Remembering the Playboy, America's First Production Convertible With a Retractable Hardtop

These days, the concept of a convertible with a retractable hardtop is nothing new. During the past three decades, virtually all-important carmakers have added at least one such model to their resumes. Nevertheless, the idea is more than 100 years old, and its origins can be traced back to the U.S. Ben P. Ellerbeck is credited with conceiving a manually-operated system for a Hudson coupe in 1919, but his design never made it into production. Twelve years later, Georges Paulin, a French dentist turned inventor, patented a hydraulically-operated system which eventually made it onto a low-volume production vehicle courtesy of Peugeot.

Back on American shores, Chrysler’s first show car introduced a similar system in 1941, then Ford spent an estimated $2 million (around 257 million today) to take the idea to the streets. Introduced in 1957, the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner was a fascinating model that went down in the automotive history books as the first mass-produced convertible coupe. However, a decade before the Skyliner arrived in dealerships, a small American convertible with a less complex retractable hardtop went into series production in Buffalo, New York.

It all started in 1946 when a Packard dealer by the name of Louis Horwitz decided to capitalize on the growing demand for a small, cheap, and stylish vehicle that post-war families were buying as a second family car. Along with friends Norm Richardson (an experienced mechanic) and Charlie Thomas (a former Pontiac engineer), he formed the Playboy Motor Car Corporation and quickly developed a tiny, two-seat convertible using outsourced parts.

Unveiled at the Statler Hotel in Buffalo in the autumn of 1946, the prototype boasted an advanced coil-sprung suspension system and was powered by an economical rear-mounted Hercules four-cylinder linked to a planetary transmission. With a planned sticker price of around $900 ($11,668 today), the small, chic, and fuel-efficient soft-top convertible gathered some interest but not enough to attract serious investors.

Since it didn’t don the badges of a well-known manufacturer, it needed something truly special in order to stand any chance in the competitive market dominated by Detroit’s established corporations. That turned out to be the retractable hardtop, a novel feature that made the little car unique. Put together by Charlie Thomas in just a few months, the system used a series of hinges that allowed owners to manually fold the two-piece solid metal top, which pivoted down behind the bench seat and locked into place. You can see it in action in the rare video below posted on YouTube by edsonh2000.

With its innovative top, the Playboy convertible went into production in 1947. Unlike the prototype, the series models came with front-mounted engines to make room for the new top system and provide better weight distribution. Measuring 13 feet (3,96 m) in length, it was nearly half the size of a Lincoln Continental, but in many ways, it was way ahead of its time.

Apart from the aforementioned top and coil-sprung suspension (a rarity back then), the Playboy was one of the first production cars to utilize the unibody construction method where the chassis and body are integrated into a single unit.

Power came from either a Hercules or a Continental (later units) 2-liter (92 cu in) inline-four mated to a three-speed manual. With only 40 to 48 hp on tap (depending on the engine), the car would need six seconds to accelerate to 30 mph (48 kph), eleven more to get to 50 mph (80 kph), and some good minutes to reach the 75 mph (121 kph) top speed. However, it was built as an open-top cruiser that could achieve a 35 mpg (6.7 liters) combined. That means it was the most fuel-efficient car built in the U.S., and if we take hybrids out of the equation, it still is pretty impressive today.

Weighing 1,900 lbs (860 kg) and sitting on dinner plate size 12-inch (30 cm) wheels, it was also one of the cheapest passenger cars on the market, so it generated a lot of interest. Sadly, the novel feature wasn't enough to attract potent investors, and Playboy Motor Car struggled to meet demand. Nevertheless, the small company managed to assemble close to 100 units until 1951, when it was forced to declare bankruptcy.

Due to the low production figures, the Playboy Convertible was relegated to the back pages of automotive history books for decades, but the pioneering little car is making a comeback. Collectors recognize it as America's first low-volume production convertible with a retractable hard top, and they are willing to pay for a surviving example in pristine shape. One such example is the baby blue 1948 model featured in this article which sold for $132,000 at an RM Sotheby’s auction in October 2018.