What is a convertible, pros and cons

Among motorists, the most original and elegant body type is a convertible. Such cars have many fans who are ready to compromise in order to have an exclusive car of this class in their garage.

Consider what a convertible is, what kind of convertible it is, and also what are the main advantages and disadvantages of such cars.

What is a convertible

The “cabriolet” body is so popular that today it’s hard to find a motorist who couldn’t just explain what kind of car it is. Machines in this category have a folding roof.

Depending on the model, the car top can be of two configurations:

• Folding design. For such a system, manufacturers allocate the necessary space in the trunk or between the back row and the trunk. The top in such cars is most often made of textiles, since in this case it takes up less space in the trunk than a hard metal counterpart. An example of such a construction is Audi S3 Convertible.
• Removable roof. This can also be a soft awning or a hard full top. One of the representatives of the category is Ford Thunderbird.

In the most common version (reclining textile top), the roof is made of durable, soft material that is not afraid of temperature changes and frequent folding into a niche. In order for the canvas to withstand prolonged exposure to moisture, it is impregnated with a special composition that does not weather over the years.

Initially, the roof folding mechanism required the attention of the owner of the car. He had to raise or lower the top himself and fix it. Modern models are equipped with an electric drive. This greatly speeds up and facilitates the procedure. In some models, it only takes a little more than 10 seconds. For example, the roof in the Mazda MX-5 folds in 11,7, and rises in 12,8 seconds.

A folding roof requires extra space. Depending on the model of the vehicle, it is hidden in the trunk compartment (on top of the main volume so that luggage can be put in it) or in a separate niche located between the backs of the seats and the trunk wall.

In the case of the Citroen C3 Pluriel, the French manufacturer has developed a mechanism so that the roof is hidden in a niche under the trunk. To make the car look like a classic convertible, and not like a car with a panoramic roof, the arches must be dismantled by hand. A kind of constructor for a motorist.

Some manufacturers shorten the interior to free up space, making a two-door coupe out of a four-door sedan. In such cars, the back row is more likely to be childish than a full-fledged adult, or nonexistent. However, there are also elongated models, the cabin of which is spacious for all passengers, and the body has four doors.

In modern convertibles, the roof structure is less common, which folds over the trunk lid, like a hood on a jacket. An example of this is the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet.

A hardtop style body was developed as a budget imitation of a convertible. The features of such a modification are described in a separate article. In the convertible-hardtop versions, the roof does not fold, but is completely removed as it is installed on the car. So that during the trip it does not break off with a gust of wind, it is fixed with special fasteners or bolted.

Convertible body history

Convertible is considered the very first type of vehicle body. A wagon without a roof - this is what most horse-drawn carriages looked like, and only the elite could afford a carriage with a cab.

Since the invention of the internal combustion engine, the first self-propelled vehicles were very similar to open carriages. The ancestor in the family of engines equipped with ICE was the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. It was built by Karl Benz in 1885, and in 1886 a patent was received for it. He looked like a three-wheeled carriage.

The first Russian car to go into series production was the Frese and Yakovlev Car, demonstrated in 1896.

To date, it is not known how many copies were produced, however, as can be seen in the photo, this is a real convertible, the roof of which could be lowered to enjoy a leisurely trip through the picturesque area.

In the second half of the 1920s, automakers came to the conclusion that closed cars were more practical and safe. In view of this, models with a rigid fixed roof were increasingly appearing.

Although convertibles continued to occupy the main niche of production lines, by the 30s, motorists often chose precisely all-metal structures. At that time, models like the Peugeot 402 Eclipse appeared. These were cars with a rigid folding roof. However, its mechanisms left much to be desired, since they often failed.

With the outbreak of World War II, elegant cars were almost forgotten. As soon as the peaceful situation was restored, people needed reliable and practical cars, so there was no time to develop high-quality folding mechanisms.

The main reason for the decline in convertibles was the more rigid construction of closed analogues. On large potholes and with minor accidents, the body in them remained unharmed, which could not be said about the modifications without racks and a hard roof.

The first U.S. convertible with convertible hardtop was the Ford Fairline 500 Skyliner, available from 1957 to 1959. The six-seater car was equipped with a complex automatic mechanism that independently folded the roof into a huge trunk.

Due to many shortcomings, such a car did not replace all-metal analogues. The roof in many places had to be fixed, but it still only created the appearance of a closed car. Seven electric motors were so slow that the process of raising / lowering the roof lasted almost two minutes.

Due to the availability of additional parts and an elongated body, the convertible was more expensive than a similar closed sedan. Plus, the folding top car weighed 200 kilograms more than the increasingly popular analog with a one-piece construction.

By the mid-60s, interest in convertibles declined sharply. It was the Lincoln Continental convertible top that made it easier for the sniper in the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.

