Once upon a time ... the tarpaulin
07/05/2022
Convertible drivers from the nineties can still remember it well. When the folding roof was open, you put a tarpaulin over it and buttoned it up all the way round. That way, everything looked clean and the roof didn't get dirty. Back in the 1960s, Mercedes-Benz (among others) replaced the tarpaulin with a metal cover, which was lifted, the roof lowered underneath and closed again.
Even a Fiat 850 Spider had such a flap, while the much more expensive Dino Spider was fitted with a plastic tarpaulin. The BMW 3-series Cabriolet and the Audi Cabriolet made the fixed flap standard, but the Porsche 964 or 993 still had this old-fashioned accessory in the nineties to cover the convertible top in the best possible way. Mazda probably also found this quite appealing in the MX5 of the first generations and dispensed with a metal or plastic cover. And Morgan probably still does this today.
But otherwise, there are hardly any other convertibles built in large series that are equipped with a plastic or leather cover, and the extended version as a spray cover has been history for much longer.
Soon, only enthusiasts will remember the days when a convertible roof could simply be opened from the inside, but you had to leave the car again to unbutton this often stubborn thing for an aesthetic finish. And, when the rain started, it was the other way around if you didn't simply do without it ...
P.S. We have already published some of these "once upon a time" articles. You can find them in the dedicated topic channel.
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