The Mercury Breezeway’s Breezeway slantback rear window may have been just a short breath of recycled (from the Lincoln) air in the US styling continuum, but it made a bigger and more lasting impact abroad. Harry Potter’s favorite (wheeled) ride, the Ford Anglia (1959 – 1967), had a perfectly scaled down version, minus the complicated Breezeway window of course. That was strictly an expensive toy for those well-heeled yanks. Other manufacturers took aim with a cleaver on their clays as well:
Typically for the French, the Citroen Ami takes the idea to its most eccentric and daring extreme. The whole trunk is practically covered here.
Ford of England was particularly keen on it, and the larger Consul Classic (1961 – 1963) proudly showed off its slantback, as well as a star-studded grille. I fancy that.
That famous British maker of fibreglass three-wheelers, Reliant (formerly Bond), also got in the act. Their Regal appeared a few years later sporting a very Anglia-esque rear roofline.
Here’s one next to an Anglia. Now that’s what Harry should have been driving/flying.
And let’s not forget the Invacar, a specially designed scooter for war-injured invalids. A minor redesign in the later sixties sported the popular theme here too.
Maybe island nations had a particular thing for the slantback. In Japan, the Mazda 360 Carol took up the theme.
Now I just know I’m forgetting someone else out there. It’s still early here.
Thanks to a commentator, here’s the one I forgot, the Toyota Will VI. Now why didn’t they bring that to the US?
I wonder if in smaller cars of the 1960s it was done to preserve rear headroom along with being a styling gimmick. Out of all of them I think it works on the Consul Classic best. Maybe because I always liked the 1960 Ford shrunk in a dryer look of those.
Paul, you are amazing and have a real talent for making my day. Thanks for these pics, the are so cool!
Great pics – I see that the first Anglia shown has a current Danish license plate. Some Dane has really enjoyed and cared for his old Anglia, it appears.
Wow, amazing, what a cool piece!
The ’92-’97 Honda Del Sol’s rear window rolls down, making this 2-place targa into a roll-bar convertible. But it’s not a slantback, the window is 20 degrees or so slant-forward. (I just checked the one out in the parking lot) Does the Del Sol count?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HHonda_Del_Sol_2-04-2008_16-33-15.jpg
PS: This is “Rear Window” week of course.
That’s more like a tunnel-back, which Pininfarina’s Dino started:
Thanks, I knew you’d shown us the first example of such a top, but couldn’t place it.
So besides those Mercs and Contis and the Del Sol, who else had roll-down ‘Breezeway’ rear windows?
The roll down rear window goes back to the days of the model A. It first showed up in 1930 on deluxe coupes and may have been optional on standard models. Of course it didn’t have the rearward slant, it was pretty much vertical.
Every time I start to think I really know my cars, up comes an article like this. Fabulously obscure stuff which is a lot of fun to look at.
Actually, I am kind of amazed that the Rancheros and El Caminos never used a roll-down back window.
Wow never seen a 2 door Consul classic a Capri fast back yes but not the sedan good find rare car rust lovedf these over here and survivors are rare. Angle boxes are common enough and were very popular when I was younger for getting Cortina engine transplants and various other parts bin upgrades an Anglia in the right hands really will fly and is still a popular pre 65 race car
Well, technically it’s the Mercury body, but the Canadian Meteor used the roof in 1964 only, in both Breezeway and non-Breezeway versions, as shown here. For 1965, Meteors used the Ford roof grafted on the Merc body.
I still remember the shock, the first time I saw the back window on that “new” Anglia. It really took some getting used to. One of the coachbuilding companies did a conversion that turned it into a fastback-hatch , but it was quite expensive for a cheap car so it didn’t enjoy much success.
Fast back conversions were a common sight on race Anglias to improve thr aerodynamics
You know, all I can say is: GOOD LORD!
Toyota Wil VI – lots in New Zealand (yes – another island nation, go figure)
Congratulations! I really did know I was forgetting someone. Thanks.
Its unlikely Toyota expected the WILL to ever escape Japan but yep they are in NZ as used imports
Brilliant! The Breezeway CC immediately put me in mind of the Anglia (my parents’ second car, and one of those vehicles – like my grandfather’s Hilman Imp – which I immediately think of in family terms in spite of not having been born when we owned it!) but this is a brilliant round up.
The Invacar was an unexpected blast from the past of my actual memories (rather than familial ones). Several of these were still puttering around Doncaster when I was growing up in the early 80s. I distinctly remember listening to my mother explaining that they were special cars for people who’d been injured in the war when I’d asked (from the back seat of our FIAT 127) why those funny little cars were always blue.
This is some great trivia. Maybe the reverse-canted rear window looks good on the Breezeway because the roof is small compared to the overall size of the car, but I think all these other cars look awful. Next time someone says that a Gremlin looks bad, I should show them a picture of a Citroen Ami. 🙂
Funny. I was thinking the reverse: the Breezeway’s proportions look decidedly odd from a European perspective, especially in profile: it’s like someone stretched it out longwise below the beltline but forgot the greenhouse.
All a matter of perspective I s’pose
The second generation Renault Megane certainly had that bustle-back feel:
One minor correction Paul, Reliant bought out Bond in 1969
Right! And fixed; thanks.
Great stuff, Paul, but a minor quibble. The “tunnel back” or “sugar scoop” had been found on a number of Detroit cars before the Dino came out, I think. 68 Charger and Corvette come to mind, and I bet there are older GM cars with the same detail. A cool later treatment of this look is the “flying buttress” back of an XJ-S.
You’re teasing me with the the Imp stories! I’m determined to get you something this weekend on my namesake…thanks as always.
The tunnelback goes back to earlier competition Ferraris, like this 1963 250 LM.Its origins go back to the Pininfarina Florida Coupe of 1955:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/pininfarinas-revolutionary-florida-the-most-influential-design-since-1955/
In any case,GM did not originate this.
So I see! I should just refer to your piece on the Florida before making any statements about where 60s styling details came from…