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52-595: The MS-8 is a hardtop -style sedan in the vein of the Toyota Cresta , Nissan Laurel , Honda Vigor , and Mitsubishi Emeraude . Unlike the Cresta or the previous Persona, however, the MS-8's body has a B-pillar that is much thicker below the beltline than it is above. Doing so allows the bodyshell more rigidity while still maintaining an airy cabin. Such a B-pillar means that the front seatbelts must be installed below

104-514: A combination of castings and sheet-metal stampings". Single-piece carbon fiber bicycle frames are sometimes described as monocoques; however as most use components to form a frame structure (even if molded in a single piece), these are frames not monocoques, and the pedal-cycle industry continues to refer to them as framesets. The P40DC, P42DC and P32ACDM all utilize a monocoque shell. Various rockets have used pressure-stabilized monocoque designs, such as Atlas and Falcon 1 . The Atlas

156-426: A convertible look and padded nylon or cotton was applied over the roof contributing to the soft-top appearance. Two-door hardtops became popular with consumers in the 1950s, while the two-door sedan body design fell out of favor among buyers. In 1955, General Motors introduced the first four-door hardtops. Following the pattern established by the two-door variants, GM utilized the same special sub-designations for

208-494: A frame. This reduces weight for a given amount of armour. Examples include the German TPz Fuchs and RG-33 . French industrialist and engineer Georges Roy attempted in the 1920s to improve on the bicycle-inspired motorcycle frames of the day, which lacked rigidity. This limited their handling and therefore performance. He applied for a patent in 1926, and at the 1929 Paris Automotive Show unveiled his new motorcycle,

260-406: A fuel tank incorporated into the frame. A monocoque-framed motorcycle was developed by Spanish manufacturer Ossa for the 1967 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season . Although the single-cylinder Ossa had 20 horsepower (15 kW) less than its rivals, it was 45 pounds (20 kg) lighter and its monocoque frame was much stiffer than conventional motorcycle frames , giving it superior agility on

312-605: A genuine hardtop sedan with its Laurel . Toyota introduced a genuine four-door hardtop with the Toyota Carina ED followed by the Toyota Corona EXiV . Mazda marketed its Luce and Subaru from 1989 until 2009 with their Legacy / Outback sedans and station wagons as a pillared hardtop. A detachable hardtop is a rigid, removable roof panel that is often stored in a car's trunk/boot . A retractable hardtop (also known as coupé convertible or coupé cabriolet)

364-439: A manner similar to an egg shell. The word monocoque is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, a true monocoque carries both tensile and compressive forces within the skin and can be recognised by the absence of a load-carrying internal frame. Few metal aircraft other than those with milled skins can strictly be regarded as pure monocoques, as they use a metal shell or sheeting reinforced with frames riveted to

416-413: A minor structural contribution in tension but none in compression and was there for aerodynamic reasons only. By considering the structure as a whole and not just the sum of its parts, monocoque construction integrated the skin and frame into a single load-bearing shell with significant improvements to strength and weight. To make the shell, thin strips of wood were laminated into a three dimensional shape;

468-453: A pillarless hardtop. In limited cases, a hardtop roof can be detachable (often designed to store in the trunk), or retractable within the vehicle itself. The pillarless hardtop (abbreviated as "hardtop") is a post-World War II car body designed with no center or B-pillar or glass frames. If window glass frames are present, they are designed to retract with the window when lowered. This creates an impression of uninterrupted glass along

520-419: A rollover crash. However, subsequent research reported that rates of serious or fatal injury in hardtop models (both two- and four-door versions), as well as four-door station wagons, were significantly lower than sedans while the rates of any degree of injury for those same body styles were also significantly lower. A 1980 study for evaluation of rollover test devices reported that a greater degree of roof crush

572-399: A solid frame. This becomes obvious when internal pressure is lost and the structure collapses. Monocoque tanks can also be cheaper to manufacture than more traditional orthogrids . Blue Origin's upcoming New Glenn launch vehicle will use monocoque construction on its second stage despite the mass penalty in order to reduce the cost of production. This is especially important when the stage

