Convertible top
A convertible top refers to the removable or foldable roof of a convertible .
Basics
Today the hood is a complex assembly, consisting of the outer, visible shell, a movable, scissor-type, mostly steel substructure, which contains the bow at the front for clamping to the windshield , a lining (not with all hoods), and an inner one Roof skin (also not with all roofs). Increasingly, motorized controls are also being built into convertible tops. In addition to the actual folding process, this also includes the locking on the windshield.
In addition, hardtops have been known for decades that can be fitted in place of the fabric top in winter, and more recently, as a replacement for the fabric top, folding roof structures that can be lowered into the trunk, such as in the Mercedes SLK and the Peugeot 206 .
Advantages of flexible tops compared to folding roof constructions are the lower technical effort (costs in particular for accident repairs) and a larger usable trunk volume with the top open.
Flexible hood (soft top)
Soft top is the English name for the top of a convertible made of flexible material. PVC or fabric is usually used as the roof material.
Flexible tops require a certain amount of attention. When opening many models, care must be taken to ensure that components such as the rear window are not damaged or that the convertible top does not tear at kinks. In many older English models, the scissor rods are delicate objects that can pinch the fingers of the inexperienced and require a lot of time to open and close correctly. In addition, convertible roofs are the target of vandalism attacks in some areas as they are damaged with knife cuts, so it is advisable to park a convertible in a garage. Many older convertible tops with cotton fabric cannot stand it when they are stowed wet under the tarpaulin . When the sun comes out again and the vehicle then comes into the garage without venting the roof, it is not uncommon for unpleasant smells and mold to develop. Plastic fabric covers avoid this, but are usually more sensitive to tearing.
Lined fabric hood
In earlier decades there were only two convertible manufacturers with lined tops: VW ( Beetle and Golf convertible ) and the Mercedes SL series. Since the boom in convertibles in the 1980s, however, various manufacturers have switched to lined, higher-quality hoods. A convertible can only be used all year round with a padded hood. The widespread introduction of high quality hoods took away the reputation of the convertible as a third-party car and a toy for rich people and enabled its users to be the only automobile to use the convertible all year round, i.e. H. without having to switch to another vehicle in winter due to the cold and drafts.
The other convertible top constructions without top lining show large parts of the supporting structure with scissor joints and bow bars under the roof inside.
materials
There are now a number of materials that are used in convertible top production.
- PVC: In the early years, the PVC material, which was used in the VW Beetle Cabrio , was particularly popular . PVC material was used until the 1990s and was standard in the original equipment of the Ford Escort or the VW Golf Cabriolet during this time . The material consists of two layers: an upper layer made of PVC, which has a specific structure (grain) depending on the vehicle model, and a lower layer made of a carrier fabric made of fabric (usually cotton).
- Sonnenland fabric: The Sonnenland fabric by the company Brille is now the standard for the European automotive industry and is used, for example, by BMW , Mercedes and Porsche in original equipment. The three-layer fabric has an intermediate rubber lining made of butyl rubber in the middle , which makes the fabric waterproof. Over the years, various designs have been developed (e.g. Sonnenland Classic, Sonnenland Plus, Sonnenland A5) that differ in terms of elasticity, abrasion resistance and elasticity.
- American material: In the USA there are some manufacturers who produce their own convertible top materials that come close to the German Sonnenland, but differ in processing. In particular, the light and abrasion resistance are often not comparable.
Retractable hardtop
In the course of time, vehicles with retractable roofs made of solid materials increasingly came onto the market. They usually fold the roof into the trunk in several segments. This design is called Retractable Hardtop (RHT) (retractable fixed roof).
The first mass-produced vehicle with a retractable metal roof was the Peugeot 401 Eclipse from 1935. In the 1957, 1958 and 1959 model years, the American high-volume manufacturer Ford offered the six-seater Fairlane 500 Skyliner Retractable Convertible Coupé with a metal roof in a trunk that was longer than the conventional coupé could be accommodated. In three years, 48,400 examples were built, which are now among the sought-after classic cars.
Four decades later, Mercedes-Benz took up the idea of the retractable metal roof again with the SLK introduced in 1996 . Other convertibles and roadsters were also given similar roof mechanisms, such as B. Lexus , Opel , BMW or the Mazda MX 5 , which can even be ordered in both versions, with a fabric roof or a fixed folding roof.
With this steel and plastic roof, in which glass inserts ( Renault Mégane CC , Nissan Micra ) or a sunroof ( VW Eos ) are partially integrated, the convertible can also be used as a coupé , so that the model name Coupé-Cabriolet has established itself. The third generation of the Mercedes-Benz SLK can be ordered as an extension of the conventional roof with either a tinted panorama vario-roof or a panorama vario-roof with the so-called Magic Sky Control . Upon request, the transparent glass roof can be colored dark in seconds.
Individual evidence
- ↑ EUROTOP convertible tops . EUROTOP GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ EUROTOP convertible tops . EUROTOP GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class : Roof variants - open or closed? ( Memento of the original from April 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Hans-Hermann Braess, Ulrich Seiffert: Vieweg manual automotive technology. 2nd edition, Friedrich Vieweg & Sohn Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden, 2001, ISBN 3-528-13114-4