Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner

The Ford Skyliner Retractable was only the second car in history to be mass-produced produced with a retractable hardtop; the first to reach four and five digit mass-production numbers, and the first series produced coupé convertible to feature a roof composed of more than one segment. Additionally, the trunk-lid also consisted of two pieces — one segment took the place where other convertibles typically had a separate lid to cover the soft-top stowage compartment. Both the folding roof and trunk-lid are power operated through an exceptionally complex system. At the time of its introduction, the Skyliner was the only true hardtop convertible in the world.[3]

Part of the Ford Fairlane 500 range, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. No hydraulic mechanisms were used as in regular convertibles of the era. The Skyliner top has seven reversible electric motors (only six for 1959 models [4]), four lift jacks, a series of relays, ten limit switches, ten solenoids, four locking mechanisms for the roof and two locking mechanisms for the trunk lid,[5] and a total of 610 ft (185.9 m) of wiring.[6] The large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales (however, unlike what most people believe, the mechanism had decent reliability).[5][7][8] Production totaled 20,766 units in 1957, declining to 14,713 in 1958 and to 12,915 in 1959.[8] An electric clock was standard.[9] Fuel consumption was around 14 mpg_‑US (17 L/100 km; 17 mpg_‑imp) overall.[5] The fuel tank was placed vertically in back of the rear seat, which inadvertently added safety in rear collisions.[7]

The wheelbase of the Skyliner was 118 in (3,000 mm) and the overall length was 210.8 in (5,350 mm).[6][10]

1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner with both the Galaxie and Fairlane 500 badges

During the 1959 model year the Galaxie series was added to Ford’s full-size range and the Skyliner model was absorbed into that series.[9][11] Although the 1959 Galaxie was designated as a separate series,[11] Galaxies carried both “Fairlane 500” and “Galaxie” badging, on the rear and sides respectively.[12] It came with the standard 292 cu in (4.8 L) 2-barrel 200 hp (149 kW; 203 PS) V8 engine.[9]

The design attracted more attention than sales; the option was expensive, suspected to be unreliable, and took up almost all the trunk space when retracted. It required the roof to be made shorter than the other Fords, and the trunk to be larger. This was because the design was originally to be a Continental coupe.[13][14] Projected losses of the retractable roof Continental resulted in a decision to restyle the vehicle, from the bottom of the windows down, as a member of the Fairlane 500 family because it could attract more buyers as a Ford with more reasonable retail price compared to adding extra costs to the already expensive retail price of a Lincoln Continental.[15] The solid roof pillar of the Skyliner is similar to the appearance of 2nd generation Ford Thunderbirds of 1958-1960.

Although the actual mechanical differed, the Skyliner's retractable roof design was adopted for the Lincoln Continental convertibles of 1961-67.

The following engines, all V8s, were available on the Fairlane 500 Skyliner.

Two manual transmissions, a three-speed and three-speed with overdrive were available, as well as three-speed Ford-O-Matic automatic transmission. Starting in 1958, Cruise-O-Matic was added, which provided a second "drive" range ("D2"), allowing for an intermediate gear start.[6]

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  1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
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  1958 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner
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  1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner

The Skyliner name had been used by Ford on earlier models, namely the two-door hardtop Crestline Skyliner of 1954 and the Fairlane Crown Victoria Skyliner coupe of 1955 and 1956. These models feature a clear acrylic glass roof panel over the front seats.

• Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner at the Internet Movie Cars Database
• International Ford Retractable Club