Through songs such as Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” and movies like Thelma and Louise, American pop culture has steadily reinforced a modern mythology that ascribes a certain joie de vivre to the automobile body style called the convertible. The enduring appeal of the convertible is certainly one of emotional reaction more than sensible transportation; there is, after all, very little practicality inherent in the convertible. For a majority of climates, the soft tops are barely sufficient in protecting passengers from the elements, resulting in a (sometimes) uncomfortable ride: cold, if not wet. And the tops themselves, with the exception of the modern automatic retractable hardtop, can be notoriously difficult to operate, often requiring a routine of tugging, pulling, cajoling and even begging. But when summertime arrives, the rewards are more than worth the effort as convertible owners put the top down and experience the howl of the wind and the rush that accompanies speed. It is this same basic thrill that helped catapult the convertible to success over one hundred years ago.

If we peel away the pop culture appeal, though, what exactly is a convertible? Most people would answer that a convertible is any car with an open top that allows roofless motoring. While that is mostly true from a modern point of view, if we look back historically, it becomes apparent that there were a myriad of open top cars, only a fraction of which were classified as convertibles. The rarely considered reality of convertibles is that in the beginning they were not the exception, but rather, the rule. That is, at the dawn of the motorcar, most vehicles were open-air; convertibles did not evolve as a way to open cars up, but instead were a function of the act of putting roofs on cars that did not previously have them. Because of this, the term convertible did not even arise until some thirty years into the evolution of automobile mass production.

In 1976, Cadillac issued a press release claiming that its 1916 Type 53 five-passenger touring car was the world’s first convertible. With the recognition, however, many experts took issue with this retroactive assertion since the motorcar began in general as an open vehicle. Even as late as 1926, roughly 75% of American cars had closed bodies; the remaining 25% consisted of a variety of open top models, a few of which could technically be considered convertibles.

In 1927, the term convertible surfaced for the first time as a description of a car that had a retractable top and roll up windows. This was in contrast to several other open body styles of the 20s that either had a soft ragtop and no true windows (instead featuring detachable “skirts” that could be completely removed from the car), or no roof at all.

By 1928, the Society of Automotive Engineers had standardized the term convertible and five prominent manufacturers – Cadillac, Chrysler, Franklin, LaSalle and Packard – produced models carrying the classification.

Though today’s average motorist might fail to see the necessity of such a precise distinction, this definition contrasts similar pre-war designs such as:

Touring Cars and Phaetons

Large 4-door cars with retractable tops but no roll-up windows; window substitutes came in the form of skirts: flimsy, clear plastic flaps that could be inserted or completely detached.

Hardtops

Cars whose solid, un-foldable roofs could be completely lifted off and removed but not stored in the car itself; such cars usually featured roll-up windows.

Runabouts and Roadsters

Cars that were permanently open air, offering no roof or windows of any kind.

As most of these designs have faded into history, with the exception perhaps of the roadster, the following survey will consider convertibles that represent what many consider to be the purest iteration of the style: small, two-seat open top sports cars. This concept particularly flourished in post-war convertibles, though it can be traced to a handful of pre-war models. Most pre-war convertibles, after all, are simply large open-air sedans; the cars offer anenjoyable ride but fall far short of the exhilarating experience provided by convertible sports cars.

With the exception of racecars, most convertibles of the 1920s and 1930s were no smaller nor faster than their sedan relatives. In the 30s, however, the concept of big power in a little package began to surface and the open-top iterations of these cars really began to seal the identity of the convertible as a separate component of automotive lore.

The Magnificent Eight: 1932 Ford

In 1932, the Ford Motor Company, having been displaced by Chevrolet as the nation’s leading car manufacturer, sought to create a new model that would return the company to its prior greatness while providing an inexpensive car for the cash-strapped consumers of the Depression era. Its new car was called the Model B, a progression of the Model A that had replaced the Model T four years earlier. The Model B’s new styling and attractive upright front grille provided good looks that quickly caught on with the public. The car’s underwhelming 4-cylinder engine, a holdover from prior models, did need to be addressed, however. Utilizing the Model B body, Ford created the Model 18, the 8 indicative of the new flathead V8 engine in the car. This engine, the first mass produced V8, would continue to capture the interest of speed demons for decades to come. Both the Model B and the Model 18 (today collectively referred to as the ’32 Fords or Deuces) were available in a variety of open top models, including roadsters, cabriolets and convertible sedans, yet the true evolution of the Deuces did not occur until the end of World War II. When America’s servicemen returned home, they largely found themselves with a chunk of change in theirpockets and bored with the slow pace of life. The excitement of manning a tank or piloting a fighter plane could hardly be replaced by driving most cars, but street racing did provide a hint of such excitement.

New American cars of the era were typically long, heavy, ungainly creatures, more suited for leisurely cruising than the high speed thrills that many ex-soldiers craved. Out of this combination of factors, hotrod culture was born when former G.I.s began to inexpensively acquire the still ubiquitous, but largely dilapidated 1932 Fords and modify them into cars worthy of a fighter pilot. By “chopping” the top off the car and creating ”channels” in the body so that it would ride lower on its frame, these men were able to significantly lower the visual profile of the ’32 Ford, creating a sleek, fast and mean looking car. Modification of the Deuces became such a pillar of hotrodding culture that modern designers, such as Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose, went on to enjoy incredible success in designing brand new one-off cars made to resemble the most fantastic of the modified ’32 Fords.

