Originally Posted by Coi
So I've driven most of the cars on your list, though for some of them not in convertible form so I'm extrapolating a little bit. Also I haven't driven a 718 but have spent time in 981s. Also haven't driven the new M4. I've tried newer 911 convertibles (997, 991) and they're extremely capable but below the limit didn't find them that fun. Could also consider a F23 M240i (good value, small back seats but better than no back seats), C63 AMG Cabrio (great engine, transmission superior to any automatic), or C8 Corvette (haven't driven one of these but you can look up reviews).
Ranking is a little hard because some of these are fun due to the handling and some are fun because they're very powerful despite being heavy. This would be my ranking purely in terms of fun (and not as vehicles in general):
1. E85 BMW Z4M Roadster (overall most fun convertible I've driven so had to include it, good sweet-spot in terms of speed, feels less insulated from driving experience than newer cars, good steering, intake sound is great, great manual with a SSK installed, reliably is a sore spot especially with how old these are)
2. NC/ND Miata (with a manual transmission these are incredibly fun, you can have an awesome time at any speed, great steering feel, engine isn't much of an experience but you can rev out all the time, slow and noisy on the highway, ownership costs are basically nothing)
3. 981 Boxster S (awesome handling, super direct steering with ok feel, both transmissions are good though manual is more fun, sounds good when revved out, odd pedal placement, I think the 4 cyl turbo in the 718S would drop it down some spots in terms of experience even though it's faster, 981S is expensive on the used market)
4. E93 M3 Convertible (heavy and not quite as fast as you would expect, better chassis stiffness than expected, handles surprisingly well, excellent steering feel, sounds absolutely amazing especially with mods, both transmissions are fun and manual is more fun despite shifter just being ok, questionable reliability)
5. F83 M4 Convertible (heavy but very fast, handles surprisingly well, super slick DCT transmission but I haven't driven the manual, doesn't sound very good, I don't know about reliability, harsh ride)
5. Z4 M40i (sounds good and is pretty quick, can throw it around and it feels small but at times drives more like a luxury car than a hardcore 2 seat roadster, slightly too insulated from the road, no manual transmission)
7. M8 Convertible (very heavy but crazy fast, crazy expensive, not enough theater for the amount of power so not exciting at normal speeds, uninspired transmission compared to DCTs, hard to even use the full performance without a traffic lawyer on retainer, harsh/jittery ride)
6. LC500 (sounds great, looks gorgeous inside and out, heavy, not that exceptional in terms of performance or dynamics)
8. 981 Boxster base (surprisingly slow, surprisingly low-quality interior, solid dynamics, shockingly supple ride, imprecise manual transmission but still more fun than an auto, base 718 is significantly faster and probably more precise but won't sound as good)
9. M440i (not as fun as the Z4 M40i, not as good dynamics and not as fast as the M4, lighter than the 8 series, more practical and well-rounded but that leaves it low on this list, ugly front end on the newest generation)
8. M850i (Very heavy, more of a luxury car, should have a softer ride than the M8 at least, probably too insulated to be fun, I've never driven the M850i convertible but I've driven an M550i and it was quick but otherwise pretty boring and lacking character, I'm a bit of a hater because these are so overpriced)
Obviously a lot of what I said is extremely subjective so you really have to make your own list and go test drive the cars. There's also a huge range of prices here. I'd say a good first step to narrowing it down would be to figure out if you want a smaller, lighter car that's better on winding roads or a big, heavy car that's faster.
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