Did you know that T-Tops were actually invented in the 1940s, years before your Uncle Wade was even born.
71 years ago was the world’s first glimpse of a craze that took over the global car culture of the 70s, 80s, & 90s.
▴2 Long before Smokey & Forrest Gump’s mom headed East bound and down, Gordon M Buehrig, an engineer for The American Sportscar Company - “TASCO”, wanted to feel the wind his hair, but didn’t want his car to sacrifice structural rigidity and the pesky weight gain inherent with a convertible top.
He came up with the clever idea of having two manually removable and storable panels, which drew out a “T” in the roof, providing BOTH driver and passenger an open air experience, yet maintaining structural rigidity. Two birds. One stone.
TASCO created a prototype inspired by the body of an airplane and the body of a submarine, and Buehrig made sure there were two removable roof panels, making the 1948 TASCO prototype the first ever car with a T-Top. Check it out in the second image above!
▴3 It took another 20 years before the T-Top became available to the general public with the 1968 Corvette where they gained such popularity that Chevy actually decided to DECREASE production of the convertible Corvette from 1975 to 1986!
▴4 While a T-Top Vette is definitely an American classic, the award for the most iconic T-Top has to go to the 2nd generation Pontiac Firebird featured in the classic Smokey and the Bandit.
▴5 In addition to the Corvette and Firebird, there also was a T-Top Ford Mustang! Performance cars weren't the only cars getting T-Top love. This craze trickled down to everyday cars like the Ford Thunderbird, although Ford called it a T-Roof.
▴6 The trend went global, when British and Japanese cars, such as the Triumph Stag and fan favorite Toyota MR2 ▴7, gave love to the T-Top. The good times came to an end and the last T-Top rolled off the Pontiac line in 2002.