Historically, a retractable roof consisted of an articulated frame covered with a folding textile-based fabric similar to that on an open carriage evolved into the most common form. A lesser seen detachable hardtop provided a more weatherproof and secure alternative. As technology improved a retractable hardtop which removes and stows its own rigid roof in its trunk appeared, increasingly becoming the most popular form.
Ford offered the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car in 1957 (FORD Fairlane Skyliner).
The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner is a full-size two-door automobile with a retractable hardtop which was produced by Ford in the United States for the model years 1957, 1958 and 1959. Part of the Ford Fairlane range, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. It did all this without the use of hydraulics, as in regular convertibles of the era. The Skyliner top utilized six electric motors (only five for 1959 models), four lift jacks, a series of relays, ten solenoids, four locking mechanisms for the roof, and a total of 610 feet of wiring. The large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales (however, unlike what most people believe, the mechanism had decent reliability). Production totaled 20,766 units in 1957, declining to 14,713 in 1958 and to 12,915 in 1959. An electric clock was standard. Fuel consumption was around 14 mpg-US overall. The fuel tank was placed vertically in back of the rear seat, which inadvertently added safety in rear collisions.
The wheelbase of the Skyliner was 118 inches and the overall length was 211 inches.
During the 1959 model year the Galaxie series was added to Ford’s full-size range and the Skyliner model was absorbed into that series. Although the ’59 Galaxie was designated as a separate series, Galaxies carried both “Fairlane 500” and “Galaxie” badging, on the rear and sides respectively. It came with the standard with the 292 cubic inch 2-barrel 200 HP V-8.
