A roadster is an open (without a fixed roof or side weather protection) two-seat car with emphasis on sporty handling. While roadsters usually have soft-tops, retractable hard-tops are becoming more common.[1]
[edit] Design history
In 1916, the Society of Automobile Engineers defined a roadster as: "an open car seating two or three. It may have additional seats on running boards or in rear deck."[2] Additional seating in the rear deck was known as a rumble seat or a dickey seat. A roadster is still defined as an open car with two seats.[3][4]
Roadster bodies were offered on automobiles of all sizes and classes, from mass market cars like the Ford Model T and the Austin 7 to extremely expensive cars like the Cadillac V-16, the Duesenberg Model J, and even the Bugatti Royale. They are popular with collectors, often valued over other open styles.[citation needed]
| Traditional roadsters |
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Specifications of a Stearns 45 roadster
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1932 Duesenberg J Murphy-bodied roadster
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Traditionally, roadsters did not have windows; in some instances, they did not have doors. A few manufacturers and fabricators still offer roadsters that meet the strict description. These include Morgan, with the windowless Roadster, Caterham, with the doorless Seven, and Ariel, with the bodyless Atom. Despite these examples, the traditional roadster has been superseded by two-seat convertibles with side windows that retract into the doors. These convertibles, including the Alfa Romeo Spider, MGB, and Triumph TR4, have been accepted as roadsters. The term "roadster" now covers all two-seat convertibles, including those with power tops or retractable hardtops.[citation needed]
| Modern roadsters |
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BMW Z1 limited production roadster
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Third generation Mazda MX-5 with power retractable hard top (PRHT) |
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[edit] Hot rod roadsters
The American hot rod is based on pre-World War II roadsters and coupes. Late run Model Ts and 1932 Fords were the most popular starting points.
[edit] Championship race cars
The term roadster applies to front-engined AAA/USAC Championship Cars, associated with the Indianapolis 500. The Roadster engine and drive shaft are offset from the centerline of the car. This allows the driver to sit lower in the chassis thus facilitating a weight offset which is beneficial on oval tracks. A mechanic might ride beside the driver.
1957 Kurtis Indy Roadster
One story of why this type of racing car is referred to as a "roadster" is that a team was preparing a new car for the Indianapolis 500. They had it covered in a corner of their shop. If they were asked about their car they would try and obscure its importance by saying that it was just their (hot rod) "roadster". After the Indianapolis racer was made public, the "roadster" name was still attached to it.
Frank Kurtis built the first roadster to race the 1952 Indianapolis 500. It was driven by Bill Vukovich who led for most of the race until a steering failure eliminated him. The Kurtis team went on to win the 1953 and 1954 contests with the same car. A. J. Watson and Quinn Epperly were other notable Roadster constructors.
Roadsters had disappeared from competition by the end of the 1960s, after the introduction, and subsequent domination, of rear-engined machines. The last roadster to make the race was built and driven by Jim Hurtubise in the 1968 race and dropped out early. Hurtubise attempted to run the same car in 1969 but, while making his qualifying run at a very good speed, the engine failed on the last of the four laps. The car was entered many times after that but was never seriously considered fast enough to start. Some pavement midgets were built and raced into the early 1970s but never were dominant.
[edit] See also
- Barchetta, a related two-seater body style designed primarily for racing
- Convertible, the general term to describe vehicles with retractable roofs and retractable side-windows
- Roadster utility
- Tonneau cover, a protective cover for the seats in an open car.
[edit] References
- ^ Boeriu, Horatiu. "Video: BMW Roadster History".
- ^ "What's What in Automobile Bodies Officially Determined" (pdf). The New York Times (New York, NY USA). Nomenclature Division, Society of Automobile Engineers. August 20, 1916. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved 2012-05-31. "Here it is, with other body types and distinctions, officially determined recently by the Nomenclature Division of the Society of Automobile Engineers:"
- ^ Elaine Pollard, ed. (1994). "R". The Oxford Paperback Dictionary (fourth ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. p. 692. ISBN 0-19-280012-4. "roadster noun an open car without rear seats."
- ^ Sandra Anderson et. al., ed. (2006). "R". Collins Concise Dictionary & Thesaurus (fourth ed.). Glasgow, UK: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 740. ISBN 978-0-00-722971-0. "roadster n an open car with only two seats"
[edit] External links
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