After more than two decades and two successive generations, Mercedes-Benz has put the “Leicht” back into the SL-class’s “Sport Leicht”. Gone is the cumbersome folding hard top that made the German carmaker’s flagship roadster more land yacht than a roadster. In its place, the good old traditional soft top makes its comeback. An arrangement not seen on the SL range since the slab-shaped R129 of the 1990s.
Mercedes-Benz certainly wasn’t the first, nor the last, car manufacturer to implement the folding hard top on its convertible models. Like many things in automotive history, the Germans merely revived and perfected another concept from its American and French counterparts.
Return of the folding hard top convertible
Though Mitsubishi beat Mercedes to the punch with a similar folding hard top system in its 1995 3000GT Spyder, the 1996 SLK roadster made a bigger global splash. Dubbed the “Vario Roof”, the SLK’s folding hard top fixed the packaging by splitting the roof up into sections.
By doing so, the roof could be stowed away while retaining much of the car’s proportions and practicality. Sure, it was expensive and heavy, but its qualities were undeniable – top-down convertible thrills with the tin-top coupe refinement. For many, the future had arrived. No more having to explain to the missus why you need to have a car with the bad weather comforts of a tent.
Soon enough manufacturers from all segments of the market jumped in on the folding hard top bandwagon – with mixed results. Some efforts strike an elegant pose, like the second-generation BMW Z4 and Volvo C70. Some managed to blend this party trick in, like the third-generation MX-5 PRHT and Cadillac XLR.
However, for every classy diva, there was a myriad of low-effort barnyard engineering. Who could forget the bloated waistline of the second-generation Lexus SC or the stodgy Nissan Micra C+C? You can sense the designer’s frustration just from the awkward lines forced upon by the folding hard top packaging needs.
Missing out on the action
Surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz, who arguably kickstarted the whole folding hard top trend, never capitalised on it. Of all the model lines that Stuttgart experimented with, the Vario Roof remained exclusive to the SL and SLK roadsters. Considering the many awkward creations that resulted from its peers. Perhaps Mercedes showed a rare bit of constraint and wisdom in that regard.
It can be argued that Mercedes never had the right product to expand the use of its Vario Roof. Back then Mercedes never had a hatchback to tease Ford Focus CC owners with. Nor a proper mid-size convertible challenger to the BMW E93 3 Series and F33 4 Series hard top convertibles.
More likely is that Mercedes’ engineers knew attaching a folding hard top for a cabin for four is a stretch. Boot sizes would have to be inflated just to accommodate the larger roof sections. Not only would this spoil the lines, upset the initial engineering, but it would compromise its packaging.
Technology marches on
Furthermore, material technology was advancing in favour of the soft top. Soft tops were no longer merely a single stretched canvas but a condensed layer of sound and weather insulating materials. Now you can glamp your way through a hurricane in the comforts of a soft top convertible.
Lighter, simpler, and nearly as quiet as a hardtop for most of the time, the soft top was back. Sure top-up chassis rigidity was nowhere as good as what a folding hard top could provide. However, that wouldn’t be a sticking point amongst alfresco motoring fans. As long as the roof is ready to come down when the sun is up, they couldn’t care less.
On top of that, manufacturers were looking to jettison excess weight from their model range in the race to cut emissions. Thus adding another nail to the folding hard top’s coffin. As such, engineers, designers, and product planners breathed a sigh of relief. The glamour of old convertibles is making comeback.
Reject hard top, return to soft top tradition
BMW ditched the folding hard top on the 4 Series convertible and Z4. Lexus wisely avoided spoiling the perfect LC coupe in drop-top form. And Mazda turned to the popular Targa top format for the MX-5 RF. To paraphrase naturalists, the convertible world was, at last … healing.
Today, only the Ferrari Portofino and Daihatsu Copen count as the last of the folding hard top convertibles on sale. A far cry from a time when nearly every other manufacturer were eager to dip their toes in the concept.
Sure, there are still a few mid-engine convertible supercars that boast of a folding hard top. However, these examples aren’t true convertibles. Instead, these supercars eschew the full convertible experience for a simple folding roof panel, like that of the MX-5 RF. Its Targa top like structure offers only a sliver of headwind to remind owners of their growing bald spots. Never an equal comparison to the full-face, hair-raising gale wind experience proper convertibles delivers.
With the SLC long gone, and the new SL returning to its sporting heritage, the era of the folding hard top convertibles is well and truly closed. An era that gave the world some of the most peculiar shapes and reminded everyone that technology cannot replace aesthetics.