Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner: The World's First Mass-Produced Retractable Hardtop Convertible

The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner holds a unique place in automotive history as the world’s first mass-produced coupe-convertible with a retractable hardtop. Built between 1957 and 1959, this ambitious Ford model combined the comfort of a hardtop with the open-air freedom of a convertible, decades before rivals like the Mercedes SLK popularized the concept. Here’s the story behind its invention, engineering, and eventual decline.

The Origins of the Retractable Hardtop Concept

The idea of a car with a retractable hardtop belongs to American inventor Ben Ellerbeck from Salt Lake City. Back in 1922, he built the world’s first “transformer” car with a removable hardtop, based on a two-door Hudson Super Six. The roof was a single unit with the rear window and moved backward through a lever mechanism, activated by a rotating handle on the right side of the car, “covering” the rear part of the body. Ellerbeck offered his invention to Ford and Packard, but neither company showed interest at the time.

_{The typical interior of the fifties: a huge thin steering wheel and the frame of the panoramic windshield protruding into the door opening. Holes at the top of the frame are for the roof’s screw locks.}

Georges Paulin and the European Coupe-Convertible

The concept resurfaced almost a decade later, in 1931, thanks to Frenchman Georges Paulin – a dentist by profession, but a designer and engineer by vocation. His construction, named Eclipse, used a bulky electric drive, with the roof folding into the trunk. Paulin initially tried, unsuccessfully, to interest André Citroën in his invention. He later partnered with the Pourtout body shop, and in 1933 the first car built with Paulin’s folding roof design was the four-door Hotchkiss.

The design was later used on the Lancia Belna, produced in France, and by 1934 it had reached Peugeot. Early coupe-convertibles were built to individual order, but the first relatively mass-produced “transformer” was the Peugeot 402 Eclipse, with 580 units produced between 1935 and 1939. Buyers could choose an expensive electric roof drive as an option, while the base model used a hand crank similar to Ellerbeck’s original design.

_{For the convenience of landing on the rear sofa, the backs of the front seats recline at an angle. And the back of the sofa is installed almost vertically – behind it is a gas tank.}

In 1940, the retractable hardtop idea returned to America with one of the world’s first concept cars, the Chrysler Thunderbolt. It featured an aluminum body whose roof “flipped” into a separate compartment, rotating around an axis behind the seats.

_{The rear windows retracted into the sides, rotating around the lower mounting of the front edge.}

How Ford Brought the Retractable Hardtop to the Masses

After World War II, Americans were the first to revisit the coupe-convertible concept – fittingly, through the Ford Motor Company, whose managers had turned down Ellerbeck’s original idea thirty years earlier. The retracting hardtop mechanism was initially designed by engineer Gil Spear’s team for the 1955 Continental Mark II, the most expensive model in Ford’s lineup, marketed separately from the Lincoln brand.

However, demand for the base coupe was so low that Ford lost a thousand dollars on every unit sold, despite its $10,000 price tag. The model was discontinued in 1957. By then, Ford had already spent more than two million dollars developing the retractable hardtop and needed to recoup that investment by fitting the mechanism to another model. Unfortunately:

The early-1950s Lincoln body didn’t have enough trunk space for the mechanism, and the redesigned model wasn’t ready until 1958.
The new Mercury lineup was also delayed.
The Ford passenger cars were the closest to production readiness.

As a result, this premium-segment technology – in today’s marketing terms – landed on a “people’s car”: the 1957 Ford Fairlane 500.

_{On the first Skyliners, the roof lever looked exactly like this, and only then it was replaced with a solid console in the center of the front panel. You pull on yourself – the roof is removed, you press – it rises.}

_{Gentleman’s set: speedometer, odometer, fuel gauge, coolant temperature indicator, and automatic transmission mode scale.}

_{To engage the first gear of the automatic transmission, you need to move the lever to the lowest position, Lo.}

Meet the Skyliner: Size and Design

Named Skyliner, this coupe-convertible was the longest model in Ford’s lineup – nearly 5.4 meters from bumper to bumper and almost two meters wide. Everything about it feels oversized: the differential housing resembles a truck’s, and the rear suspension uses six-leaf springs.

How the Retractable Hardtop Mechanism Worked

The folding roof is operated by a lever mounted to the left of the steering column. A relay unit in the trunk controls the process, connected to electric motors and limit switches placed along the roof’s path and its supporting mechanisms. There’s a noticeable two- to three-second pause between phases. Without any electronics involved, this mechanical sequencing prevents conflicts between different parts of the system – for example, the roof cannot begin folding while the trunk lid is closed. The full transformation takes almost a minute.

Ford Fairlane 500

Seven electric motors are involved in the transformation process:

Unlocks the two screw locks of the trunk lid
Lifts the trunk lid itself
Folds the lid’s front section (which turns into a shelf behind the rear seats)
Unlocks the roof latches at the windshield frame
Unlocks the roof latches at the rear of the body
Retracts the roof into the trunk (the most powerful motor)
Rotates the roof’s “visor” section simultaneously with retraction

After that, the trunk lid returns to its original position. The entire process lasts 58 seconds.

One quirk worth noting: it’s impossible to open the trunk manually. To load a bag, you have to use the same lever to start the transformation process and interrupt it after the trunk lid lifts – provided the roof is already raised – then lower it back the same way.

Engine and Performance Specs

The 1957 Skyliner was offered with a choice of four V8 engines ranging from 4.5 to 5.1 liters:

Base version: 190 hp
Most powerful supercharged version: 300 hp
Our test car: naturally aspirated 5.1-liter engine, 245 hp, paired with a three-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission built by Borg Warner

Let’s go!

