Volkswagen : Let the sunshine in! The panoramic sunroof is a re-interpretation of the legendary folding soft top

At the beginning there was the 'rolling sunroof'. Photos from 1938 already show a 'cabrio-saloon' version of the later Beetle on test drives in the Austrian Alps and at the founding of the Volkswagen factory. So the idea of a saloon with a folding sunroof is part of the brand's DNA. Starting in 1950, Volkswagen customers could order a 'sunroof saloon' based on the Beetle for an extra price of 250 German Marks. It was equipped with a folding roof supplied by the roof specialist Golde from Frankfurt. It was a 'folding roof' because when it was opened, it would fold up toward the rear.

Over the next decades, steel and small glass sliding roofs took on the task of providing fresh air and sunlight. By 1994, the folding roof idea would experience a renaissance in the third generation Polo. The 'open air' version made a favourable impression with its electric actuation. The Lupo introduced in 1998 also had this roof system. Even more clever was the roof hydraulics of the Volkswagen Eos that drove into the sunlight in spring 2006. It combined a five-part folding metal roof with an integrated tilt/sliding glass sunroof, which enabled, for the first time, a light-filled interior ambience even when the roof was up.

With the glass panoramic sunroofs offered by Volkswagen today, most saloon, MPV and SUV customers have long been able to drive away the autumn blues with a lot of light. Whether in the new Polo - with its enlarged glass surface compared to the previous model - or the new T-Roc or also just introduced Tiguan Allspace, the electric tilt/slide sunroofs - which open toward the rear - create the desired open-air effect. And if it is raining or is simply too cold, it lets daylight through even when closed. This has made the panoramic sunroof the folding roof of a contemporary era, which can be ordered in any of the Volkswagen model series offered today - and not just ideally in golden October.