This type of body began to gain popularity only in 1996. Only now it was already an exclusive modification of sedans or coupes.

Appearance and body structure

In the modern version, convertibles are not separately constructed cars, but the modernization of an already finished model. Most often it is a sedan, coupe or hatchback.

The roof in such models is folding, less often - removable. The most common modification is with a soft top. It folds faster, does not take up much space and weighs much less than the metal version. In most machines, the lifting system operates in automatic mode - just press a button and the top is folded or unfolded.

Since folding / unfolding the roof creates a sail, most models are equipped with a locking mechanism while driving. Among such cars are Mercedes-Benz SL.

Some manufacturers install such systems that allow the driver to lift the top while driving. To activate the mechanism, the maximum speed of the car must be 40-50 km / h, as, for example, in the Porsche Boxster.

There are also manual systems. In this case, the owner of the car himself has to set in motion a folding mechanism. There are several varieties of such options. Some need to be disassembled and put into a specially designed niche, while others work on the same principle as automatic ones, only they do not have an electric drive.

The most common modifications are cars with a soft top, but many models with a hard roof. Due to the fact that the upper part must be integral (it is difficult to make a beautiful sealing seam at the joints), there should be enough space in the trunk. In view of this, more often such cars are made in the form of a two-door coupe.

Among these roofs there are also original varieties, for example, a breakthrough in this regard was made by Savage Rivale. In the Dutch sports car produced by Roadyacht GTS, the folding roof is rigid, but thanks to its unique design it does not take up much space in the trunk.

The car lowering top consists of 8 sections, each of which is fixed on the central guide.

Body Type Convertible

The most common body modifications in the style of a convertible are sedans (4 doors) and coupe (2 doors), but there are also related options, which many attribute to convertibles:

• Roadster;
• Speedster;
• Phaeton;
• Landau;
• Targa.

Differences of a convertible from related body types

As already mentioned, a convertible is a modification of a specific road model, for example, a sedan. However, there are varieties that look like a convertible, but in fact this is a separate category of construction.

Roadster and convertible

The definition of a roadster is a bit blurry today - a two-seat car with a removable roof. More information about this type of body is described. here. Manufacturers often use the term as the commercial name for a two-seater convertible.

In the classic version, these were sports cars with an original design. The front part of them is noticeably enlarged and has a streamlined sloping shape. The trunk in them is small, and the landing is quite low. In the pre-war period, it was a separate body type. Bright representatives of this class are:

• Allard J2;
• AC Cobra;
• Honda S2000;
• Porsche Boxster;
• BMW Z4.

Speedster and Convertible

Speedster is considered a less practical version of the roadster. This is also a separate category of cars located in a sports niche. Among speedsters there are not only double, but also single options.

On such cars there is no roof at all. During the dawn of car racing, speedsters were very popular due to the fact that they were as light as possible for high-speed races. One of the early representatives of speedsters is the Porsche 550 A Spyder.

The windshield in such sports cars is underestimated, and the side windows are generally absent. Since the top edge of the front window is very low, it is impractical to put a roof on such a car - the driver will rest against it with his head.

Today, speedsters are very rarely produced due to low practicality. The modern representative of this class is the Mazda MX-5 Superlight show car.

On some speedsters, you can still get the upper hand, but this will require a tool box and up to half an hour.

Chaise and convertible

Another type of open-top car is a chaise. The first models were very similar to carriages, in which the roof could be lowered. In this modification of the body there are no central pillars, and the side windows are either removable or absent.

Since this modification was gradually supplanted by convertibles (ordinary cars with a hinged roof), the phaetons migrated into a separate kind of body specially designed for increased comfort for rear row passengers. To increase the rigidity of the body, an additional partition was installed in front of the rear row, as in limousines, from which one more windshield often rose.

The last representative of the classic phaeton is the Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton, released in 1952 in three copies.

In Soviet literature, this term was applied to military SUVs with a tarpaulin roof and without side windows (in some cases, they were sewn into the stripe). An example of such a car is the GAZ-69.

Lando and convertible

Perhaps the most unique version of the convertible is a kind of hybrid between an executive sedan and a convertible. The front of the roof is stiff, and above the passengers in the back row it rises and falls.

One of the representatives of an exclusive car is the Lexus LS600h. This car was designed specifically for the marriage of Prince of Monaco Albert II and Princess Charlene. Instead of a soft awning, the back row was covered with transparent polycarbonate.

Targa and convertible

This body type is also a variation of the roadster. The main difference from it is the presence of a safety arc behind a row of seats. It is installed on an ongoing basis, and is not removable. Thanks to the rigid structure, manufacturers were able to install a fixed rear window in the car.

The reason for the appearance of this modification was the attempt by the US Department of Transportation (in the 1970s) to ban convertibles and roadsters due to poor passive safety when capsizing cars.

