The Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey is the UK’s ‘convertible capital’, according to new research conducted by Citroën UK. 

The area, which includes the towns of Esher, Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames, has over 5,300 convertibles registered, or one for around every 25 residents. It is home to multi-millionaires and even a few billionaires too.

Surrey was the top county overall for convertibles, with four of its districts featuring in the UK top ten for highest proportion of convertibles registered compared to residential population. 

The City of London and districts within the south east counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Berkshire and Hampshire completed the ten most popular locations for convertible ownership.

At the other end of the table - and indeed the UK - Eilean Siar in the Outer Hebrides has the fewest registered convertibles per person, with just one drop-top for every 468 residents. The Shetland Islands followed, with one per 393 inhabitants. The dreadful Scottish weather makes owning a convertible a clear turn-off. 

The results are being released today to coincide with the 2013 Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year. With the sun rising having risen at 4.43am and setting at 9.21pm, UK motorists can get up to 16 hours and 38 minutes of sunshine in which to enjoy al-fresco driving.

The research was undertaken by Citroën as part of the launch of DS3 Cabrio, the soft-top version of the popular DS3 hatchback. Citroën consulted registration data from the DVLA and census information from the Office for National Statistics to map the UK’s convertible car hotspots.

Despite the temperate climate, the UK has the second largest number of convertible cars per head of population anywhere in the world. Around 900,000 convertibles are currently registered in the UK out of a total 28.7 million cars, accounting for 3.1 per cent - or one in 32 - of all cars on UK roads. The average number of convertibles to population ratio is approximately one for every 75 people.

The research also found that counties with greater household incomes had the highest rates of convertible ownership. ‘Convertible capital’, Surrey, is one of the top five areas in the UK for gross disposable household income, 37.7 per cent higher per head than the national average. 

Kingston-Upon-Hull, one of the lowest areas for convertible ownership, has amongst the lowest average gross disposable household incomes per head, 29.6 per cent less than the UK average.

Marc Raven, Communications Director at Citroën UK, commented: “Despite our often unsettled climate, UK motorists have a long established love affair with open-air driving. 

“What we didn’t know, however, was which areas embraced wind-in-the-hair motoring the most. Thanks to this research, we can see that Surrey and, in particular, Elmbridge, are where the most convertible lovers reside. Though with average rainfall of 10cm a month and only 1,150 hours of sunshine a year compared to Surrey’s 1,675 hours, we can perhaps forgive residents of the Outer Hebrides for passing on the top-down driving experience!” 

TOP TEN UK CONVERTIBLE 'HOT SPOTS'

1. ELMBRIDGE, Surrey

2. CITY OF LONDON, London

3. SOUTH BUCKS, Buckinghamshire

4. SURREY HEATH, Surrey

5. WINDSOR AND MAIDENHEAD, Berkshire

6. HART, Hampshire

7. TANDRIDGE, Surrey

8. MOLE VALLEY, Surrey

9. UTTLESFORD, Essex

10. Epping Forest, Essex

FOUR of the UK's top convertible 'hot spots' can be found in Surrey, where house prices are also higher than the national average.