At the risk of sounding like a complete idiot...

My son worked a pit station during the Baja 500 and had some vehicles pull in, flip a roof hatch open and drivers do routine exit/entry from the top. Pits are always in scramble mode so he didn't get much time to get a close look, but they hinged at the front and would latch at the rear and/or sides with a quick release handle. He asked me why we don't do this.

So, in the event of a situation where the door is not an option or maybe even a faster escape route, could the sunroof hole be setup similarly? A solid, reinforced aluminum sheet with 3 latches that all release by a single twist handle.
Does NASA even allow such a thing?

Just a litle more claustrophobic after the Daytona incident, feel free to explain why this is a stupid idea and don't spare my feelings.

well, on most of the roll cages I have seen, there is a supporting bar that runs the width of the top of the car about where the sun roof is. So even with the sunroof open, I doubt you could squeeze in or out through it.

It is an interesting thought, and I don't think there is anything in the 944 Spec rules that would prevent you from doing that. I haven't reviewed the CCR for that, though. You would definitely have to build the roll cage with that in mind.

Great idea, Gary. While I was building my new car, the infamous "Denny's" car, I would get in and out through the windshield opening some times.

The sun roof hatch would make a great emergency escape route. The standard crash cage would not be in the way unless you added an optional center bar like Sterling Doc did to his "lawn dart" car.

Big Dog

Diagonal center bars might pose a bigger problem. The longitudinal bar I put in (meant to stay out of the way of driver & passengers head, would allow exit:


Making the latches secure, yet easily accessible would be a challenge, though.

Wouldn't need much clearance between the center bar and the hatch. I'm thinking spring loaded latches on the 3 non-hinged sides, pulled by aircraft cable attached to a twist handle. I'm confident I could make it work and be very secure, but the NASA CCR says sunroofs need to have clips, and 944Spec CCR says they need to be secured. I'm sure there's a good safety reason, just not sure why other than to keep it from becoming a projectile in a rollover.
Any credit for it being a good idea goes to my son.