To add glamour to any car, simply subtract two doors. To make it even more alluring, subtract the roof. That’s how Mercedes arrived at the C-Class Cabriolet

TRIESTE, ITALY — Singapore may not be a huge market for convertibles, but the country is about to get six new ones, courtesy of Mercedes-Benz. Hot on the heels of the C-Class Coupe that rolled into town a fortnight ago comes this, the C-Class Cabriolet.

It’s the fourth member of the C-Class family, after the four-door, the estate and the Coupe, and is set for launch in Singapore by October 2016.

You’ll have six versions of the C-Class Cabriolet to choose from when the local range is launched in Singapore.

With the Cabriolet mirroring the Coupe range that’s available now, you’ll have your pick between a 1.6-litre 156hp C 180, and 2.0-litre C 200 (211hp) and C 300 (245hp) versions.

Now comes the interesting part. If you want a bit more spice, save those pennies for the Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic model. That has a 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo — good for 367 horsepower, and 0 to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds.

But if what you really want are the full-on AMG versions, you’ll still have to choose between two: a C 63 with 476hp and the fully bonkers 510hp C 63 S.

Other markets get diesel models, but the Singapore line-up for the C-Class Cabrio is all-petrol and, come to think of it, pretty straightforward: three regular and three high-performance versions.

Which of these is worth the wait? CarBuyer has had a drive in three of them, and here are our reviews.

MERCEDES-AMG C 63 S CABRIOLET REVIEW

The patriarch of the C-Class Cabriolet family is quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo, sounds like a volcano and is easy to whip around corners. The downside? The half-million dollar price tag (that’s our guess for the Singapore price for one) means it’s out of reach to all but a few. Still, here’s what it’s like to drive one.

MERCEDES-AMG C 43 4MATIC REVIEW

Not sure what a C 43 is? Neither were we, until we got the chance to drive one. On a basic level you could think of it as a sort of AMG-lite. The high-performance arm of Mercedes makes hardcore cars and has a one-man, one-engine approach to engine building, but not everyone wants something so monstrously fast and uncompromising.

The C 43 exists to provide 90 percent of the full-on AMG experience while preserving refinement and everyday civility. And while AMG engineers have breathed on the car, it’s still more Mercedes than AMG, with an engine that comes off the regular factory line. Our revie

w of the car is up, and for now we reckon it would make sense if the Singapore price were at least $100,000 less than what the C 63 will cost.

MERCEDES-BENZ C 300 CABRIOLET 

On the mainstream (i.e. non-AMG) side of things, the C 180 will probably be by far the best-seller of the range in Singapore. It’s been launched at $222,888 with COE. Alas, Mercedes didn’t bring a C 180 Cabriolet along to let us try, and the C 300 was the closest thing to one. Have a read of our review…