_{The heater was offered for an extra $85 and the air conditioning (not available on this car) cost another $377.}

_{The L.Air and R.Air handles located on the sides of the handlebar control the air dampers that direct air to the driver’s and passenger’s feet. On the right – a cigarette lighter disguised as other switches.}

What It’s Like to Drive the Skyliner

Using a small key, similar to a mailbox key, I start the engine, pull the steering column lever toward me and down, and with a noticeable jerk it engages – not first, but second gear. In Drive mode, the transmission only uses second and third gears, which is why Ford’s automatic is often mistakenly considered a two-speed unit.

The two-ton Skyliner pulls away smoothly and shifts imperceptibly into third gear around 40 km/h. The V8 rumbles contentedly under the hood and forgives almost any mistreatment – even accelerating from idle in third gear. As Americans like to say: there is no replacement for displacement.

_{The mighty 5.1-liter Y-block “V8” engine easily fits into the spacious compartment. The washer reservoir and nozzles were installed recently – the manufacturer started offering this option from 1958 onwards.}

_{The hydraulic cylinder of the power steering is directly attached to the center steering rod.}

The suspension is very soft – on large bumps the body noticeably shakes, and on waves there’s a swaying motion. Still, the Skyliner isn’t sloppy: it holds its line decently, and body roll in turns isn’t excessive. The steering feels absolutely “dead” near center, but unexpectedly fills with reactive force through turns – the result of relatively weak power steering assistance. Later, in the sixties, American manufacturers made power steering much stronger and effectively killed off any steering feel. On the Skyliner, it’s just barely enough. When the car is stationary, the power steering often “bites,” so old-school habit dictates turning the wheel only after starting the engine.

Interestingly, the car’s handling character barely changes with the roof position: raising it shifts weight distribution only slightly, reducing the rear axle load by just 2.4%.

_{The lining of the compartment has been lost over the years, as well as the “basket” for luggage, which was installed in the center. Along the sides, worm gears are located for raising and lowering the top, driven by an electric motor hidden in the spare wheel compartment (covered by a wooden lid). Next to them are spring balancers encased in housings, which ease the work of the electric motors. On the rear wall, a motor for the trunk lid is installed, also connected to the worm gears with flexible shafts.}

_{The differential housing is like that of a three-ton truck, and the already sturdy frame is reinforced with an X-shaped insert made of thick channels. The rear suspension leaf springs, almost one and a half meters long, have progressive action: as they are loaded, the upper leaves come into contact with intermediate buffers, reducing the effective length of the springs by a quarter and thus increasing their stiffness.}

_{The familiar blue ovals are not present on the Skyliner – Ford passenger cars from the late fifties had this emblem-crest, and the Thunderbird model even had its own logo.}

Aerodynamics are surprisingly decent – with the top down at 80 km/h (about 50 mph), even with the side windows lowered, the wind only ruffles the hair on top of your head, though rear passengers already find it uncomfortable.

Pricing and Market Position

The coupe-convertible wasn’t especially expensive, starting at $2,942 for the base version – only about 1.5 times the price of the most affordable Ford Custom sedan. Our test car, equipped with the five-liter engine, automatic transmission, radio, heater, power steering, and power brakes, was priced at $3,464. For comparison:

Ford Thunderbird (sporty two-seater): from $3,408
Base Lincoln: from $4,649

_{The Skyliner appeared at the height of the fashion for tail “fins”.}

Sales Figures and the Skyliner’s Decline

Despite a shortened six-month sales run due to a late launch, the 1957 model year sold 20,766 units and drove significant showroom traffic. But interest in the complex, temperamental design cooled quickly:

1957: 20,766 units sold
1958: 14,713 units sold
1959: 12,915 units sold, after which the coupe-convertible was discontinued

_{By the 1958 model year, the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner, like the entire “passenger” family, experienced a large-scale restyling. More engines of a larger volume appeared, the list of options expanded, which even included air suspension. And in the coupe-cabriolet, in addition, the mechanism for retracting the roof was modernized: instead of worm gears, hydraulic cylinders appeared.}

_{Fords after the restyling of the 1959 model year are considered one of the most beautiful cars of those years. But neither the successful design, nor the transfer of the Skyliner model in the middle of the season from the Fairlane 500 family to the more prestigious Galaxie series (with only the nameplates changed) could improve sales. In the completely new family of 1960, only the regular Sunliner convertible remained, which previously sold three to four times better than the “transformer”.}

The Skyliner’s Legacy

The Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner was ahead of its time. No manufacturer ever again produced a full-size, four-seat convertible with a hard folding roof after Ford discontinued the model. The next mass-produced coupe-convertible of the “new wave,” the Mercedes SLK, wouldn’t appear until 1996 – nearly forty years later.

Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner: Full Specifications

Car: Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
Body type: Two-door coupe-convertible
Seating capacity: 6
Curb weight: 1,920 kg
Engine: Gasoline, carburetor
Placement: Front, longitudinal
Cylinders: 8, V-shaped
Displacement: 5,115 cc
Cylinder diameter / piston stroke: 96.5 / 87.4 mm
Compression ratio: 9.7:1
Number of valves: 16
Max power: 245 hp / 180 kW at 4,600 rpm (SAE)
Max torque: 437 Nm at 2,600 rpm
Transmission: Automatic, 3-speed
- Gear I: 2.40
- Gear II: 1.47
- Gear III: 1.00
- Reverse: 2.00
- Final drive: 3.56
Drive: Rear-wheel drive
Front suspension: Independent, spring, with double wishbones
Rear suspension: Dependent, leaf spring
Brakes: Drum
Tires: 8.00-14
Fuel tank capacity: 66 liters

Photo by Stepan Schumacher

This is the translation. You can read the original article here: Игорь Владимирский протестировал первый в мире массовый купе-кабриолет Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner

By Anton Belikov

Published July 19, 2023 • 10m to read