To date, convertibles in a classic form have a reinforced windshield frame design (and in double coupes behind the driver and passenger seats, safety arches are installed), which still allows them to be used.

The roof in the targ is removable or movable. The most famous model in this body is the Porsche 911 Targa.

Sometimes there are options with a longitudinal beam, which increases the torsional rigidity of the body. In this case, the roof consists of two removable panels. The Japanese car Nissan 300ZX is one of the representatives of the subspecies.

Advantages and disadvantages of a convertible

Initially, all cars by default were without a roof or with a rising tarp. Today, a convertible is more a luxury item than a necessity. For this reason, many choose this type of transport.

Here are some more positive aspects of this type of body:

• The best overview and the minimum presence of blind spots for the driver, if the roof is lowered;
• The original design that makes the familiar car model more attractive. Some turn a blind eye to the low performance of the engine, if only to have a car with an exclusive design;
• With a rigid roof, the aerodynamics in the car are identical to all-metal analogues.

The body "convertible" is more a tribute to style than practicality. Before choosing an open car as the main vehicle, it is worth considering not only its advantages, but also disadvantages, and in this type of body they are enough:

• When the vehicle is operated without a roof, there is much more dust in the cabin than with closed analogues, and when it is standing, foreign objects (stones from under the wheels of a passing vehicle or garbage from a truck) can easily get into the cabin;
• To improve stability due to low downforce, such cars are heavier, which is accompanied by increased fuel consumption compared to conventional cars of the same model range;
• In versions with a soft top in winter it is very cold to ride, although in modern models the awning has a sealant necessary for thermal insulation;
• Another disadvantage of a soft roof is that it can become very dirty when a scorcher sweeps through the mud along a dirt. Sometimes spots remain on the canvas (oily substances may be present in the puddle or a flying bird decides to “mark” its territory). Poplar fluff is sometimes very difficult to remove from the roof without washing;
• You need to be especially careful when choosing a convertible in the secondary market - the roof mechanism may already be damaged or to the point of breakage;
• Weak protection against vandals, especially in the case of soft top. To spoil the canvas, a small knife is enough;
• On a hot sunny day, drivers more often raise the roof, because even at speed the sun is very hot in the head, which makes it easy to get a sunstroke. The same problem appears in big cities when a driver gets stuck in traffic jams or tricks. Everyone knows that the spread of ultraviolet rays of the sun is not blocked by clouds, so in the summer, even in cloudy weather, you can easily get sunburn. When a car slowly moves through the urban "jungle", unbearable heat is often in the passenger compartment (due to hot asphalt and cars smoking nearby). Such situations force drivers to raise the roof and turn on the air conditioning;
• The roof folding mechanism is the most common headache of all owners of an exclusive car. Over the years, he will require the replacement of rarely encountered parts, which will certainly fly into a pretty penny. This is especially true for mechanisms on a hydraulic or electric drive.

Of course, real romantics will not be stopped by such problems. They will look after their car, so the vehicle will be both beautiful and serviceable. Unfortunately, such a phenomenon is rare in the secondary market, so when choosing a used convertible, you need to be prepared for “surprises”.

Is it possible to ride with a folded roof in the rain?

One of the frequently discussed questions regarding convertibles - is it possible to ride with the top down in rainy weather? To answer it, two factors must be taken into account:

• The car must move at a certain minimum speed. Due to differences in body structure, the aerodynamic characteristics of the cars differ. For example, for the BMW Z4, the minimum speed at which light rain does not require raising the roof is about 60 km / h; for Mazda MX5 this threshold is from 70 km / h, and for Mercedes SL - 55 km / h.
• It is much more practical if the folding mechanism can work with a moving car. For example, the Mazda MX-5 fell into a toffee, and moves in the second row. The roof in this model rises only when the car is standing. When it starts to rain, the driver needs to stop completely for 12 seconds and listen to a lot of interesting things, or get wet right in the car, trying to change lanes to the far right and looking for a suitable parking place.

So, in some cases, a convertible is really indispensable - when the driver decided to arrange an unforgettable romantic trip for his soulmate. In terms of practicality, it is better to choose a model with a hard roof.

Questions and answers:

What is the name of a car with an open roof? Any model that lacks a roof is called a convertible. In this case, the roof may be completely absent from the windshield to the trunk, or partially, as in the Targa body.

What's the best convertible ever? It all depends on the characteristics that the buyer expects. The luxury model is the 8 Aston Martin V2012 Vantage Roadster. Open-top sports car - Ferrari 458 Spider (2012).

What is the name of the open-top passenger car? If we talk about modification of the standard model, then it will be a convertible. As for a sports car with a retractable roof, but without side windows, this is a speedster.