Elite Traveler Summer 2024

LEADERS IN LUXURY MOTORING

Leaving the past behind For the fi rst century of automotive history, buying a convertible required making signi fi cant trade-o ff s in the name of top-down driving. Originally, open-topped horseless carriage drivers simply accepted the fact that weather luxury and performance automakers have innovated new ways to improve the entire concept of living with a convertible, including hardtops that fully retract

in seconds and soft-tops built with insulation against sound and water ingress, even so-called ‘air scarves’ that help keep exposed passengers warm and cozy. Using miracle materials like carbon fi ber and aluminum alloys also helps automakers save weight, while reinforcing chassis engineering enough to support the use of convertible tops on performance vehicles without ruining driving dynamics. And the use of computational fl uid dynamics software allows for optimized aero designs to prevent wind from entering the passenger compartment when the top is down. Retractable hardtops can even employ

might ruin a drive. Then, retractable cloth-top convertibles entered the marketplace, but required signi fi cant physical e ff ort and patience to actually put the top up or down. The introduction of Targa tops helped to ameliorate concerns about bad weather somewhat, albeit with fabric fl apping in the wind and performance reduced due to additional weight and reduced rigidity — but Targas never quite caught on for most mainstream automakers. Entire decades would pass before automatic convertible tops made pushing a button to open and close the roof possible. But in the modern era,