From 'greased lightning' to Bridget Jones's windswept hair disaster, the drop top has been a movie star for decades. Now, the 2024 Mercedes-Benz CLE Cabriolet is here to make its own mark, blending classic convertible style with cutting-edge comfort.

Listen to this article 9 min Listen to this article 9 min Over the years, the cabriolet -- also known as the "drop top" or "convertible" -- has become quite the pop icon. These open-top rides have featured in so many movies that they've almost become characters in their own right.

My first memory of a cabriolet was in my final year of primary school. The movie Grease was all the rage. I was desperately -- and I mean desperately -- in love with John Travolta, who played Danny Zucco in the movie, along with his red 1948 Ford Convertible. It had white lightning bolts and a transparent Plexiglas hood. Over four decades later I can still hear Danny belting out how his wheels were "automatic, systematic and hydromatic" as it got transformed in a repair shop. "Why, it's greased lightning!" -- me and my school buddies all sang as we did our Travolta moves.

In Bridget Jones's Diary there's the hilarious scene where Daniel Cleaver (played by Colin Firth) takes Bridget away on a dirty country weekend in his 1969 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE convertible. Along the way there's so much wind and turbulence in the drop top that she...