I'm not a vert guy, and I'm a big fan of Corvette, but I have to say it is somewhat puzzling why they didn't include something like this on the ragtops. Won't affect me as my vettes are coupes, but it does seem like it would have been eminently "doable" on the new vert.

And I can perfectly understand rag top guys wanting to have this.

 

Looks like the C6 roll bar is all welded with no real pickup points for an add on roll bar for the vert.

Can't tell with the C7. Anyone have a close up shot of the C7 of the areas in the red boxes. I wonder if the vert frame has any pick-up points to add a roll bar. Probably has to be welded on.

Also, anyone have a frame shot of the vert. Probably doesn't exist.

 

Anyone have a pix of roll over air bags deployed?

 

And the point here is that rollover hoops would have helped that yellow vert driver? Really? If the car flips with enough force to crush the A-frame - you are not likely walking away, roll hoops of Unobtanium or not...

 

YOU WERE SAYING?

 

This is a odd remark given that the same set of pictures includes a Z06 that also flipped with enough force to crush its windshield frame, yet its passenger compartment is significantly more intact due to the halo.

Or in other words, is a roll bar significantly better than nothing in a rollover? Yes, which is why they're required by racing sanctioning bodies everywhere.

 

I wonder if they could have designed a pop up roll bar by having the two insert(shown in red in the below picture) pop up when needed. Otherwise it would stay permanently in place.

I think the tonneau still could move back and the top would still clear as it went up and down but I'm not sure of this.

Are any of these pop-up roll bars still acceptable on the track.



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The crazy thing about that car is that it isn't a convertible or even a targa -- it's a fixed roof! Goes to show you don't want to roll any vehicle. I also read somewhere that the C6 convertible met the hardtop rollover requirements so technically it should be as safe as any typical car of the same year.

 

Not all cars are created equal. The Z06 has an aluminum windshield frame and a stamped-aluminum halo bar and a roof "fixed" by a couple of narrow aluminum tabs secured with bolts. A lot better than nothing, but it's no Mercedes E-Class Coupe.

 

Sorry but you're comparing apples and oranges. I never commented on whether a coupe is safer in a rollover - obviously it is. My comment was about rollover hoops adding any real measure of safety, and that a rollover is extremely unlikely in a Corvette if it's being driven responsibly. Since we don't know the details of those incidents they don't disprove anything I commented on. Lastly, what does racing specifications have to do with street cars? We should have roll cages and wear helmets and flame suits now because race drivers doing 180+ mph do?

 

Racing (really HPDEs) was brought up because organizers consider convertibles to have inadequate rollover protection and rollovers happen quite often in offtrack excursions. Meanwhile, they consider hardtops and the Vette Coupe to have acceptable protection.

I have to say that I find the yellow Z06 with the crushed roof to be very disconcerting. I hadn't noticed before that this was a coupe. It doesn't look like the car was going that fast given the pretty light damage elsewhere. If that is what happens to the aluminum frame in a simple rollover... not good at all.

The video of that Mercedes is pretty incredible. First, the speed at which the idiot was travelling when he lost control, and then the car saving his life. Wow.

 

You claimed that a rollover hoop was unlikely to help in an impact forceful enough to collapse the windscreen. Every wrecked car with buckled A-pillars and a still-upright roll hoop is evidence that this is not true.

 

After posting this thread and watching it go to the second page I figured it was dead.

As many people have said, the accident was not the failure of the car, but of the driver. I drove the car too fast into a turn and went into some gravel and then into a ditch. We are very fortunate that we walked away with only some "minor" scrapes on my face and some muscle soreness for both the wife and I.

Now having said that, finding yourself under a vette is not a fun place to be for 30 to 40 minutes as you wait for the local volunteer FD to get you out.

The part that concerns me, is that the windshield on our car failed on the driver side and was laid flat. That makes the drivers head and the back of the seat the fulcrum for the car as the line from the windshield to the back of the car no longer goes over the heads of the occupants. The addition of something behind the seats would be great thing to have in place whether it is stationary like hoops or something that will deploy when needed.

I agree that with the C7, now would be the time to design this into the car. Heck if GM wants to make it a functional option, I will include it when we order the replacement car.

 

When researching the Facebook urban legend about the texting C5 driver wedged under a truck--"phone still in hand and head in back seat," egads--I happened across the yellow C6 backstory. Here's a news video the day after.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7426941

It was not a vert. It was a 2007 coupe with four young college students in it, all killed when it was speeding on Roscoe Boulevard in Van Nuys CA near midnight in May 2010. A female was driving, so probably the other female was in the second seat and the two males were under the hatch.

It looks from the wreckage that first the rear end smacked a utility pole sideways hard enough to knock the pole flat and tear off the rear fascia. Two people were believed ejected at that point. Most of the car kept going for two blocks and came to rest upside down. Some news reports said pieces of the car and victims were spread for half a mile.

My takeaway is that no amount of rollover protection or federal roof crush standards will help if you decide to go (semi-educated guess from the distance between impact and final resting point) 100mph+ through an industrial area at night with two extra people under the hatch, exceeding the allowable gross weight and aft CG envelope. Be careful out there, everybody.

 

I agree... no amount of protection in a Corvette will protect you from a lack of judgement causing you to outdrive your ability.

 

Proof...on a city street. With a coupe. Painful to watch and listen to.

 

Depends on the track. Each venue and organizer has its own rules. But some tracks do allow them, like Pocono here:

http://www.automobiliac.com/automobiliac/tag/track-day
The Lambo verts have the Audi pop-ups too. Some organizations will require that the pop-ups be deployed in the top position. Owners can do this on their own, or have the dealership do it.