Film now showing
Documentary film from 1988 showing the
return of convertibles to the streets of America

Topless driving -a potted history of convertible cars

Duration: 3 mins. 44 seconds

To view the film, scroll to the bottom of the page

The early days
Convertible cars, in one form or another, have been around since the dawn of motoring. In fact, many of the original cars on the road had no protection at all for drivers or passengers. The early car makers were much more concerned about the mechanics of getting their machines to move under their own steam, than worry about the comfort of the occupants.

Nowadays, the automotive world has gone full circle and although there are far more "closed" cars produced each year, demand for open-top motoring is as high as its ever been.

While many people regard a convertible as simply a car with a retractable roof, there have been many variations. Many of the most basic models have demanded the driver spend a considerable amount of time almost having to manually roll up the roof himself. The most advanced versions, by contrast, have required virtually no human input -apart from the flicking of a switch on the dashboard to enable the car's electronics to place the roof into and out of its own special in-car compartment at its own speed. 

A true convertible has side windows that can "convert" the car into a full coupe, but this is not always the case. Most also only have two doors, although the Lincoln Continental of the 1960s was a famous four-door exception.

Many of the most famous cars in history from the e-type Jaguar to the Ford Mustang have all had convertible versions. Even a number of the most famous less sporty models have had soft tops, such as the Morris Minor, Volkswagen Beetle, Ford Escort, Triumph Herald and Citroen 2CV, to name but a few.

The 1950s
The post-war surge in interest in topless motoring began in the 1950s when the number of such cars available reached an all-time high. At one point, as many as six cars in every 100 being sold in America was a convertible, and in some "hot weather" locations, sales of the convertible versions of the popular British sports cars of the period, such as Jaguar, Triumph and MG would often outsell the "closed" versions.

But from the beginning of the 1970s, attitudes began to change. Better in-car air conditioning was one contributing factor, but so too were growing safety concerns. In the US in particular, the increasingly vocal safety lobby heavily publicised the fact that the number of drivers and passengers of convertible cars suffered more serious injuries and fatalities after an impact than those in "protected" cars and the net effect of this was a significant shift in interest away from convertibles.

By the mid 1970s, there were only a few mainstream convertible cars being produced anywhere and it seemed their days were numbered. But this didn't last and the sight of the small number of specialist convertible sports cars still on the road encouraged a change of heart, and during the 1980s, one after another of the major manufacturers returned to convertible production.

Contemporary convertibles
This time though the cars were much more rigid in design and many had roll bars and other measures which would better protect the occupants if there was an impact.

For many, driving an open top sports car along the world’s finest roads remains the greatest thrill in motoring and now that the design improvements have reduced the safety worries, it seems that convertible enthusiasts everywhere can look forward to a much brighter future -as well as remaining closer to nature.

Convertible cars from around the world from the 1940s to the present day

Early convertible cars

Towne Shopper

Triumph TR2

Ford Mustang

Volkswagen Beetle

Saab Sonnet

Fiat Spider

Mini Moke

Mitsubishi Colt

Morgan Aero 8

New Mini

Porsche 911

Mercedes S Class

Multimedia stories from history

Motoring through history
Follow the evolution of the motor car with a free, online, informative illustrated history of the automobile, go to:
www.motoring-history.com

Film provided courtesy of www.auto-history.tv

(c) Universal Motoring History Enterprises