tops on sale today.

To end up at this shape, the company — led by former Lotus boss Dany Bahar — completely reconfigured the Model S’s interior by removing not only the rear doors, but also the B-pillars. This naturally weakened the car’s body structure, so the Ares team added in a lot of extra bracing and chassis strengthening elements to try and keep the Model S’s reputation for good handling intact.

From there, Ares added a bunch of carbon fiber body accessories and reupholstered the interior, and now you have the vehicle we see today. How much did it all cost? I don’t know, but I strongly suspect that it’s a case of “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.”