Sounds insulation in a soft-top? It’s not as crazy as it may sound, as Mercedes-Benz are demonstrating in the Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster.

The vario-roof option gives a top-down driving experience even with the top up, as the roof of the vehicle can tint to provide shade, or switch to near-transparency to let the light in.

However, when the roof is retracted into the boot, it doesn’t mean a noisy, windy experience, thanks to the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz promise “the lowest wind noise, that is virtually on a par with a closed saloon” and “the best comfort for open-top motoring, so that you can still have the roof down – even at high speed”.

Whether driving with the roof up or down, acoustic performance is an important part of the design of the new Mercedes-Benz SL line-up.

For instance, spaces in the aluminium support structure of the front footwells have been designed to operate as resonating chambers for the in-car speaker system.

That means a concert-hall quality to music when played in the vehicle – with particularly powerful performance at bass frequencies.

If you want similarly strong sound performance for your car – whether it is open-top or a conventional saloon – consider Autins’ range of automotive insulations, which can eliminate road noise and unwanted engine vibrations.

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