Hard top
Hardtop (literally: hard top ) is the English name for a fixed roof on vehicles. A distinction is made between removable additional roofs for convertibles and those for pick-ups (also called attachment ). These hardtops can be mounted on the vehicle if required and stored in a suitable place when not in use. In US-American usage, the term usually defines a non-removable roof on cars without a B-pillar .
Hard tops for convertibles
In European usage, the term “hardtop” usually defines a removable, fixed roof for open passenger cars or those with a fabric top. These hardtops are usually made of steel , aluminum or GRP .
Forerunners of these hardtops are vehicles with summer and winter bodies, which were used until the 1910s. Such mostly luxurious automobiles were delivered with an open body for the summer and a closed one for the winter. The body was replaced in spring and autumn; Larger agencies offered the storage of the unneeded structure and also carried out maintenance and reconstruction. A rare representative of these vehicles is the Sage 24CV from 1906 in the National Automobile Museum in Mulhouse (Schlumpf collection) .
A hardtop serves as a replacement for the sensitive flexible top in convertibles and is mainly fitted in winter. Hardtops for convertibles are now almost exclusively available as accessories. In older vehicles in the upper price range such as the Mercedes-Benz R129 , they were part of the standard scope of delivery. The so-called retractable hardtop is movably connected to the vehicle and can be retracted into the trunk in whole or in several foldable parts.
Hard tops on pick-ups
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When installing a hardtop over the loading area of a pick-up, a closed storage space is created. Hardtops for pick-ups are therefore in most cases equipped with an additional tailgate .
Hard tops for sedans, coupes and station wagons
In the USA and Japan in particular, hardtop is used to denote coupés , sedans and in some cases also for station wagons without a B-pillar ( hardtop coupe , hardtop sedan or hardtop station wagon ). The roof is not removable on these models. The idea can be traced back to the late 1910s. One of the pioneers was the JB Judkins Company in Sterling Diners and Merrimac ( Massachusetts ) which in 1917 put a “Transformable” seven-seater body with a fixed roof on the chassis of a Packard Twin Six Model 3-35 . The side windows were retractable and the two central roof supports on each side could be removed and stowed under the rear seat. In 1918 a three-door version followed (with a middle door on the driver's side, i.e. on the right) on the shorter chassis 3-25 . Packard even included this type in the special catalog for special bodies (body no. 532, base price US $ 5050). A two-door version, called the "Touring Sedan" even had individual seats in the front. It cost from US $ 4080. The Ford Model T , as a Coupelet, was one of the first production cars with such a roof. It was introduced at the end of 1916 (the predecessor had a fabric top). The roof was not removable; the non-retractable side windows were unhooked and stowed in a compartment under the floor. The vehicle cost US $ 505.
In Europe, in addition to the name Faux Cabriolet , hardtop coupé was also used . For example, there was the Ford P7 in addition to the sedan variant as a coupé and with a modified roof shape as a hardtop coupé . When the hardtop versions went out of fashion towards the end of the 1970s - new safety requirements were difficult to meet without a B-pillar - and the models were given B-pillars again, marketing liked to talk about the pillared hardtop for a while Hard top model with B-pillar.
In Japan, so-called hardtop sedans are marketed as sporty offshoots from conventional mid-range sedans. These have frameless side windows, a concealed B-pillar and a mostly flatter roof line than the regular sedan.
The origin of the name goes back to the late 1940s when General Motors brought this body variant onto the market, initially as a coupé. The visual impression of these first hardtop models actually corresponded to that of a convertible with a fixed roof attached.
Hardtop Coupe ( Plymouth Fury , 1957)
Hardtop sedan ( Mercury Marquis , 1969)
Hardtop station wagon ( AMC Ambassador , 1958)
Ford P7 , an example from Europe
Not a hardtop sedan in the traditional sense: a Ford LTD marketed as a pillared hardtop with a fixed B-pillar.
Mitsubishi Diamante (hardtop sedan)
Mitsubishi Magna (conventional sedan, same series)
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literature
- Hugo Pfau: The Coachbuilt Packard. Dalton-Watson Ltd. London / Motorbooks International, Minneapolis 1973, ISBN 0-901564-10-9 (English).
- Beverly Rae Kimes (Eds.) And Henry Austin Clark Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805–1942. 2nd edition, Krause Publications, Iola WI 54990, USA 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 (English).
- Chris Halla: Dreamboats & Milestones: Cars of the '50 s . 1981, Tab Books, Inc. Blue Ridge Summit PA, Modern Automotive Series, ISBN 0-8306-2065-6 (pbk).
- Consumer's Guide (Editor): Automobiles of the '50 s . Publications International, 1993, ISBN 0-7853-0110-0 (English).
- Consumer's Guide (Editor): American Cars of the 1950 s . Publications International, 2005, ISBN 1-4127-1156-8 (English).
- Consumer's Guide (Editor): American Cars of the 1960 s . Publications International, 2005, ISBN 1-4127-1159-2 (English).
- Rasmussen, Henry: Decade of Dazzle - Fifties Stylish American Cars . Motorbooks International, 1987, ISBN 0-87938-249-X (hdc).
- Gunnell, John: Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars 1960-1972 . (Paperback); Kruse Publication Inc., October 10, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-433-9 (English).
- Piet Olyslager: American Cars of the 1940s. The Olyslager Auto Library (1972; reprinted 1973), ISBN 0-7232-1465-4 .
- Piet Olyslager: American Cars of the 1950s. The Olyslager Auto Library (1973; reprinted 1978), ISBN 0-7232-1707-6 .
- Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1940-65. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-057-8 (English).
- Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1966-80. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-102-7 (English).