Small cars that whip their tops off at the merest hint of sunshine exert a powerful appeal but they have never been for blokes until now.

Charming, cute and cuddly little runarounds, they have proved perfect for rich young women and U3A members trying to make up for lost time.

On the face of it, the Colt CZC is simply the latest addition to the fast-growing line-up of female-friendly, ultra-cool, ultra-clever coupe-convertibles.

But it is much more. It not only snaps at the technological heels of the Nissan Micra C+C, Vauxhall Tigra and Peugeot 206 CC, but also delivers a real buzz.

No longer do you feel mildly embarrassed at driving what is clearly a woman's car. This is a proper boy's toy.

When those nice folk at Mitsubishi invited me over to their Cirencester base for a quick morning spin, I jumped at the chance.

Take your time,' said the head of press and PR. I did. Seven hours, six counties, 250 miles and a trip to the seaside later, I returned their little turbo-charged diamond. Brilliant car and brilliant fun.

The CZC delivers remarkable ride and handling and an absence of the squeaks and rattles you would forgive any car that had its roof chopped off and replaced by an electrically-powered display of retractable steel origami.

The Italian-built CZC, the third and final member of the Colt range, is being launched in a straightforward two-car line-up. £13,999 puts you behind the wheel of a 1.5-litre, 107 horsepower CZC and £2,000 more buys the flagship CZC Turbo, which develops 147 horsepower.

Both have the sophisticated retractable steel hard-top roof which undoes with the click of two catches and the pull of a switch, opening in 22 seconds and closing just as quickly.

Designed, developed and assembled in conjunction with Pininfarina, the little car is unique to the European market.

With the roof up or down, the car is remarkably quiet and you can happily chat to a passenger at up to 70mph without raising your voice and the level of roof-down buffeting is remarkably low.

Despite the stylish looks, it is pretty practical with rear seats which allow two reasonably uncomplaining, preferably small, passengers to be carried and a good size luggage space.

If the roof is kept up, the available boot space grows considerably.

Both models are fitted with a slick positive, five-speed manual gearshift and bags of equipment.

Mitsubishi confidently expects four out of five buyers to be women, with the CZC used primarily as a second car don't bank on it.

Auto facts Colt CZC 1.5 Turbo

  • Price: £15,999
  • Insurance group: 15A
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 39.8 mpg
  • Top speed: 126mph
  • Length: 388.5cm/152.9in
  • Width: 169.5cm/66.5in
  • Luggage capacity: 6/15 cu ft/ (roof down/up)
  • Fuel tank capacity: 10.3 gallons/47 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 168 g/km
  • Warranty: 3 years/unlimited mileage