When the professor first test-drove the Land Rover Defender 90 last year, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was equipped with a huge cloth retractable canopy, and the open rear compartment was as transparent as a convertible.
But after all, it is only the replacement of the panoramic skylight with a panoramic cloth roof, which is still a lot worse than the real convertible; but since there is such a configuration, there may be owners who want the real convertible.
So body customization company Heritage Customs launched such a product , Valiance Convertible , based on the Land Rover Defender 90 soft-top convertible SUV.
Since it was not an official land Rover special model, Heritage Customs needed to purchase a production version of the Land Rover Defender 90, then completely cut off the half-cut roof of its B-pillar and replace it with a new folding soft top device.
Perhaps due to the need to maintain the rigidity of the frame, this convertible guard will still retain the enclosed front cockpit after the modification, and the convertible is limited to the rear.
According to reports, the standard price of a Valiance Convertible without tax is 138,500 euros, which is converted into about 958,300 yuan at the current exchange rate, and it is not known whether the price includes the Land Rover Defender 90 required for the transformation, so this is really not something that the average rich can afford to play.
But what is certain is that this special retrofit model, which will only build 5 units this year, will sell out quickly.
However, the professor believes that there must be many friends who think that only the rear half of the open top is not enough to pull the wind, especially after seeing the following models...
Aurora convertible
The Valiance Convertible is a modification product from a third-party custom maker, while Land Rover has launched the official convertible SUV many years ago, the Range Rover Evoque Convertible.
The two-door convertible SUV was first unveiled as a concept car at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, and was mass-produced and launched in 2016, with a domestic starting price of 698,000 yuan. At that time, the ordinary version of the Range Rover Evoque had been domestically produced, so the Range Rover Evoque Convertible version became the only imported model and one of the most popular SUVs on the market.
Although such an Aurora convertible version was highly topical in China that year, its sales were very average. Not only because the price starting from 698,000 yuan is high, but also because the combination of SUV + convertible is too strange, and the average person really can't accept it in a short period of time.
In particular, the 2.0T engine that can output 241 horsepower and the 9AT hand automatic transmission are basically the same as the ordinary Range Rover Evoque in the same period, and have not been powered by the identity of the convertible, making the Aurora Convertible look very sporty, but the actual performance has not improved.
However, with this huge folding soft top, the 360-degree dead-angle sky obtained after opening the canopy and the return rate comparable to the top supercar are not given by the average Land Rover model. And this model is now priced at about 350,000 to 430,000 in the second-hand market, and as a niche model, the retention rate is still quite high.
Nissan Loulan
If you push forward a few years, you can see other convertible SUVs of the same type on the domestic market.
For example, Nissan Loulan, although many consumers have difficulty accepting the styling design of the pioneers of the previous generation of models, this made it one of the most personalized SUV designed in the domestic market at that time, and the launch of the open-top version pushed its maverick to a new height.
This unique convertible version, called the Loulan CrossCabriolet, was first released at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, and because the Loulan itself does not have a ready-made three-door version like the Range Rover Evoque, Nissan needed to make a drastic modification to the loulan body structure.
Not only did the five doors change to double doors, but also redesigned the waistline of the body and the front face and tail to match the shape of the folding soft top, and also matched with a more sporty 20-inch large wheels.
It can be seen that Nissan still spent a lot of thought on the Loulan open top version.
However, Nissan also did not upgrade the power system of this model, using a 3.5L naturally aspirated V6 engine, with a CVT stepless transmission, its maximum output power is only 265Ps, which is lower than the domestic production of the same period lou lan (310Ps).
The size of this good size of the convertible SUV was introduced into the country in 2012, the dealer offered up to 698,000 yuan, more than 210,000 yuan more expensive than the ordinary version of Loulan, the cost performance is really low.
Therefore, few people with a large budget and want to show a high degree of personality have chosen this model, and there is almost no trace of it on the second-hand market, I am afraid that the consumers who bought it at that time are true love fans.