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624-515: A technique adopted from boat hull construction. One of the earliest examples was the Deperdussin Monocoque racer in 1912, which used a laminated fuselage made up of three layers of glued poplar veneer, which provided both the external skin and the main load-bearing structure. This also produced a smoother surface and reduced drag so effectively that it was able to win most of the races it was entered into. This style of construction

676-462: A two-door hardtop body styles, with the latter "rendered as a premium quality personal car." Subaru introduced a new compact coupe as a genuine two-door hardtop with the Subaru Leone in 1971. The pillarless hardtop models were more expensive and luxurious than the sedan versions. In the 1980s, Toyota continued the design with a pillared four-door hardtop Mark II , while Nissan again offered

728-563: A uniform material. After failed attempts with several large flying boats in which a few components were monocoques, he built the Zeppelin-Lindau V1 to test out a monocoque fuselage. Although it crashed, he learned a lot from its construction. The Dornier-Zeppelin D.I was built in 1918 and although too late for operational service during the war was the first all metal monocoque aircraft to enter production. In parallel to Dornier, Zeppelin also employed Adolf Rohrbach , who built

780-610: A variety of hardtop-like body styles dating back to 1916. Chrysler Corporation built seven pillarless Town and Country hardtop coupes as concept vehicles in 1946, and even included the body style in its advertising that year called the Town and Country Custom Club Coupe . In 1951, Plymouth offered the Cranbrook Belvedere as a low priced hardtop two-door until 1953. Mass-production of hardtops began with General Motors , which launched two-door, pillarless hardtops in 1949 as

832-416: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof , typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar . The term "pillared hardtop" was used in the 1970s to refer to cars that had a B-pillar but had frameless door glass like

884-430: Is a type of convertible that forgoes a folding textile roof in favor of an automatically operated, multi-part, self-storing roof where the rigid roof sections are opaque, translucent, or independently operable. Monocoque Monocoque ( / ˈ m ɒ n ə k ɒ k , - k oʊ k / MON -ə-ko(h)k ), also called structural skin , is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in

936-439: Is only fitted with a 4-speed automatic gearbox, and the gear shifter is mounted on the dashboard next to the air-conditioning controls. Doing so eliminates the floor console between the front seats, and allows for a split front bench seat. The display for climate control and factory-equipped audio is located atop the dashboard, in a thin slit right before the windshield defroster. The sunroof is very large for its day, extending all

988-477: The Buick Roadmaster Riviera, Oldsmobile 98 Holiday, and Cadillac Coupe de Ville . They were purportedly inspired by the wife of a Buick executive who always drove convertibles, but never lowered the top. The Kaiser-Frazer 1949 Virginian was an early example of a four-door hardtop albeit with a removable thin, chrome- and-glass 'B' pillar held on by five screws. The car was designed to have

1040-607: The Chrysler and Dodge 880 lines. Throughout the 1960s, the two-door pillarless hardtop was the most popular body style in most lines where such a model was offered. Even on family-type vehicles like the Chevrolet Impala , the two-door hardtop regularly outsold four-door sedans. Some car lines (such as the 1957-64 Cadillac and 1965–69 Corvair) only offered pillarless models with no pillared sedans. So prevalent were true hardtops that Popular Mechanics had to describe that

1092-552: The Ford Consul Capri (355) which, unlike American models, sold fewer cars than their regular center pillar saloon versions. A New Mini two-door sedan has been marketed as a hardtop in the U.S. includes a structural B-pillar on the inside that is disguised on the exterior by a black border on the fixed rear windows. The Mercedes E-class coupe W213 from 2016 is an example of a modern pillarless design. In July 1965, Toyota introduced Japan's first two-door hardtop in

