A retractable hardtop — also known as "coupé convertible" or "coupé cabriolet" — is a car with an automatically operated, self-storing hardtop, as opposed to the folding textile-based roof used by traditional convertible cars.
Improved climate control and security benefits are traded against increased mechanical complexity, cost, weight, and often reduced luggage capacity.
A 2006 New York Times article suggested the retractable hardtop might herald the demise of the textile-roofed convertible,[1] and a 2007 Wall Street Journal article suggested "more and more convertibles are eschewing soft cloth tops in favor of sophisticated folding metal roofs, making them practical in all climates, year-round."[2]
1922 Ben P. Ellerbeck was granted a patent (U.S. No. 1,379,906 on 31 May 1921) for a retractable hardtop roof design for cars.[3] He developed several scale models for the 1922 Automobile Body Builders Exhibition in New York City.[4] In 1922, he modified a 1919 Hudson Super Six roadster with his manually operated gear and spring "flip top" system.[3] It allowed unimpeded use of the rumble seat even with the top down.[5] The design was not put into production.[6]
1931 Georges Paulin made his idea public by applying for a patent on a detachable hard roof design that could ultimately be moved and stowed automatically in a car's rear luggage compartment, under a reverse-hinged rear-deck lid.[7]
1932 The French patent system granted Paulin patent number 733.380 for his Eclipse roof system on 5 July 1932.[7]
1934 Paulin's Eclipse retractable hard roof [1] was first presented on the Peugeot 401D Éclipse Décapotable, a low convertible coupé.[8][9] In 1933, Paulin showed his designs to premier coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout, who hired him as lead designer, and in 1934 they equipped first a Peugeot 401D, followed by a 601C, with "Eclipse" roofs and bodywork, on chassis provided by Emile Darl'mat. The same year, a Lancia Belna, a French-built Lancia Augusta, was also built as an Eclipse.[10]
1935 Peugeot purchased Paulin's patent, and introduced the first factory production, power-operated, retractable hardtop in 1935, the "402BL Éclipse Décapotable",[11][12] of which some 470 were built.[1] Pourtout build custom examples, designed by Paulin, on other makes including Delage and Panhard as well as the "Eclipse" coupé-convertibles based on the Peugeot 301, 401, 601, 302, and 402.[1]
1941 Chrysler introduced a retractable hardtop concept car, the Chrysler Thunderbolt.[13][14]
1947 American Playboy Automobile Company marketed one of the first series produced convertibles, with a retractable roof consisting of more than one section. Ninety-seven production models were made until the company's bankruptcy in 1951.[15]
1953 Ford Motor Company spent an estimated US$2 million (US$23,504,975 in 2024 dollars[16]) to engineer a Continental Mark II with a servo-operated retractable roof. The concept was rejected for cost and marketing reasons.[5] Engineering work was used by Ford for the retractable mechanism in their 1957 through 1959 flagship Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner.
1955 Brothers Ed and Jim Gaylord showed a prototype at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, but the car failed to reach production.[17]
1956 After working for 4,000 hours and investing $100 in the whole car, Raymond P. Meyette built a one-piece power-operated hardtop convertible using a 1952 Nash Ambassador chassis.[18]
1957 Ford introduced the Fairlane 500 Skyliner in the United States. Further development of the 1953 Continental Mark II retractable proposal cost an estimated US$18 million (US$201,518,957 in 2024 dollars[16]).[19] The Skyliner was a halo car with little luggage space and was priced double the baseline Ford sedan. A total of 48,394 were built from 1957 until 1959.[5] Its mechanism contained ten power relays, ten limit switches, four lock motors, three drive motors, eight circuit breakers, as well as 610 feet (190 m) of electrical wire.[5] It could raise or lower the top in about 40 seconds. The retractable top was noted for its complexity and usual reliability in the pre-transistor era.[20][21]
1989 Toyota introduced a retractable hardtop, the MZ20 Soarer Aerocabin. The car featured an electric folding hardtop and was marketed as a two-seater with a cargo area behind the front seats. Production was 500 units.
1995 The Mitsubishi GTO Spyder by ASC was marketed in the U.S.[6] The design was further popularized by such cars as the 1996 Mercedes-Benz SLK.[1] and 2001 Peugeot 206 CC.
2006 Peugeot presented a concept four-door retractable hardtop convertible, the Peugeot 407 Macarena.[22] Produced by French coachbuilding specialist Heuliez, the Macarena's top folded in about 30 seconds.[22] It has a reinforcing beam behind the front seats incorporating LCD screens into the crossmember for the rear passengers.[22]
Retractable hardtops are commonly made from between two and five sections of metal or plastic and often rely on complex dual-hinged trunk/boot lids that enable the trunk lid to both receive the retracting top from the front and also receive parcels or luggage from the rear. The trunk also often includes a divider mechanism to prevent the loading of luggage that would conflict with the operation of the hardtop.
The retractable hardtop's advantages include:
The retractable hardtop's disadvantages include: