Frameless wonders
Pillarless windows have helped enhance the elegance of many classic coupés over the years, lending them clean lines with the windows up or down.
But they have other advantages, too. Pillarless windows let in more light and fresh air than those with a fixed centre pillar.
So from the world of classic cars, here are some of our favourite pillarless coupés for your viewing pleasure, arranged in chronological order.
1. 1949 Cadillac Coupe Deville
While there had been coachbuilt coupés with pillarless design before the Second World War, Cadillac’s 1949 Coupe Deville was one of the pioneers of this style in a full production car.
Designed by Harley Earl, the Cadillac did away with the B-pillar, which the company claimed was for safety purposes to improve driver vision.
As well as its sleek profile, this Cadillac also became the first model from the company with 160hp courtesy of its 331cu in (5.4-litre) V8 engine, plus it had a top speed of 100mph.
All of this came in at a price that was only $1 less than its Convertible sibling, but plenty of buyers were lured in by the new, sleek pillarless appearance.
2. 1953 Hillman Minx Californian
Bringing a splash of West Coast glamour to High Street Britain, the Hillman Minx Californian borrowed more than just its name from the US.
Inspired by Cadillac, this two-door Minx hardtop featured side windows that both disappeared to leave an uninterrupted space.
This design lent the Minx Californian much of the feel of its full convertible stablemate, but without the body flex of an open-top car. The airy interior ambience was further enhanced by the wraparound rear ’screen.
However, the Hillman’s 1.3- and 1.4-litre engines betrayed that this was a small British car, rather than an American cruiser.
3. 1955 Sunbeam Rapier
Based on the Hillman Minx Californian, the Sunbeam Rapier enjoyed a much longer production run, lasting all the way to 1976 in its final Plymouth Barracuda-inspired derivative.
The Sunbeam added more glitz than the Hillman, plus it also earned sporting credit thanks to its use as a long-distance rally car.
The Rapier was helped in its sporting pretensions by successively larger engines to match its svelte looks.
In 1967, a Rapier H120 performance model was offered with a Holbay-tuned, twin-carburettor 1725cc engine that gave this fastback-style car a top speed of 106mph and 0-60mph in an athletic 11 secs.
4. 1956 Lincoln Continental
Ford fully intended its upscale Lincoln brand to make its mark when it was reintroduced in 1956 after an eight-year absence.
With Bentley, Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce in its sights, the new Lincoln coupé was the most expensive car built in the US at the time and some of this cost was accounted for by its pillarless side-window style.
As well as the compact side rear windows dropping down into the body to leave a clean, uncluttered opening, they were power operated to add a further touch of opulence to this luxury two-door.
5. 1958 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe
Another of Harley Earl’s creations, the Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe was unique from the windscreen pillars back compared to its convertible sibling.
The low roofline of this pillarless two-door emphasised the car’s width, and there was a reverse-angle rear windscreen pillar and wraparound back window for added drama.
The original Impala Sport Coupe was one of the first cars to move away from the large rear-fin design of US cars in the 1950s.
By the time of the third-generation Impala’s arrival in 1961, the Sport Coupe had sharp, fuss-free styling that suited its pillarless looks to a tee.
6. 1961 Mercedes-Benz 220SE Coupé
Compared to the upright styling of the Ponton coupé, Mercedes’ W111 220SE was positively rakish.
Much of this was down to the car’s pillarless side-window design, which went on to become a feature of Mercedes’ coupés for decades to come, as we shall see.
The styling of the 220SE Coupé was by Paul Bracq and offered a spacious, light-filled cabin for four.
Following on from the 220SE, the same basic shape went on to be powered by 3-litre straight-six and 3.5 V8 engines, which carried the design through to 1971.
7. 1962 Buick Skylark
The first Buick Skylark of 1953 was strictly a full convertible, so it wasn’t until 1962 that the model gained an elegant pillarless coupé version.
Although there was a lot in common between the Skylark and its cousins from Pontiac and Oldsmobile, this coupé was unique to the Buick line-up.
The following second-generation Skylark also offered a pillarless two-door hardtop model with more than a little muscle car to its looks and engine power.
Unfortunately, the third series, launched in 1975, morphed into a compact saloon and hatchback range with no coupé model to carry on the tradition.
8. 1964 Plymouth Barracuda
It might not have been the most elegant pony car rival to the Ford Mustang, but Plymouth’s Barracuda did offer buyers a pillarless coupé design.
This style of side window was retained for the second generation of the hardtop coupé model, allowing in some welcome light and fresh air to the rear cabin.
For the third incarnation of the Barracuda that was introduced in 1970, Plymouth fixed the rear windows so they could not be lowered. A small B-pillar was also added to help seal against the door windows when raised.
9. 1964 Pontiac GTO
Offered in three distinct body styles, the Pontiac GTO could be ordered as a coupé, a convertible or as a two-door hardtop with a pillarless side-window design.
While some preferred the fastback looks of the coupé, the hardtop had its own appeal thanks to the large open area when all four windows were wound down.
Either of the first two generations of Pontiac GTO offers the option of a pillarless hardtop body.
They also can be had with engines of up to 400cu in (6.6-litres) to underline this car’s credentials as one of the original muscle cars.
10. 1965 BMW 2000 CS
BMW looked to Wilhelm Hofmeister to create the shape of its 1965 2000 CS coupé, which was then produced by Karmann.
A key part of this car’s effortless style was its pillarless side windows, which also made a feature of the ‘Hofmeister kink’ at the base of the rear window.
While the sophisticated 2000 CS looked the part, it wasn’t until BMW introduced the 2800 CS and 3.0CS in 1968 and 1971 respectively that this stunning shape gained the power to match its looks.
The ultimate version of this pillarless coupé was the 3.0 CSL, which came with Plexiglas side windows as part of its weight-reduction programme for race homologation.
11. 1966 Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet’s answer to the Ford Mustang was the handsome Camaro, which was offered as a convertible or a coupé.
The latter came with wind-down rear windows to give a clean pillarless-coupé look, though earlier models made up to 1967 also had a front quarterlight in the doors.
Later cars from the first-generation production run did away with this to give an even sleeker appearance.
When Chevrolet replaced the first Camaro with the second-generation car in 1970, the coupé’s body shape had no rear side windows. As a result, there was a much thicker rear pillar.
12. 1968 Dodge Charger
Dodge might have been slower out of the blocks than Ford with its mid-sized performance car, but the Charger made up for it with its fastback style.
A key element of this was the pillarless-window design, which gave the Charger a fuss-free profile.
The second-generation Charger arrived in 1968 with an even sharper look, which was made famous in the film Bullitt and television series The Dukes of Hazzard.
The styling by Richard Sias retained the pillarless looks despite Chrysler’s money-saving efforts by using a fixed rear bench seat, and deleting the centre armrest and rev counter.
13. 1968 Holden Monaro
Regardless of which version of the 1968 Holden Monaro you picked from the base, GTs or GTS 327 models, all came with a pillarless fastback design.
It was a simple, good-looking car with its looks penned by John Schinella and gave Australian performance fans a car all their own, because it was unique to the local market.
A revised model arrived in mid-1969 and then a new second-generation Monaro was launched in 1971 that retained the pillarless style.
This lasted through to 1977 and there was then a hiatus until the third-generation Monaro was offered in 2001, but this later car did without the pillarless design of its predecessors.
14. 1970 Toyota Celica
Keen to come up with a rival to the Ford Capri, Toyota conjured up the Celica, and mixed European and US styling themes for its notchback coupé shape.
A defining element of this first Celica was the pillarless window style that gave the coupé a selling point that not even Ford could offer in this sector.