The Good German: 1936 - 40 BMW 328

Though English manufacturers like MG and Riley created some sporty 2-seater convertibles in the 1930s, their cars were not as significant as BMW’s 328. Unlike the company we know today, the BMW of the 1930s was a small project – built on aero engines and motorcycle manufacturing – that merely dabbled in automobile production. The 328 represented a quantum leap forward for the company as the car featured a sleek, curvy design and contained a powerful 2-liter, 6-cylinder engine.

Though the British roadsters of the era may have appeared first, BMW’s car refined their exterior look while including a far superior power plant. So superior, in fact, that English company Bristol appropriated and utilized the engine’s design during the late 40s and 50s under the auspices of war reparations. Though facing a diminished field of opponents due to the onslaught of World War II, the BMW 328 dominated the famed Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) road races of the early 40s and proved that a superlative racecar could be engineered in an attractive little package. This concept significantly contrasted the presiding preference for behemoth single-seat Grand Prix cars that was espoused by rival manufacturers Daimler-Benz and the Auto Union (the forebear of today’s Audi).

British Cats and Dogs

No country can be more closely identified with the immediate postwar open air motoring experience than Great Britain. Jaguar, Austin-Healy, MG and Triumph all produced beautiful two-seat cars that redefined the identity of the convertible. Jaguar’s XK series, which stretched from 1948 to 1961, transferred the elegance of the company’s saloon cars into a sporty convertible design. Considered by many enthusiasts to be the best of the series, the XK 140 improved on the mechanical deficiencies of its predecessor, the XK 120, while retaining the elegant and swoopy fender lines and the sparing, sporty cabin of its antecedent. By the time the XK 140 was succeeded by the XK 150 in 1957, a greater premium was placed on luxury, resulting in a more pedestrian and less dynamic car.

In 1952, British automotive kingpin Donald Healey planned to develop a less expensive alternative to Jaguar’s XK. With a design created by Healey’s eponymous company in conjunction with the manufacturing care of a lastminute deal with Austin, the cherished Austin-Healey convertibles from 1953 to 1968 featured definitive bulldog snouts. The cars’ strong engines (most notably the V6s of the “Big Healeys” that started to appear in 1959) and spry handling deservedly earned the Austin-Healey reputation as Britain’s most esteemed postwar convertible.

European Style Meets American Muscle: The Corvette

American convertibles produced during the late 40s and 50s were almost uniformly open top touring cars: long, luxurious vehicles with gaudy tailfins and poor handling. This changed in 1954 when Chevrolet, lifting a page from contemporaneous European design, created the Corvette. Like its faux French name, the Corvette exhibited European sensibilities: a two seat, small-bodied car that was heavy on curves and artistic scallops. From a visual design standpoint, the Corvette had far more in common with an Austin-Healey or even a Ferrari than with a Chevy Bel Air. The Corvette would go on to hold tenure as America’s longest running production sports car with a continuous evolution that has spanned more than fifty years.

To this day, the Corvette and its faithful occupy a unique position in automotive culture, straddling a gap between European sports cars and American muscle cars, but truly belonging to neither niche.

California Dreamin’ in Maranello

In 1957, West Coast Ferrari importer John von Neumann recognized an unrealized gap in the marketplace for a sporty open-top Ferrari. After communicating this potential windfall to Enzo Ferrari, the surly maestro commiserated with design partner Pininfarina and coachbuilder Scaglietti to produce a convertible companion to the race-ready 250 GT Tour de France. The resulting 250 GT Spyder California has gone on to become one of the most esteemed sports cars of all time. A model once owned by actor James Coburn sold in May 2008 for a then collector car record $10,894,900. In the latest bid of automotive retro-futurism, Ferrari has revived the California moniker for its hotly anticipated Ferrari California, which should be hitting showrooms this summer. With a wait list a mile long, the new California is the first Ferrari to ever feature an automatic retractable hardtop, giving it a luxurious character which is more common for a Mercedes-Benz.

Mean vs. Green

2009 Lucra Cars LC470

One of several independent companies vying for a slice of the supercar market, California-based Lucra Cars sought to take classic design cues into the future with a competition-worthy car that could perform equally well on straightaways and corners. With an exterior that is loosely based on a little known Jaguar-powered racecar from the 50s called the Lister Knobbly, the LC470 offers a variety of Chevy V8 engines under the hood. The relatively cheap ($85,000), hand-assembled car features custom fitted seats, pedals and paint jobs, and a spartan build philosophy, resulting in a lightweight, no frills car that delivers a stiff but extremely fast ride (3.4 seconds 0 – 60 mph), and a crowd of turning heads.

2009 Tesla Roadster

On the other end of the environmental spectrum lies the Tesla Roadster. California-based Tesla Motors’ effort to be the first modern company to successfully mass-produce an electric car has received significant media coverage. Three years into the journey, though, it appears that there may be more to the company than just hype. The attractive Roadster (which actually features a removable soft top) wears a unique French-built carbon fiber body on top of its Lotus Elise–based frame. The real magic happens in San Carlos, California, though, when Tesla installs their electric powerplant into the snappy Roadster. Though only a small percentage of orders have been delivered, reviews are nearly unanimous that this is an incredibly unique and promising car. Featuring all of the visceral joy of high horsepower, open-top motoring, but none of the environmental negatives (obnoxiously loud engine and large amounts of exhaust fumes), the Roadster can be recharged in one’s own home for about $4, and it goes from 0 – 60 mph in 3.9 seconds to boot.

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