Retractable hardtop

A retractable hardtop, also known as coupé convertible or coupé cabriolet, employs an automatically operated, multi-part, self-storing hardtop in lieu of a folding textile-based roof.

Documentation indicates that an American engineer Ben P. Ellerbeck explored the idea of a retractable hardtop as early as 1919 — going so far as to prototype a manually operated system in 1922 that ultimately never reached production. Frenchman Georges Paulin subsequently designed the production 1934 Peugeot 601 Éclipse manually retractable hardtop, followed by the 402 Éclipse Décapotable.

Advances in electronics, hydraulics, and weatherproofing materials have made the modern retractable hardtop increasingly popular. Ease, enclosed car quality climate control with the top up, improved crash resistance, and passenger compartment storage security are traded off against increased mechanical complexity and expense and, more often than not, reduced luggage capacity.

A 2006 New York Times article suggested the retractable hardtop may herald the demise of the textile-roofed convertible, and a 2007 Wall Street Journal article suggested "more and more convertibles are eschewing soft cloth tops in favor of sophisticated folding metal roofs, making them practical in all climates, year-round."

1919 Ben P. Ellerbeck conceived a retractable hardtop – a manually operated system on a Hudson coupe that allowed unimpeded use of the rumble seat even with the top down – but never saw production.

1935 Peugeot introduced the first production, power-operated retractable hardtop in 1935, the 402 Éclipse Décapotable, designed and patented by Georges Paulin. The French coachbuilder, Marcel Pourtout, custom-built other examples of Paulin's designs on a larger Peugeot chassis as well. The first Eclipse 402s offered a power-retractable top, but in 1936 was replaced by a manually operated version on a stretched chassis, built in limited numbers until World War II.

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Wikipedia