The roofline of the 1962-64 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe was carefully sculpted to mimic a folding convertible top, and the look was a hit.

In 1949, General Motors created a new body style with its pillarless hardtops for Buick and Cadillac, following up in 1950 with Chevrolet’s version, the Bel Air. With their low windshield heights and open greenhouses, these GM pillarless coupes emulated the look of a convertible, earning the nickname “hardtop convertible.” Oxymoronic, perhaps, but the odd label captured the flavor of the look, and the pillarless hardtop became one of  the hot Motor City styling trends of the fifties.

1962 Impala Sport Coupe

For 1962, Bill Mitchell’s GM styling crew circled back to the original 1949 premise with a hardtop design that even more closely simulated a convertible. The roofline and C-pillar were styled to mimic the lines of a GM folding convertible top in the up position, and there was even a pair of fine creases stamped into in the sheet metal above the backlite to suggest top bows underneath. Here was a folding fabric top, in effect, but fashioned in cold-rolled steel.

At Chevrolet, the new roof was first applied to the 1962 Impala Sport Coupe, where it replaced the thin-pillared hardtop featured in the previous year. Meanwhile, the older style hardtop (“bubble-top” among collectors) was continued for one more year on the mid-range Bel Air, then discontinued. While the convertible-look hardtop is most closely associated with Chevrolet, it was used on some ’62-’64 Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick models as well. However, here we’re focused on the Chevy.

1963 Impala Sport Coupe

While the 1963 full-sized Chevrolets featured all-new exterior sheet metal from the beltline down, the roof and greenhouse on the Impala Sport Coupe were carried forward with no changes. The Chevy people had a hit on their hands with the ragtop hardtop in ’62, and they weren’t messing with it in ’63. Nearly 400,000 Impala Sport Coupes were sold that year.

Adding to the Sport Coupe’s broad appeal was Chevrolet’s generous variety of available engines, from a 230 CID six to the 409 CID with dual four-barrel carbs, a solid-lifter camshaft, and 425 hp. More than 150,000 Sport Coupes were equipped with the Z03 Super Sport option, which at the time was essentially a $53 appearance package with distinctive badges and wheel covers (bucket seats for $102 more).

The convertible-look Sports Coupe continued in ’64, still using the same glass and sheet metal, and sales remained strong at nearly 450,000 cars. However, this proved to be final year for the simulated ragtop theme. Chevrolet’s full-sized styling was taking a whole new direction for 1965, with a dynamic shape and a more integrated roofline.

1964 Impala Sport Coupe