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1144-464: The Junkers J 1 had appeared as early as 1915, these were not monocoques but added a metal skin to an underlying framework. The first metal monocoques were built by Claudius Dornier , while working for Zeppelin-Lindau. He had to overcome a number of problems, not least was the quality of aluminium alloys strong enough to use as structural materials, which frequently formed layers instead of presenting

1196-729: The Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20 , which when it flew in 1920 became the first multi-engined monocoque airliner, before being destroyed under orders of the Inter-Allied Commission. At the end of WWI, the Inter-Allied Technical Commission published details of the last Zeppelin-Lindau flying boat showing its monocoque construction. In the UK, Oswald Short built a number of experimental aircraft with metal monocoque fuselages starting with

1248-427: The 1920 Short Silver Streak in an attempt to convince the air ministry of its superiority over wood. Despite advantages, aluminium alloy monocoques would not become common until the mid 1930s as a result of a number of factors, including design conservatism and production setup costs. Short would eventually prove the merits of the construction method with a series of flying boats, whose metal hulls didn't absorb water as

1300-494: The Aero-D One, featuring a composite monocoque chassis that weighed only 12 kg (26 lb). An aluminium monocoque frame was used for the first time on a mass-produced motorcycle from 2000 on Kawasaki's ZX-12R , their flagship production sportbike aimed at being the fastest production motorcycle . It was described by Cycle World in 2000 as a "monocoque backbone ... a single large diameter beam" and "Fabricated from

1352-514: The Art-Deco styled 1930 Majestic. Its new type of monocoque body solved the problems he had addressed, and along with better rigidity it did double-duty, as frame and bodywork provided some protection from the elements. Strictly considered, it was more of a semi-monocoque, as it used a box-section, pressed-steel frame with twin side rails riveted together via crossmembers, along with floor pans and rear and front bulkheads. A Piatti light scooter

1404-671: The B-pillars behind the tinted side window glass and painting or molding the outer side of each pillar in black to make them less visible, creating a hardtop look without actually omitting the pillar. Some mid- to late-1970s models continued their previous two-door hardtop bodies, but with fixed rear windows or a variety of vinyl roof and opera window treatments. By the end of the 1990s, almost all hardtop designs were discontinued as structural integrity standards increased. Hardtops were typically more expensive than regular sedan models when new. They are more collectible than standard models of

1456-538: The Hardtop Taunus models had no B pillar and provided an open-air feel inside the car when all the windows were rolled down. DKW was the only German manufacturer that offered pillarless two-door windows, as well as wrap-around windows in the back of the glasshouse from 1953 (3=6 F91) on and with a wrap-around windscreen since 1959 (1000 Coupe). British pillarless hardtops included the Sunbeam Rapier and

1508-414: The beltline. The front passenger seat belt tensioner unit, where the seat belt would recoil for storage when not in use, was located inside the rear passenger doors, and the seat belt latch was located on the front headrest support arm, allowing the belt to be properly positioned when the headrest was adjusted for height for the front passenger. The MS-8's interior design has several unique features. The car

1560-442: The convertible look in hardtops. A pillarless hardtop is inherently less rigid than a pillared body, requiring extra underbody strength to prevent shaking. Production hardtops commonly share the frame or reinforced body structure of the contemporary convertible model, which is reinforced to compensate for the lack of a fixed roof. The hardtop design received criticism that its roof structure may not provide adequate protection during

1612-639: The current Bentley Continental GT , the 2008 Bentley Brooklands , the 2001-2003 Renault Avantime , the Rolls-Royce Wraith , and the 2012-2017 Ford B-Max . The 1958-1964 Facel Vega Excellence is one of few four-door hardtops produced in Europe. German pillarless hardtops included cars from Taunus, a Ford subbrand. Namely the Ford Taunus P5 and Ford P7 including both P7A and P7B versions. They had regular coupe versions with B pillars, but

