The Ford Skyliner was an innovative full-size automobile with a retractable hardtop produced by the Ford Motor Company in the late 1950s. Based on the North American Ford Fairlane, the Skyliner had a complex mechanism which folded the front of the roof and retracted it under the rear decklid. This mechanism was prone to failure, and the large top took up vast amounts of trunk space, limiting the car's sales. But the concept of a retractable hardtop had much appeal and was resurrected in the 1990s with the Mitsubishi GTO and Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class also appearing in other later vehicles.
The Skyliner, which was produced for model years 1957, 1958, and 1959, had a squared-off roofline style that was admired by the public and found its way onto most Ford two-door hardtops until 1965, including the Thunderbird, Galaxie, and Fairlane.
The Skyliner name was previously applied to another Fairlane derivative, the Crown Victoria Skyliner. This vehicle had a clear acrylic glass roof panel over the front row of seats.
Today, the Skyliner has become a very valuable collectible car, with high-point restored specimens costing upwards of $50,000 (2006).
