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A Place Under The Sun

2024

Video: A Place Under The Sun

Video: A Place Under The Sun
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A Place Under The Sun
A Place Under The Sun
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EQUIPMENT

/ DESIGNS

A PLACE UNDER THE SUN

HOW IT IS DIFFICULT TO BECOME A CABRIOLET

TEXT / MIKHAIL GZOVSKY, SERGEY KANUNNIKOV

Even in northern countries it is sometimes warm and sunny. Take a ride in a convertible?

An open car with a supporting body is a complex and expensive design, which is much different from the namesake sedans. Therefore, eminent companies are trusted to make such machines by specialized companies - for example, SAAB - of the Finnish Valmet, and Opel - of the Italian Bertone.

Serious changes are made to the body structure. In the front part it is reinforced with beams. So, at the Peugeot 206 SS, pipes with a diameter of about 40 mm are made of three millimeter steel and connect the engine mount points to the floor panel at the level of the front seats. Similar amplifiers stretch from the front of the floor to the trunk, complementing the side members. In the latter, by the way, the walls are "replenished" by a millimeter. In addition, from the floor crossings to the glass line there are vertical beams with a diameter of 40 mm with a wall thickness of 4 mm. The windshield mount stand is also 1.5 mm thicker than usual.

The saloon and trunk of open cars are separated by a ribbed partition welded to the side of the body. On hardtops, the roof lifting mechanism is attached to the partition amplifiers. The hind wings are also connected by an additional cross member. Even the doors, although sometimes borrowed from the base model, are reinforced with a steel profile and hung on more durable hinges.

Additional "iron" gives the body the necessary rigidity and inevitably makes the convertible heavier than a related coupe. Compact models have an “overweight” of at least 60 kg, and large convertibles and hardtops - up to 200 kg.

Enough theory! It's time to go. Just do not forget the most important thing - to lower the roof.

On some cars, this can be done even at a distance, with a key fob alarm. On low-cost models, you will have to open a couple of locks on the windshield frame and push the awning back, and after removing, cover the niche where he is hiding with a special cover. A simple operation takes no more than half a minute, but today convertibles and roadsters are increasingly equipped with an electric drive. He pressed a button in the cabin, and the roof hid behind the seats almost silently. You can even remove the “hat” on the go (they say that this is considered to be a special chic for roadster owners), but only if the speed is not higher than 10 km / h. Locking is necessary: at a decent speed, a car with a rising awning will turn into an uncontrollable sailboat.

The design of hardtops is, of course, more complicated. The Peugeot 206 CC roof consists of two movable panels connected by articulated levers. The hydraulic system, through which oil circulates under pressure up to 130 bar, actuates the levers and, accordingly, both panels. The entire electronic kitchen unit is hidden in the central part of the body. On the front panel of the roof there are two latches that fix the 45-pound design in the closed position. Coupe becomes an open car in 20 seconds.

To lay down the hard top of the more solid BMW-320, the firms Bertone and Edsha had to break the roof into three parts. However, the principle is the same as that of the Peugeot - two hydraulic cylinders are removed from the “cap”. The roof leaves for a niche assigned to it between the passenger compartment and the trunk, and at the final stage it is covered with a special shelf.

Audi specialists made a very unusual car. In addition to the standard roadster based on the TT model with an automatically retractable awning, the company offers an option with two “headgear”. In the spring, a hard roof can be removed altogether by opening three locks - two behind the seatbacks, one above the windshield frame. A couple of not weak men will have to do this - the plastic cap is not only bulky, but also heavy. But under the winter earflaps - a light panama: awning, although manually lowered, but subject to even female hands.

Here is the feeling for which it was worth building such a complex car! Under the gentle sunbeams and enthusiastic girlish glances we leave the dusty, gassed city. It turns out that the pleasure of the trip decreases sharply with increasing speed. Closer to 100 km / h it’s not so much to talk, to breathe in the cabin blown by the oncoming flow it becomes difficult.

To create a microclimate in the car, you do not need to slow down or stop, just raise the side windows. Many cars have another glass behind the seats. Now even at speeds of 100 km / h you can have a quiet conversation.

And yet, when cornering, the leg itself reaches for the brake pedal. Somehow uncomfortable in a car without a hard roof and powerful side racks.

According to statistics, about 30% of accidents that hit roadsters and convertibles end in a coup. Apparently, among the owners of these cars there are especially a lot of “hot heads” (that's why they choose blown cars?). Of course, only a suicide can drive in an open car without wearing a seat belt. If travelers do not neglect the elementary requirement, according to the manufacturers, they have no more chances to suffer from a coup than those who have a permanent roof over their heads.

The main element of safety is the windshield frame, which is much more sophisticated in design than sedans, coupes and hatchbacks. As a rule, it consists of several profiles of different stiffness. Behind the seats are installed special powerful arcs. Usually they are rigidly connected to the cross member installed between the passenger compartment and the trunk.

Mercedes-Benz designers decided that arcs spoil an aristocratic costume. On the SL cabriolet, the rescue arc, and on the CLK model, two special heavy-duty head restraints rise only in critical situations. It is recognized by the on-board computer, which receives information from the emergency roll sensors. In just 0.35 s, the car “shoots” with an arc or head restraints. It is curious that the CLK head restraints also work when hitting the rear. By the way, they can be activated independently - by pressing a button. A very good way to surprise passers-by!

Well, it's time to come back. Of course, a ride in a convertible is very nice. But for the pleasure you have to pay …

And not only with worries about the soft tent (a separate page is dedicated to this event in the car manual) and worries about its integrity: it’s not even an hour the car will be noticed by a person who wants to check the “rag” for durability. A modern convertible or roadster is more expensive than a hard fellow by an average of 5-13 thousand dollars. The more prestigious the base model, the more you will have to pay for the “sunny” version. In addition, heavy cars are gluttonous (especially with a roof down - aerodynamics deteriorate) by 0.1-0.7 l / 100 km compared to similar coupes.

However, many consider all this to be a fair payment for a place in the sun.

OUR HELP

Cabriolet - a two- or four-door car with a soft roof sliding backwards - an awning.

Roadster, spider - a two-door two-seater (less often 2 + 2) car with a soft roof that retracts into a special niche behind the seat.

Hardtop is a two-door car with a folding hardtop. Such bodies are sometimes also called coupe-cabriolet or roadster with a rigid roof.

Coupe "Peugeot 206 SS" turns into a roadster in just 20 seconds.

Putting on the Audi TT Panama is easy; it’s much harder to pull on the “winter hat”.

Powerful arches ensure safety, and lifting glass provides comfort.

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