The long history of the folding roof cabriolet
Today they are commonplace, but when Mercedes Benz presented the 170 series, i.e. the SLK, in 1996, the standard retractable metal roof seemed very innovative.
However, the retractable fixed roof or hardtop existed much earlier. In 1935, around 100 Eclipse models were built on the chassis of the Peugeot 401 and 601 series, the roof of which could be slid into the boot.
And five years later, Chrysler presented the Thunderbolt Roadster, an aerodynamically shaped convertible whose roof could be retracted. However, only six examples of the Chrysler were built, four of which are said to have survived. Incidentally, they cost 6000 dollars at the beginning of the 1940s, certainly not a modest sum.
In the fifties, Ford made almost 50,000 customers happy with the Fairlane Skyliner, which had a retractable hardtop.
What all these designs, which are now at least almost 60 years old, had in common was that they had to keep the roof in one piece in the intended storage space.
With the SLK, Mercedes Benz then managed to divide the roof into two components, which reduced the required storage space accordingly. Since then, the designs have become increasingly sophisticated and space-saving, but also considerably more complex. Whether these roofs will still function perfectly in 50 years' time certainly depends on many factors, but the simple early designs were definitely simpler and therefore more durable.
