Liftback

A liftback is a variation of a hatchback car body style, with a more gently sloping roofline, roughly between 45 and 10 degrees, whereas traditional or archetypal hatchback designs tend to use a 45 degree to near vertical slope^{[citation needed]} on the top-hinged tailgate (often called, and even counted as, a rear 'door' on hatchbacks).

As such, a liftback is essentially a hatchback with a gently sloping roof, with a side profile like that of

The liftback design combines a sedan or coupé with the rear hatch versatility of a hatchback. Liftbacks generally have more cargo space than the typically shorter bodied hatchbacks, and more space-use flexibility than conventional three-box sedans – but don't offer the space of a more square and boxy station wagon / estate variant of the same model. The aerodynamics of liftbacks can be more closely tear-drop shaped than those of hatchbacks, which due to their steeper down-sloped rears, more often end with a type of Kammback.

History

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In 1973, Toyota invented the liftback term to describe the sloping roofline variation of the Celica with a tailgate hinged at the roof, as opposed to the regular hardtop coupe variation which was introduced three years earlier.^[1][2][3] As its roofline slope is uninterrupted, it can also be defined as a fastback-styled hatchback.

Liftback versus fastback

The term

Some feel the slope of the rear window is a key determinant in the term liftback, in which the rear cargo door, or hatch, is horizontally angled. As a result, the hatch is lifted more upwards than backwards to open, a lifting action.[7]

Skoda Rapid liftback. Note how the tailgate is hinged from the roof and the rear window is lifted along with the rest of the tailgate. It is not a fastback as it does not have an uninterrupted slope in the roofline.

A 1974 Leyland P76

. It can be considered both a liftback (the tailgate is hinged from the roof) and a fastback (the roofline is an uninterrupted slope).

Europe

Opel Vectra C as a 4-door sedan (top) and a 5-door liftback (bottom). The length of the rear overhang is the same, and so are other dimensions of the car.

Liftbacks were the mainstay of manufacturers'

Mazda 626 and 6, the Nissan Primera, the Opel Vectra and Insignia, and the Toyota Carina and Avensis. There were also models in this market segment available only as a 5-door liftback or a 4-door sedan, and models available only as a 5-door liftback or a 5-door station wagon. Often, the liftback and the sedan shared the same wheelbase and the same overall length, and the full rear overhang length of a conventional sedan trunk

was retained on the five-door liftback version of the car.

The term was sometimes used for marketing purposes, among others, by Toyota, for example, to distinguish between two 5-door versions of the E90 series Corolla sold in Europe, one of which was a conventional 5-door hatchback with a nearly vertical rear hatch while the other one was a 5-door liftback.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz were not part of this trend in the 1990s, as they did not offer their D-segment or executive cars as 5-door liftbacks back then. However, starting around 2009, Audi and BMW started to sell liftback versions of some of their vehicles but with their own marketing terms, referring to them as Sportback (Audi) or Gran Turismo/Gran Coupé (BMW). This occurred not long after some other manufacturers started to retire D-segment liftbacks from their European lineup.^{[citation needed]}

The second-generation Škoda Superb, produced from 2008 until 2015, is a car that functions both as a hatchback and a sedan. It features a Twindoor trunk lid that can be opened using hinges located below the rear glass, or together with the rear glass using hinges at the roof.^[8]

See also

• Car classification

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Sobran, Alex (15 May 2017). "This Toyota Celica Liftback GT Beautifully Couples Japanese And American Design". Petrolicious (U.S.). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
2. ^ ^{a b} Koch, Jeff (1 January 2016). "1971-'77 Toyota Celica". Hemmings Motor News (U.S.). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
3. ^ ^{a b} Fets, Jim (3 December 2010). "Collectible Classic: 1976-1977 Toyota Celica GT Liftback". Automobile Magazine (U.S.). Retrieved 7 September 2020.
4. ISBN 9780873411332
   . Retrieved 1 March 2016.
5. ^ "fastback". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
6. ^ "fastback". The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
7. ISBN 978-0-387-74243-4
   . Retrieved 3 March 2014. A hatchback car is called a liftback when the opening area is very sloped and is lifted up to open.
8. ^ "YouTube video".