Small convertibles in the 80s

The small convertible became popular in the 1980s. Volume brands decapitated their smallest hatchbacks, often also their compact middle class cars. The Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet and the Talbot Samba, for example, were early arrivals. You probably remember these seven without a roof.

Ford Escort Convertible (1983)

The German body builder Karmann assembles the open Escort for Ford. Initially, the Escort Cabriolet is only available as a sporty XR3i or luxurious Ghia, later more modest versions will also appear, including a simple 1.3.

Fiat Ritmo Convertible (1981)

The Ritmo Cabrio has only been in the showroom as a Fiat for one year. Bertone assembled it and after the facelift in 1982 it continued as Bertone Ritmo Cabrio. That sounds a bit more exclusive.

Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet (1979)

After 330,281 Beetle Cabriolets, Karmann continued in 1979 with the Golf Cabriolet, affectionately called the ‘strawberry basket’. Successfully; When the last Golf I Cabrio left the production line in 1993, the counter stood at 389,000.

Talbot Samba (1982)

The convertible of the Peugeot 104-based Talbot Samba comes from Pininfarina. When the Samba disappears (and shortly afterwards the entire Talbot brand), the Peugeot 205 Cabriolet takes its place.

Renault Alliance Convertible (1985)

You’ve probably never seen this before. For the US and Canada, AMC builds the Renault 9 in Wisconsin as the Renault Alliance. The Convertible is a design by the American Sunroof Company, the company that also developed the first 900 Cabrio for Saab.

Opel Kadett Cabriolet (1987)

Between July 1977 and June 1978, Opel built the Kadett Aero, a convertible limousine with a targa roof. This was only followed up in 1987 when Bertone decapitated the Kadett E for Opel. After the summer of 1991, the Kadett model name was dropped and from then on it was known as Opel Cabrio.

Peugeot 205 Cabriolet (1987)

In the early 1980s, Peugeot rejected a Pininfarina design for the 205 in favor of a design from its own design department. The Italian design house is then responsible for the open variant, both for the design and for the assembly.