Detroit veteran Peter Muscat will be exporting a Ford Mustang this week, with a retractable hard top roof that will was manufactured in Malta, to the United States. This is the first of five production-ready prototypes that are to be built that he expects will lead to an order for 500 such roof mechanisms to be built in Malta each year for six years.
“We already have over 100 roof mechanisms ordered,” he told me at the factory in Bulebel where he plans to build the mechanisms. Mr Muscat developed a similar roof mechanism for the Mustang in 1984, which he built for six years. The current mechanism has been developed over the past 24 months and he developed special materials for the job. “This is all the work of the Muscat Technology team here in Malta, who designed, engineered, prototyped and developed it here in Malta, including the miniature computer that controls the mechanism,” he told The Sunday Times.
Demonstrating the mechanism, Mr Muscat explained how the roof did not take up any space from the boot, which is so important to golf-mad Americans, who want space for their golf bags, nor did it take away any interior space from the two-seater. The roof with the coupé’s glass rear window simply slide into a compartment behind the seats and a lovely resin flap pops out to cover it. The whole operation lasts 30 seconds, but he already plans an upgrade that will achieve the task in 23 seconds.
The roof is released with a handle, according to the manufacturer’s specifications, all the rest is automatic. Mr Muscat said he expects to employ 30 people at the factory in Bulebel. He estimates that it will take 200 hours for each roof mechanism to be assembled, some 250 components have to be cut and put together. Thirty roof units will fit into a 20-foot container and he plans to produce some two units a day.
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