The Ford Thunderbird was the original ‘personal luxury car’ and one of the early champions of the vinyl roof’s second coming. The 1962 model was a real thing of beauty. Similarly, the vinyl roof just looks so right on a Ford Cortina. It was a sure sign that a salesman was enjoying a good year.

Delivery is on a selected date, you can choose a delivery day of your choice, up to 10 days in advance (Excluding next day delivery. Postcode restrictions apply) In addition to its practicality and aesthetic appeal, the soft top ensures that the interior of your VW Golf 1 Cabriolet is watertight. If anyone was doubting the coolness factor of a vinyl roof, the Dodge Challenger should mount a very positive case for the defence. Perfection. Indeed, the Lincoln Town Car was one of the last bastions of all that was good/bad about the vinyl roof (delete as applicable). But the vinyl roof wasn’t the preserve of luxury saloons and coupes. Witness this TVR 3000M. Indeed, when TVR created the ‘Martin’ special edition cars – built to commemorate the first decade of Martin Lilley’s ownership of TVR – the cars were painted Rover Tobacco Leaf, with a Rover Mexico Brown model band, finished with a brown vinyl roof. Brown… because the 1970s.

Austin 1100 and 1300

Offering superb performance in a well-designed car at a price far below that of the main continental competitors. The really telling comparison is that the Sprint’s performance is virtually identical with that of the Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV and BMW Tii. It’s exceptional value by any standards.” Of all the cars featured here, we’d humbly suggest that the Dodge Charger is perhaps best suited to a vinyl roof. It just looks right.

Today, DS Automobiles makes a big thing about how you can personalise your DS with any number of options and accessories. But you won’t find a vinyl roof. But that’s not our favourite two-tone Jaguar (sorry, Inspector). Instead, we’re rather partial to the glorious Jaguar XJC, made even better with a vinyl roof. Just try not to think about the moisture gathering under there.

Toyota Celica

All three generations of the Ford Capri were available with a vinyl roof and were best served with a ‘his and hers’ sunstrip and a dixie horn. Things weren’t quite as successful on the second generation Mustang. This 1974 Mustang Ghia features far too much chrome, colour-coded bumpers and a rather bizarre half-vinyl roof. Not nice. In most cases, a soft top needs to be replaced because of signs of aging, wear or tearing of the fabric. Deterioration can also be the result of deliberate action.

The vinyl roof may have been born and raised in the US, but to the Brits it’s steeped in 1970s nostalgia. Think of a vinyl roof and the image in your head is likely to contain a Ford and a distinct tinge of sepia.In 1971, Rover launched the definitive version of the P6 – the 3500S. With a manual gearbox and a V8 engine, this was the P6 to beat all P6s, not to mention any rival you placed before it. Some say the Austin 1300 GT was a forerunner of the hot hatch. Ignoring the fact it didn’t actually have a rear hatch, of course. Either way, we love it, and are pleased to include it here thanks to the vinyl roof that marked it out from lesser 1100 and 1300 models. For carmakers and retailers, it was the ultimate option – a low-cost add-on that could either add to the value of the sale, or be marketed as a no-cost option, giving the consumer the feel of getting something for nothing.