If you can really find one in the second-hand market, the return rate that can be brought by buying it is not comparable to buying a Porsche at the same price.
Mercedes G-Class
And the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is a convertible SUV (or should it be called an off-road vehicle?). ) of the old players, as early as the first generation of models have used a storageable soft top on some models.
The original convertible design of this off-road vehicle originated from the military model, which is more like a tarpaulin layer on a steel pipe welded frame than an open top.
Later, when the Mercedes-Benz G-Class developed into the W461 era after 1992, the serious folding storage soft top finally appeared on the G-Class. However, the G-Class still does not have the audacity to use bezelless doors, and because of the need to consider safety issues, the roll cage above the roof has become one of the exterior features of this convertible off-road vehicle, which looks a bit like a Porsche 911 Targa.
It is also from this generation of models that some domestic consumers have brought some G-class convertible versions to China through small trade channels, becoming one of the most personalized off-road vehicles in the domestic market at that time.
The difference between these convertible G-class and ordinary G-class is only in the convertible mechanism, and its body size and mechanical quality are basically consistent with the ordinary hardtop version of the G-class. In the case of the G500 Convertible, for example, the robust V8 engine and the three differential locks that ensure extreme pass performance are not absent.
With this folding soft top, the G-class is no longer as "functional" as the traditional square box shape, but adds a bit of playful atmosphere, more in line with its high-end positioning as a Mercedes-Benz model.
And since it comes to the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, it is necessary to talk about hardcore off-road vehicles. Because for hardcore off-road vehicles, convertibles are really not very rare.
Jeep Wrangler
For example, Jeep's model, the Wrangler, is a model that can achieve a fully convertible. And the "full open top" that the professor said really means to open the roof completely.
Because the Wrangler adopts a very hardcore removable cover design, the roof and doors can be removed by simple operation, and the front windshield can even be lowered, exposing the frame structure under the body cover.
In this way, the Wrangler's cab becomes a completely open form.
The role of this type of hardcore convertible is not purely to pull the wind like the previous models, but the convertible structure provides the driver with a wider view when traversing the field, making it easier for the driver to judge the terrain around the body and find the best route to pass.
Especially for Wranglers, if the doors are removed at the same time, the driver can even easily see the side of the body when off-road, except for the front and rear of the car that cannot be removed, there is almost no visual dead end.
This open-top method is not exclusive to a particular model at a certain moment, and all Wranglers can achieve the thrill of opening the carriage like this, but the professor believes that not many users will do this during their daily commute, after all, if it suddenly rains, it will take a lot of time to reinstall the roof that is divided into several pieces.
Beijing BJ40
If you feel that the prices of several imported models mentioned above are too high for ordinary people to enjoy the fun of convertible SUVs/off-road vehicles; then you can take a look at the Beijing BJ40.
This compact off-road vehicle was designed to target the Jeep Wrangler at the beginning of the design, not only adopting a similar square box shape in the exterior design, but also restoring the Wrangler's classic detachable roof, door and folding windshield design.
Although there is still a gap with the Wrangler in terms of the convenience of disassembly and assembly, the two are still relatively close in terms of the final effect achieved.
The BJ40 also has a non-load-bearing body structure and provides four-wheel drive versions to choose from, the top model even has a front and rear axle differential locks, combined with the front double wishbone rear five-link non-independent suspension suspension structure, BJ40 as long as slightly modified, is also a good off-road master.
Write at the end
However, in any case, in most of the scenes of daily use of the car, the convertible will never become a practical equipment, but more of a pleasant mood configuration.
If you really want to have a strange combination of SUVs/off-road vehicles + convertibles, then there are still some models on the market to choose from; but if you just want to experience it, then the professor remembers that there will be a lot of BAIC-made convertible off-road vehicles available for rent on the Erhai Sea in Dali, Yunnan, which can be experienced all day in one or two hundred, or quite grounded.