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1664-525: The doors and the rear glass frames are removable and stored under or behind the seats. In the late teens, Cadillac offered a sedan with removable "B" pillars. Another form of early pillarless hardtop is the "California top", originating in Los Angeles and most popular from 1917 to 1927. These were designed to replace the folding roofs of touring cars , to enclose the sides of the car for better weather protection. One objective of these aftermarket tops

1716-580: The lowest-priced lines. Chrysler also offered two- and four-door hardtops for every brand, from Imperial, Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, and Plymouth. In 1956, the first four-door hardtop station wagons were introduced to the Rambler line by American Motors Corporation . The following year, the Mercury Commuter hardtop wagons became available in both two- and four-door body styles. Chrysler built four-door hardtop station wagons through 1964 in both

1768-512: The name Southampton , Packard named them Mayfair , and Hudson's were Hollywoods. Nash used the Country Club moniker while pillarless Studebakers were Starliners, a name that was later used by Ford for its Galaxie hardtop. By 1956, every major U.S. automaker offered two- and four-door hardtops in a particular model lineup. General Motors restyled their new models and offered four-door hardtops from every division and nearly every series except

1820-467: The new full-sized 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont models even included a "pillar" sedan . The U.S. industry's last pillarless two-door and four-door hardtops were in the 1978 Chrysler Newport and New Yorker lines. Since then, no U.S. manufacturer has offered a true hardtop in regular production. Various European manufacturers have produced hardtops without B-pillars (usually coupes). However, they are rarely marketed as pillarless hardtops. Examples include

1872-486: The pillarless four-door body types within all their brands in North America. The term de Ville was used for Cadillac, Riviera was used for Buick, Holiday was used for Oldsmobile, Catalina was used for Pontiac, and Bel Air was used for Chevrolet. Other manufacturers also designated unique names for their pillarless models. Ford called them Victoria, Chrysler used Newport, and their luxury division Imperial used

1924-467: The racetrack. Ossa won four Grands Prix races with the monocoque bike before their rider died after a crash during the 250 cc event at the 1970 Isle of Man TT , causing the Ossa factory to withdraw from Grand Prix competition. Notable designers such as Eric Offenstadt and Dan Hanebrink created unique monocoque designs for racing in the early 1970s. The F750 event at the 1973 Isle of Man TT races

1976-485: The same vehicle, which have a B-pillar. Early automobiles had no roof or sides, but by 1900, several cars were offered with fabric roofs and primitive folding tops. However, cars with fully closed bodies (i.e., with a rigid roof and sides) grew in popularity and soon became the norm. In 1915–1918, the first pillarless hardtop cars were produced, then called "convertible cars" (or "touring sedans" or "Springfields"). The Springfield design featured folding upper frames on

2028-494: The side of the car. Even the smaller automakers like Packard introduced two-door hardtops in 1952 "as a response to America's newly discovered fondness for sportier looking cars that resembled a convertible, but had the comfort and convenience of a two-door sedan." In one instance, stylists added faux ribbing to a hardtop roof to make it appear to be like a convertible top, By the mid-1960s, optional vinyl roofs became widely available in virtually all model lines, reinforcing

2080-659: The skin, but most wooden aircraft are described as monocoques, even though they also incorporate frames. By contrast, a semi-monocoque is a hybrid combining a tensile stressed skin and a compressive structure made up of longerons and ribs or frames . Other semi-monocoques, not to be confused with true monocoques, include vehicle unibodies , which tend to be composites, and inflatable shells or balloon tanks , both of which are pressure stabilised. Early aircraft were constructed using frames, typically of wood or steel tubing, which could then be covered (or skinned ) with fabric such as Irish linen or cotton . The fabric made

2132-530: The steering wheel. Four-wheel steering was offered as an extra-cost option. Like the system on the Mazda Sentia , it is designed to minimize turn radius at town speeds, and improve stability at highway speed. Production for the MS-8 ceased when Mazda's multi-brand strategy failed in Japan, and the company suffered financial difficulties. This article about a modern automobile produced after 1975

