When the Fast Targa roof (T-bar top) was invented
10/28/2017
It was seen on some Japanese cars such as the Datsun 280 ZX (pictured) or the Toyota MR2, but it was particularly widespread in the USA: the T-bar top, an open roof center section pierced by a bar, which could be opened by removing two covers, usually made of transparent material.
The T-bar roof was invented and patented back in the 1940s by Gordon M. Buehrig. The patent was granted in 1951. However, it was not until 1968 that a high-volume supplier installed this roof construction on a large scale, and that was General Motors with the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette C3. The roof construction became so popular with the Corvette that it replaced the convertible and of course encouraged many imitators to install something similar, and not just at Chevrolet.
The advantage of the T-bar top (also known as the T-top) was the smaller and therefore lighter parts that could be dismantled/assembled and which also easily found space in the storage compartment. In addition, the stability of the car suffered less from the opening, as there was a structure-preserving middle section. As a disadvantage, the two-part roof naturally provides less openness than a complete targa roof and thus diminishes the cabriolet impression. However, the draught and ventilation effect of a T-bar top is very similar to that of a Targa roof.
Triumph offered an interesting combination of Targa and T-bar top with the Stag. The roof covered the entire width, with the T-bar positioned underneath, so to speak. This combined the disadvantages of both designs, so to speak.
T-bar tops were used until the new millennium, but have since largely disappeared.
