.
Hardtop
A hardtop is a term for a rigid, rather than canvas,
automobile roof. It has been used in several contexts:
detachable hardtops, retractable hardtop roofs,
and the so-called pillarless hardtop body style.
Detachable hardtops
Before the mid-1920s 90% of automobiles had open tops, with
rudimentary (if any) weather protection provided by a
convertible-type canvas top and celluloid or isinglass side
curtains. Some automobile bodies had roofs that could be removed
during the summer and reattached during the winter, although it
was a cumbersome and laborious job. By the time of [[World War
I]] some automakers offered a lift-off roof, typically with a
wood frame, canvas or leather covering, and glass windows. These
removable roofs, sometimes called a California top, were
the forerunners of the detachable hardtop, offering security and
weather protection comparable to a fixed-roof model when
installed.
Following the ascendancy of steel tops for closed bodies in the
1930s, detachable hardtops with metal roofs began to appear.
After World War II, the availability of new types of plastic and
fiberglass allowed lighter, easier to handle hardtops with much
of the strength of a metal top.
In the 1950s and 1960s detachable hardtops were offered for
various convertible sports cars and roadsters,
including the 1955-1957 Ford Thunderbird and the [[Chevrolet
Corvette]]. Because the convertible top mechanism is itself
expensive, the hardtop is customarily offered as an additional,
extra-cost option. On early Thunderbirds (and Corvettes through
1967), buyers could choose between a detachable hardtop and a
folding canvas top at no additional cost, but paid extra for
both.
Improvements in canvas tops have rendered the detachable hardtop
less common in recent years, in part because the top cannot be
stored in the vehicle when not in use, requiring a garage or
other storage facility. Nonetheless, some open cars continue to
offer it as an option. Around 10% of Mazda MX-5s are
believed to have been delivered with an accessory hardtop, which
is compulsory for some auto racing series.
Retractable hardtops
A retractable hardtop (also known as coupé convertible or coupé
cabriolet) is a type of convertible that forgoes a folding
textile roof in favor of an automatically operated, multi-part,
self-storing roof where the rigid roof sections are opaque,
translucent, or independently operable.
Pillarless hardtops
The other automotive usage of the term "hardtop" is a body
style known as the hardtop convertible. A hardtop
convertible is a fixed-roof model designed to look like a
convertible with the top raised. While some early models
retained side window frames and B-pillars, by the 1950s most
were pillarless hardtops, omitting the B-pillar (the roof
support behind the front doors) and configuring the window
frames, if any, to retract with the glass when lowered. Some
hardtops took the convertible look even further, including such
details as simulating a convertible-top framework in the
interior headliner and shaping the roof to resemble a raised
canvas top. By the late 1960s such modifications were often
superseded by a simple vinyl roof.
A pillarless hardtop is inherently less rigid than a pillared
body, requiring extra underbody strength to prevent shake.
Production hardtops commonly shared the frame or
reinforced body structure of the contemporary convertible model,
which was already reinforced to compensate for the lack of a
fixed roof. With such a reinforced frame, a hardtop was stronger
and stiffer than a convertible, but both weaker and (because of
the reinforcements) heavier than a pillared body.
There were a variety of hardtop-like body styles dating back to
at least the 1920s. Chrysler Corporation showed a pillarless
Town and Country hardtop coupe as a concept vehicle in 1946, but
the car never went into production. The trend-setter for mass-
production hardtops was General Motors, which launched two-door, pillarless hardtops in 1949
as the Buick Roadmaster Riviera, Oldsmobile 98 Holiday,
and Cadillac Coupe de Ville. They were purportedly inspired
by the wife of a Buick executive who always drove convertibles,
but never lowered the top. The hardtop became extremely popular
in the 1950s, and by 1956 every major U.S. automaker offered
hardtop coupés and four-door sedans in a
particular model lineup. In 1955, Buick and Oldsmobile
introduced the first 4 door hardtop sedans and Chevy and Pontiac
even introduced "hardtop" (six pillar) two door wagons (the
respectively), and in 1956 the first four-door hardtop [[station
wagon]] was introduced by Rambler. In 1957,
Mercury offered both two- and four-door hardtop wagons, the only
brand to ever to do so. The type didn't didn't catch on,
though, as most buyers considered wagons too boxy to benefit
from the sporty look (or expensive enough to begin with). All
disappeared from the market after 1964. The [[Facel Vega
Excellence]] is a notable French example of a four door hardtop
from this period, noted for the huge opening with both doors on
one side open and for sagging if all the doors were left open.
The doors were designed for locking to the floor and not each
other.
Throughout the 1960s the two-door pillarless hardtop was by far
the most popular body style in most lines where such a model was
offered. Even on family vehicles like the Chevrolet Impala,
the two-door hardtop regularly outsold four-door sedans.
The hardtop began to disappear along with convertibles in the
mid-1970s, partly out of a concern that U.S. federal safety
regulations would be difficult for pillarless models to pass.
The ascendancy of monocoque construction also made the
pillarless design less practical. Some models adopted modified
roof styling, placing the B pillars behind tinted side window
glass and painting or molding the outer side of each pillar in
black to make them less visible, creating a hardtop look without
actually omitting the pillar. Some mid to late 1970s models
continued their previous two-door hardtop bodies, but with fixed
rear windows or a variety of vinyl roof and opera window
treatments. The U.S. industry's last true two-door and four-
door hardtops were in the 1978 Chrysler Newport and
New Yorker lines.
Since then, no U.S. manufacturer has offered a true hardtop in
regular production, although some German manufacturers,
including BMW and Mercedes-Benz have offered upscale
pillarless hardtops. Renault produced a three door hard top
between 2001 and 2003 in the form of the [[Renault
Avantime|Avantime]].
In the mid-1970s, Toyota introduced the Toyota Crown as a 2-
and 4-door hardtop, and Nissan followed suit with the [[Nissan
Cedric]] and Nissan Gloria. Subaru introduced a new compact
coupe as a genuine 2-door hardtop with the Subaru Leone in
1971. The hardtop models were more expensive and luxurious than
the sedan versions. In the 80's, Toyota continued the trend with
the Toyota Cresta and the Toyota Chaser, with Nissan
introducing its Nissan Laurel, and Mazda introducing the
Mazda Luce, all as 4-door hardtops. During the early 1990s,
almost all Japanese car makers had at least one 4-door hardtop
in multiple classes, including compact sedans, starting with the
Toyota Carina ED, Toyota Corona EXiV, [[Toyota Sprinter
Marino]], Nissan Presea, Honda Inspire, [[Honda
Integra]], Mitsubishi Emeraude, and Mazda Persona. Even
Subaru got into the game with the Subaru Legacy. By the end
of the 90s, however, almost all 4-door hardtops disappeared, as
structural integrity standards continued to increase. The Subaru
Legacy remained a "B" pillar hardtop until the introduction of
the 2010 model.
British luxury carmaker Bentley (owned by [[Volkswagen
Group]]) sells two true hardtop coupes, the Continental GT
fastback, and the new Brooklands coupe (2008). Other British
pillarless hardtops included the attractive Sunbeam Rapier
and the glitzy [[Ford Capri#Ford Consul Capri .28335.29
.281961.E2.80.9364.29|Ford Consul Capri (355)]] which, unlike
America, sold fewer cars than their saloon cousins. The body
style was thought to be making a comeback, as concept versions
of the Dodge Challenger and Chevrolet Camaro shown in
2006 were both two-door hardtops, however, the production
versions of both included a blacked out B Pillar and fixed
rear side glass. Another pillar-less design was featured in the
2007 model concept for the Chrysler 300C.
See also
References
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