Convertible sedan

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DKW F5 from 1936
Opel 1.2 liter, built in 1933

A convertible limousine , also known as a convertible limousine or convertible limousine , describes a body shape of a passenger car . The body structure has the characteristics of sedans and convertibles . The cars are equipped with a folding sunroof , which, however, is longer than usual and includes the rear window. In contrast to the Cabriolet, the roof bars, the side windows and the door frames remain in place when the top is folded back.

The design was very popular in the 1930s in particular, but went out of fashion in the post-war period.After the Second World War , only the manufacturers Opel and Borgward (Lloyd) delivered convertible sedans in large numbers in Germany; the last German car was the Lloyd in 1958 LC 600. Well-known convertible sedans at that time were the Citroën 2 CV , the Fiat Topolino and its successor, the Fiat Nuova 500 .

Few convertible sedans have been around since then. Between the beginning of 1983 and the summer of 1985, for example, the Citroën Visa Décapotable (later Plein Air ) was created, which was long considered a younger representative of this design. The Stuttgart-based company Baur Karosserie- und Fahrzeugbau converted the BMW E21 and E30 models into convertible sedans ("Top Cabriolets"), which were also part of the official BMW sales program.

Current examples of such a structure are provided by the Fiat 500C , which has been available since summer 2009, and the Citroën DS3 Cabrio, which has been available since spring 2013 .

Term in German standards

In the German standard DIN 70011 ("bodies for passenger vehicles; names and terms") of March 1959, the "convertible sedan" was defined as an open or closed passenger vehicle with four or more seats, two or four doors, two or four side windows, with fixed roof pillars to seal the side windows and the convertible top as well as a scissor-type or stretch-bow hood (retractable). This standard was included in DIN 70010 ("Systematics of road vehicles; terms for motor vehicles, trains and trailers") in April 1978, "since superstructures are only commonly used in passenger car construction".

For the "convertible sedan" there are the following features: Passenger cars with an open body and fixed roof pillars, foldable, overlying or retractable hood, four or more seats in at least two rows of seats, two or four side doors and two or more side windows.

This definition was changed in the May 1990 edition: the structure with fixed roof spars must be openable; the roof must - as with the convertible - be fixed or flexible with at least two positions: 1. closed 2. open or removed; four or more side windows are required. This standard edition was replaced in March 2001.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Werner Oswald : German Cars 1945-1975. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1976, passim.
  2. ↑ DIN 70010, April 1978 edition, explanations on page 14.