1934 Peugeot 601 Eclipse, the First Automatic Retractable Hardtop for an Automobile

Fixed-roof vehicles of the early 20th century could experience claustrophobic. But convertibles of the time have been frequently leaky, drafty, noisy, and insecure. The state-of-the-art remedy came from Peugeot in 1934, with the introduction of the retractable hardtop on its deluxe 601. The self-storing roof structure routinely disappeared guiding the passenger’s compartment into a area uncovered by the reverse-opening rear deck in lieu of the trunk.

This Georges Paulin style and design established the basic structure common for retractable hardtops. The know-how surfaced in an American production motor vehicle when Ford introduced the 1957–1959 Skyliner, and all modern day variants can trace their roots back again to prewar France and have progressed from Peugeot’s plan.

h/t: vintag.es

It utilized an electrical to operate the roof system which Peugeot promised would acquire 15 seconds to erect or decrease, but it truly took closer to a moment to thoroughly full. Moreover, four these cycles had been enough to absolutely drain the car’s battery a predicament which meant you experienced to do it by hand by means of a manual lever.

In 1935 the 601 was further more developed with minor modifications and some new human body variants on the C-sequence of 1934 and these were being labeled in the series 601D. The long body kinds have been identified as 601DL. The D-collection are recognizable by the lowered headlights and the elongated handles on the hood as a substitute of the flaps.

A total of 1,235 units had been generated of the C variants in 1934 and about 779 units of the L. There have been 1,074 copies of the D variants and 911 copies of the DL.

Even though the 601 was only in manufacturing for 2 decades, the 601 was a well known auto at concours d’elegances. The overall body type “transformable electrique” (now recognised as the CC) in specific appealed to the public’s imagination.

The transformable electrique, or the Peugeot ‘Eclipse’, was born thanks to the meeting of three guys: Darl’Mat, one particular of the most vital Peugeot dealers, coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout and Georges Paulin, who was actually a dentist but also located his expertise in coming up with of vehicles. It was Georges Paulin who entrusted the paper with an idea in 1933 to fold a metallic roof fully into the trunk. He patented his invention and then went for espresso with Marcel Pourtout. Inevitably, they enlisted their pal Darl’Mat to test out the concept on the new 601. The consequence was astonishing. The legendary Peugeot Eclipse was born.

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