When the Unimog was still „topless“.

Summer, sun, cabriolet. That was so much fun! Driving the Unimog – with the soft top folded down. However, the folding top installed ex works in the first Unimog (U25, model series 70200) was never meant for driving pleasure. It was simply installed for pragmatic reasons. It ensured a low loading height for rail and air transport and, in the post-war period, this cab was easy and inexpensive to produce. A closed all-steel version would have required costly moulded parts that would have significantly increased the production costs of the Unimog.

Simply practical.

Basically, the cab of the then new Unimog was a novelty compared to conventional tractors. It offered excellent weather protection, had upholstered seats and a windscreen with windscreen wipers. Not to mention the fully-fledged front passenger seat. For the primary use of the Unimog in agriculture and forestry intended at the time, the cab offered excellent visibility overall and enabled a very low vehicle height thanks to the optional folding down of the
windscreen.

From 1953, as an alternative to the open cab, there was also a closed all-steel variant (type „B“) for model series 401 and 402. Customers from the municipal, fire brigade and industrial sectors tended to prefer this variant. The open-top versions were primarily intended for agriculture and forestry and non-civilian applications. Both variants were used almost equally in the construction industry.Success models and performance plus.The subsequent model series 404 (from 1955), 411 (from 1956), 406 (from 1963), 416 (from 1965), 403 (from 1966), 421 (from 1966) and 413 (from 1969) were also optionally available with an all-steel cab and an open cab with a folding top or a hardtop. Licence versions 431 (from 1969) and 426 (from 1968) from Argentinian production offered the same options. The available double cabs for some model series were also available in both variants – for example for the 404 model series.

Everyone wants a convertible.

The open cab of the 406/416 model series also served as a basic version for special cabs. Examples include the Mulag panoramic cab with larger visible surfaces and cabs for snow blowers with auxiliary motors, such as those from Schmidt/St. Blasien. With the introduction of model series 424, 425 and 435 from the mid-70s, the open cab variants were omitted from the standard product range. However, there have always been open-top versions of these and the following Unimog model series for certain customer groups.

The very individual examples from the recreational vehicle and motorsport sectors are eye-catchers here. Unimog truck trials, camper vans and expedition vehicles on the Unimog are still being converted into „cabriolets“ by hobby mechanics today. Of course, driving pleasure has long played a role here.