Based on the Carina, the Celica came with a choice of 1.6- and 2-litre engines. The larger of this pair of motors was standard for the Liftback version in the UK, which swapped the notchback model’s booted looks for a fastback shape.
15. 1971 Renault 17
The 17 might not have been Renault’s most elegant coupé ever, but it redeemed itself with its pillarless design that added a splash of chic to its side profile.
It also allowed in plenty of fresh air to the four-seat cabin, and this could be augmented with an optional fold-back canvas roof.
The Renault 17 was also notable for being the marque’s first front-wheel-drive coupé model, offered with 1.6-litre engines including a 106bhp version for the Gordini model.
One other standout feature for the 17 was the early car’s individually hooded dash instruments, which were later dropped for a rather more mundane binnacle surround.
16. 1972 Mazda RX-4
The RX-4 was the name used for the Mazda Luce coupé in most markets outside Japan.
At home, it continued with the Luce name, which was first used on the very pretty Giugiaro-styled R130 model that was only built in very limited numbers.
Like its predecessor, the 1972 RX-4 stuck with a pillarless hardtop style to give it a sporting appearance.
These looks were backed up by a rotary engine which helped the car achieve 0-60mph in 8 secs and a top speed of 125mph.
17. 1973 Jaguar XJC
The graceful Jaguar XJC was first seen in 1973 and slated for sale in 1974, but the first production cars didn’t reach customers until 1975.
The reason for the delay was the pillarless-window design, which took a lot of work to make weather and noise tight.
However you judge the launch date of this pillarless coupé, there’s no doubting it oozed louche appeal by combining the luxury and comfort of the XJ saloon with a more sporting body style.
Jaguar broadened the XJC’s appeal as much as possible by offering it with both the 4.2-litre straight-six and 5.3 V12, as well as in Jaguar and Daimler versions.
18. 1976 Mitsubishi/Colt Sapporo
Known as Colt in the UK, Mitsubishi was responsible for the Sapporo coupé that arrived in 1976.
Its pillarless design gave it a welcome breath of fresh air in its styling and for the four-seat cabin.
The Sapporo was sold as the GSR with a manual gearbox and the GSL with an auto, and the second-generation arrived in 1980 to carry this model through to its end in 1985.
Later cars came with a turbocharged 2-litre engine, though the chassis was not really up to the job so most buyers opted for the Starion instead.
19. 1977 Mercedes-Benz 123-series
While Mercedes’ SLC large coupé had carried on the pillarless legacy started by the 1961 W111, this R107-derived coupe didn’t quite make the most of the window style due to its slated rear quarter panels.
When the smaller 123-based coupé arrived in 1977, Mercedes did not repeat this mistake and the range enjoyed fully open sides with front and rear windows retracted.
Using the same platform as the saloon, but shortened by 10cm (4in), the coupé offered a cushy ride and neat handling.
20. 1981 Mercedes-Benz SEC
The SEC was the first coupé derived from the Mercedes S-Class saloon and it made full use of that car’s engines and technology
As well as equipment such as airbags and ABS anti-lock brakes, the 126-series SEC’s lines were spot on, thanks to a 10cm (4in) shorter wheelbase and its pillarless side-window design.
Buyers queued up to order the Bruno Sacco-styled coupé and the majority went straight to the top of the line to choose the 500SEC.
When the 560 version was added in 1985, that took over as the favourite among Mercedes’ well-heeled coupé customers.
21. 1989 BMW 8 Series
The 8 Series represented a clear push upmarket by BMW from the 6 Series that had served the company well for 13 years.
As a way to distinguish the 8 Series, and perhaps inspired by Mercedes’ SEC coupé, BMW gave the car pillarless side windows, which really suited its rakish lines.
With the 8 Series, BMW perfected the pillarless arrangement thanks to an early example of computer-aided design allied to hours of wind-tunnel testing.
The result was a four-seat coupé that was effortlessly refined with the windows raised, that also looked supremely stylish when they were lowered.
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