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2184-535: The third generation Toyota Corona line. This was followed by several manufacturers offering the popular body style as a luxury car appearance. During the 1970s, Toyota produced the Toyota Crown in a genuine two-door hardtop, while offering a pillared four-door hardtop sedan. Nissan followed suit with the Nissan Cedric and Nissan Gloria but offered a genuine pillarless four-door hardtop along with

2236-410: The unibody system (also referred to as unitary construction, unitary body–chassis or body–frame integral construction), in which the body of the vehicle, its floor pan, and chassis form a single structure, while the skin adds relatively little strength or stiffness. Some armoured fighting vehicles use a monocoque structure with a body shell built up from armour plates, rather than attaching them to

2288-523: The way above the rear seat footwell. Following the 1991 ɛ̃fini RX-7 , the MS-8 was also available with the Bose Acoustic Wave Guide audio system, a compact subwoofer design. The stereo and CD player were concealed behind a retractable cover in the center of the dashboard below the air conditioning controls, however, simple functions like the volume, music source (radio or CD player) and music selection controls were installed remotely on

2340-528: The wooden hulls did, greatly improving performance. In the United States, Northrop was a major pioneer, introducing techniques used by his own company and Douglas with the Northrop Alpha . In motor racing, the safety of the driver depends on the car body, which must meet stringent regulations, and only a few cars have been built with monocoque structures. An aluminum alloy monocoque chassis

2392-463: Was associated with hardtop body styles, but severe passenger injury was not more frequent than in the other car body styles. The hardtop body style began to disappear along with convertibles in the mid-1970s, partly out of a concern that U.S. federal safety regulations would be onerous for pillarless models to pass. The ascendancy of monocoque construction also made the pillarless design less practical. Some models adopted modified roof styling, placing

2444-472: Was first used in the 1962 Lotus 25 Formula 1 race car and McLaren was the first to use carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers to construct the monocoque of the 1981 McLaren MP4/1 . In 1990 the Jaguar XJR-15 became the first production car with a carbon-fiber monocoque. The term monocoque is frequently misapplied to unibody cars. Commercial car bodies are almost never true monocoques but instead use

2496-486: Was further developed in Germany by LFG Roland using the patented Wickelrumpf (wrapped hull) form later licensed by them to Pfalz Flugzeugwerke who used it on several fighter aircraft. Each half of the fuselage shell was formed over a male mold using two layers of plywood strips with fabric wrapping between them. The early plywood used was prone to damage from moisture and delamination. While all-metal aircraft such as

2548-426: Was produced in the 1950s using a monocoque hollow shell of sheet-steel pressings welded together, into which the engine and transmission were installed from underneath. The machine could be tipped onto its side, resting on the bolt-on footboards for mechanical access. A monocoque framed scooter was produced by Yamaha from 1960–1962. Model MF-1 was powered by a 50 cc engine with a three-speed transmission and

2600-454: Was to bring the cost of the closed car nearer to the prices of corresponding open cars. Automobile dealers were encouraged to equip an open car with a California top to demonstrate that they were "cool and clean in summer, and warm and dry in winter." The hard tops were frequently equipped with celluloid windows that retracted like a roller blind for open sided motoring offering a low-cost compromise between an open and closed car. There were

2652-436: Was very light since a major portion of its structural support was provided by its single-wall steel balloon fuel tanks , which hold their shape while under acceleration by internal pressure. Balloon tanks are not true monocoques but act in the same way as inflatable shells . A balloon tank skin only handles tensile forces while compression is resisted by internal liquid pressure in a way similar to semi-monocoques braced by

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2704-509: Was won by Peter Williams on the monocoque-framed John Player Special that he helped to design based on Norton Commando . Honda also experimented with the NR500 , a monocoque Grand Prix racing motorcycle in 1979 . The bike had other innovative features, including an engine with oval shaped cylinders, and eventually succumbed to the problems associated with attempting to develop too many new technologies at once. In 1987 John Britten developed

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