Extinct, artificially kept alive
In the early days of the car, an open body was the most common thing in the world, even with four doors. The four-door convertible is now a dying breed. Although Fisker seems to come up with such a concept. Reason for us to dive into history and present some four-door convertibles.
Mercedes Benz 300b (1954)
Mercedes mentions in the 300 brochure that the ‘friends of open touring’ experience new driving pleasure in this convertible, but also enjoy the comfort of a sedan. And Mercedes should know because they also build a sedan.
Mercedes-Benz 380 SEL Caruna (1985)
Drive or be driven. In the early 1980s, the only open Mercedes is the SL, a two-seater. In order to still be able to be driven royally open, Princess Juliana has a 380 SEL beheaded at the Swiss Caruna.
BMW Baur TC4 (1990)
Initially Karosserie Baur from Stuttgart built open versions of two-door BMWs. When BMW does that in-house from now on, Baur will come up with a four-door alternative.
Lincoln Continental Convertible (1964)
The four-door convertible that probably made the most headlines is the black Lincoln Continental Convertible in which US President John F. Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Cadillac Sixty-One Convertible Sedan (1939)
Cadillac touts the Sixty-One as an all-season car where one person can open or close the hood in an instant. Oh, and the sun visors can also be used as windbreaks.
Volkswagen 181 (1968)
We regularly see off-road vehicles with a canvas roof and four doors. Usually these are cars with a separate body on a separate chassis. The Volkswagen 181 – sold in America as The Thing – is no different.
Lancia Lambda (1922)
The first self-supporting car is available with both an open and closed body, in both cases it has four doors. At Lancia they think a fixed roof is not necessary at all for the rigidity of the whole.
Tesla Model 3 and S Newport Convertible Engineering (2020)
The American Newport Convertible Engineering has been converting the craziest cars into convertibles for almost four decades. They couldn’t pass up the Tesla Model S and Model 3.
Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet (2017)
You could also get oldskool off-road vehicles such as the Mercedes G-class, Jeep Wrangler (still the current one, also as a four-door) and Land Rover Defender as a soft top. In its twilight years, the first G-class even converted a four-door into an ultra-deluxe Landaulet.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl