types of cars
Phaeton body A phaeton differs from a convertible in having no winding or sliding windows in the doors or the body, and no permanent roof, whether rigid or folding. A detachable folding or rigid roof could be added before a drive in preparation for inclement weather, and side curtains or screens could be installed once the roof was in place. This was mainly temporary and partial relief rather than the more permanent, watertight protection offered by a convertible. As a result, a phaeton was much lighter than the sturdier, weather-ready convertible. Since the body was entirely open, it was easy to add or remove an extra row of seating where space had been left in the original construction.
1905 Mercedes 28/50 PS Double Phaeton
The term phaeton had historically described a light, open four-wheeled carriage. When automobiles arrived it wasapplied to a light two-seater with minimal coachwork. The term was interchangeable with spyder, derived from a light form of phaeton carriage known as a spider. However, there were also double phaetons, with two rows of seats, triple phaetons, or even closed phaetons. Eventually, the term “phaeton� became so widely and loosely applied that almost any vehicle with two axles and a row or rows of seats across the body could be called a phaeton.
1948 Willys-Overland Jeepster, the last phaeton to be made by an American manufacturer
Cadillac V16 1932 with dual cowl
Torpedo The torpedo body style was a type of automobile body used from the early twentieth century until the mid1930s; it fell quickly into disuse by World War II. The name was introduced in 1908 when a Belgian car dealer Captain Theo Masui, the London-based importer of French Gregoire cars, designed a streamlined body and called it “The Torpedo�. This design developed into its final form, becoming a generic term when the bonnet line was raised to be level with the car’s waistline, resulting in a straight beltline from front to back.
1930 Willys-Knight 70A Torpedo
1912 Fiat Type 3 torpedo
The Torpedo body style was usually fitted to 4- or 5-seat cars. It was an open tourer with detachable or folding hood (top), and low side panels and doors, but no B pillars; the only uprights present were those supporting the windshield. Similar styles are phaeton and baquet. The name is also used for trucks with a bonnet (Touring car).
Touring car A touring car is an open car seating four or more. A popular car body style in the early twentieth century, it declined in popularity in the 1920s when closed bodies became less expensive. A tourer, in Britain and the Commonwealth, is a similar vehicle; however, the term is sometimes used to describe pre-war two-seaters which, in US terminology, would be roadsters. The term "all-weather tourer" was used to describe open vehicles that could be fully enclosed. A popular version of the touring car style was the torpedo, with the hood/bonnet line at the car's waistline giving the car a straight line from front to back. This eventually became the normal version of the touring car, and the term "torpedo" fell out of use.
1913 Maxwell Model 24-4 touring car
1924 Ford Model T touring car
In 1916, the US-based Society of Automobile Engineers defined a touring car as: "an open car seating four or more with direct entrance to tonneau." The term has also been defined as an open car seating five or more. Touring cars may have two or four doors. Engines on early models were either in the front, or in a mid-body position. Side curtains, when available for a particular model, could be installed to protect passengers from wind and weather by snapping or zipping them into place; otherwise, drivers and passengers braved the elements. When the top was folded down, it formed a bulky mass known as the "fan" behind the back seat: "fan covers" were made to protect the top and its wooden ribs while in the down position.
A 1948 Ford Anglia A54A Tourer with hood down and side curtains attached. The belt line in the front door is lowered.
1920 Studebaker Big Six touring car with its top down. The folded top behind passengers was known as the "fan" when in the down position.
Tourer (Britain and Commonwealth) The British tourer, as an open car with minimal weather protection, is similar to the touring car, and the terms have been considered interchangeable; However, while some definitions specify tourers to have four or more seats, two-seaters that would be considered roadsters are also referred to as tourers. The term "all-weather tourer" was used for open vehicles with fixed or winding windows; these vehicles were later called dropheads or convertibles. Tourers may have two or four doors. The belt lines of tourers were often lowered in the front doors to give the car a more sporting character.
1927 Austin 20 with tourer body a typical example
Coupé de Ville Coupe de Ville (North American, with silent "e" in "coupe") or coupé de ville is one of a large number of terms used to describe an automobile with an external or open-topped driver's position and an enclosed compartment for passengers. Among other names for this body style are sedanca, town car, and Brougham. Most versions are variations on one of two main types. In one, known as the town car in North America or, in continental Europe, as the coupé chauffeur as well as the coupé de ville, the driver is separated from a fully enclosed passenger compartment by a partition; in the other, the passenger compartment is without its own doors and is accessed from the front.
Gurney Nutting Sedanca Drophead CoupĂŠ body on a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental chassis
1934 Rolls-Royce with Sedanca de Ville coachwork
The unusual body dates to medieval Europe. In order to identify incoming guests at court as friendly, it was necessary for the host to be able to identify the livery of the visiting guests' coachman from a distance. To enable the coachman to be identifiable, he was hence placed high up and in the open. The term "coupĂŠ de ville" is known to be in use in the 19th century before the invention of the automobile. (carriage) The term "de ville" is French for "for town" and indicates that the vehicle is for use in town or for short distances. When added to the end of a body style (saloon, coupĂŠ, landaulet, etc.), "de Ville" indicated that the top over the driver's compartment could be folded away, retracted, or otherwise removed. As a vehicle for town use, the coupĂŠ de ville usually had no facilities for carrying luggage.
Landaulet A landaulet or landaulette is a car body style similar to a limousine, but with the passenger section covered by a convertible top. It was based on a carriage of similar style that was a cut-down (coupĂŠ) version of a landau. Landaulets are usually used by public figures in formal processions. A landaulet carriage is a cut-down (coupĂŠ) version of a landau carriage The landaulet retained the rear half of the landau's two-part folding top.
Lancia Flaminia for the President of the Italian Republic Mercedes-Benz 300d landaulet
Like many other coachbuilding styles, the term landaulet was transferred from horse-drawn carriages to motor carriages. A landaulet automobile has a passenger enclosure with a folding roof over the rear seats. A separate section is at the front for the driver. The condition of the driver's section may range from having no weather protection at all, as was often the case with early landaulets, to being fully enclosed. A landaulet is a chauffeured vehicle. Since the Second World War, conventional use has been largely restricted to formal processions by dignitaries when the dignitary's security can be assured. The Maybach division of Daimler AG showed a landaulet concept car at the Middle East International Auto Show in November 2007. They added the landaulet to their 2009 model line. The Maybach division has since been discontinued.
1954 Rolls-Royce Phantom IV Queen Elizabeth II in a landaulet in Duisburg, Germany
Maybach 62 Landaulet
Tonneau Tonneau cover describes a hard or soft cover used to protect unoccupied passenger seats in a convertible or roadster, or the cargo bed in a pickup truck. Hard tonneau covers open by a hinging or folding mechanism while soft covers open by rolling up. The tonneau cover is used to conceal and or cover cargo. When the cover is pulled out, it keeps items out of the sun and provides extra security by keeping personal items out of sight. A tonneau is an open rear passenger compartment, rounded like a barrel, on an automobile and, by extension, a body style incorporating such a compartment. The word is adapted to English from French, meaning 'cask'. Most tonneau covers were fixed but some could be removed
1905 Cadillac Model C rear-entrance tonneau with tonneau cover
1910 Buick side-entrance tonneau without tonneau cover
Tonneau covers are used in utility vehicles and pickup trucks to cover and secure the truck bed and come in a variety of styles. The most common style is the roll-up tonneau made from cloth or vinyl which uses a rib-like structure to support the fabric and keep it taut. A snap-based system is also used, but has become less common due to truck owners not wanting to install the snaps on their vehicle as they typically require drilling or permanent adhesive. Roll-up Tonneaus are opened by rolling the cover up toward the cab of the truck.
Tonneau cover on pickup truck
Runabout A runabout is a car body style that was popular in North America until about 1915. It was a light, basic style with no windshield, top, or doors and a single row of seats. Runabouts eventually became indistinguishable from roadsters and the term fell out of use in the United States. The runabout was a light, inexpensive, open car with basic bodywork and no windshield, top, or doors. Most runabouts had just a single row of seats, providing seating for two passengers. Some also had a rumble seat at the rear to provide optional seating for one or two more passengers.
1907 Cadillac Model K at AutoWorld in Brussels
1903 Oldsmobile Curved Dash on the 2009 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run
The 1964 GM Runabout was a three wheel concept car first exhibited at Futurama II, part of the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The car was designed specifically for housewives and had detachable shopping carts built into it. At the Turin Motor Show in 1969, the Autobianchi Runabout Bertone made its debut. This car was the closest thing that you would probably ever see to actually owning Speed Racer’s Mark 5. The term “runabout” is still in use in Britain, denoting a small car used for short journeys.
1964 GM Runabout Concept
Autobianchi Runabout Bertone (1969)
Sedan (saloon) A sedan (American, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English) or saloon (British and Irish English) is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo. The passenger compartment features two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The cargo compartment is typically in the rear, with the exception of some rear-engined models, such as the Renault Dauphine, Tatra T613,Volkswagen Type 3 and Chevrolet Corvair. It is one of the most common car body styles.
audi s3
Typical pillar configurations of a sedan (three box), station wagon (two box) and hatchback (two box) from the same model range
maserati ghibli
The primary purpose of the sedan is to transport people and their baggage on ordinary roads. Sedan versions of the automobile body style have a central pillar (B-pillar) that supports the roof and come in two- and four-door versions. Sedans usually have a two-box or three-box body. there are many differnt types of sedan.
Club sedans A two- or four-door design built on a normal chassis, but with a shorter roof and interior space. Club sedans were most often available in high-level U.S. models from the mid-1920s to the mid-1950s. Originating from the club car on a Pullman passenger train that was well appointed, the "club" term imparted a sense of class to the smaller-cabin versions in the range of models.
1938 Cadillac Club Sedan
1956 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Notchback sedans A notchback sedan is a three-box sedan, where the passenger volume is clearly distinct from the trunk volume of the vehicle (when seen from the side). The roof is on one plane, generally parallel to the ground, the rear window at a sharp angle to the roof, and the trunk lid is also parallel to the ground.
1962 Chevrolet Impala, a typical notchback sedan
Fiat 124 CoupĂŠ
Fastback sedans A fastback sedan is a two-box sedan, with continuous slope from the roof to the base of the decklid (trunk lid), but excludes the hatchback feature. Certain sedans are edging close[weasel words] to being one-box vehicles, where the windshield is steeply raked from the hood/bonnet and the rear window slopes toward almost the end of the car, leaving just a short rear deck that is part of the trunk lid Typically this design is chosen for its aerodynamic advantages. Automakers can no longer afford the penalty in fuel consumption produced by the traditional notchback three box form.
1941 Plymouth fastback sedan
Hardtop sedans In historic terminology, a sedan will have a frame around the door windows, while the hardtop has frameless door glass. A true hardtop sedan design also has no center or "B" pillar for roof support behind the front doors). This pillarless body style offers greater visibility. However, it requires extra underbody strengthening for structural rigidity. The hardtop design can be considered separately , or it can be called a hardtop sedan.
Detachable hardtop with porthole side windows on a 1957 Ford Thunderbird
Hatchback sedans Hatchback (a.k.a. liftback) sedans typically have the fastback profile, but instead of a trunk lid, the entire back of the vehicle lifts up (using a liftgate or hatch). A vehicle with four passenger doors and a liftgate at the rear can be called a four-door hatchback, five-door hatchback, four-door hatchback sedan, or five-door sedan. An example of such is the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx and Audi A5 Sportback. There can also be two-door hatchback sedans (three-door sedans), by the same technical explanation for two-door sedans
Ford Fiesta Ford Focus (Colin Mcrae)
Chevrolet Chevette
Chauffeured sedans Strictly speaking limousine sedans have a separate compartment for the driver and the passenger compartment is long enough to contain at least two comfortable, forward-facing bench seats. Vehicles used for these means are usually Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, or Rolls-Royce. The term limousine can refer to a large sedan, especially if hired from a service. Chauffeured limousines are primarily used by individuals for weddings, businesses for meetings, as well as for airport and sightseeing transportation. Chauffeurs are professional drivers, usually with experience in the transportation industry or tourism industry. Chauffeured sedans are owned either by private owners, livery services, or corporations.
Sedan chair carried by two people The Lincoln Town Car is often used as a chauffeured car in the U.S.
Station wagon A station wagon, also called an estate car, estate wagon, or simply wagon, is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door (the liftgate or tailgate), instead of a trunk lid. The body style transforms a standard three-box design into a two-box design — to include an A, B, and C-pillar, as well as a D-pillar. Station wagons can flexibly reconfigure their interior volume via fold-down rear seats to prioritize either passenger or cargo volume.
Diagram of a (two-box) five-door hatchback (in this case a first-generation Ford Focus) superimposed over the station wagon (two-box) from the same model range
Fastback A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. It is a form of back for an automobile body consisting of a single convex curve from the top to the rear bumper. This automotive design element "relates to an interest in streamlining and aerodynamics. The fastback word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door as well as four-door body designs as distinguished by their "level of commonality in vehicle construction as defined by number of doors and roof treatment (e.g., sedan, convertible, fastback, hatchback)." "Some automakers have persisted in describing a model by a word different from common usage" and thus seeming inconsistencies have persisted, such as "certain fastbacks are, technically, two-door sedans or pillared coupes."
Porsche 356
Hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature two- or three-box design. The hatchback body style has been marketed worldwide on cars ranging in size from superminis to small family cars, as well as executive cars and some sports cars.
1973 Chevrolet Vega Hatchback 1961 Renault 4, the world's first million selling hatchback
Coupé A coupé (US coupe) (from the French past participle coupé, of the infinitive couper, to cut) is a closed two-door car body style with a permanently attached fixed roof, that is shorter than a sedan or saloon (British and Irish English) of the same model, and it often has seating for two persons or with a tight-spaced rear seat. The precise definition of the term varies between manufacturers and over time. The term was first applied to 19th-century carriages, where the rear-facing seats had been eliminated, or cut out.
1940 BMW 327 coupĂŠ
De Tomaso Pantera GT4
Roadster (spider) A roadster, sometimes referred to as a spider or spyder, is an open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially an American term for a two-seat car with no weather protection, usage has spread internationally and has evolved to include two-seat convertibles. The roadster is also a style of racing car driven in United States Auto Club (USAC) Championship Racing, including the Indianapolis 500, in the 1950s and 1960s. This type of racing car was superseded by mid-engined cars.
Alfa Romeo Spider BMW Z1 limited production roadster
Convertible (cabriolet) A convertible or cabriolet is an automobile body style that can convert between an open-air mode and an enclosed one, varying in degree and means by model. Convertibles evolved from the earlier phaeton, an open vehicle without glass side windows that may have had removable panels of fabric or other material for protection from the elements. Historically, a retractable roof consisted of an articulated frame covered with a folding textile-based fabric similar to that on an open carriage evolved into the most common form. A lesser seen detachable hardtop provided a more weatherproof and secure alternative. As technology improved a retractable hardtop which removes and stows its own rigid roof in its trunk appeared, increasingly becoming the most popular form.
Volvo C70 with retractable hardtop
Porsche 911 Turbo convertible (Type 997) with retractable windows and fully retracted soft top
Targa top Targa top, targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsche AG. The rear window is normally fixed, but on some targa models, it is removable or foldable, making it a convertible-type vehicle. Any piece of metal or trim which rises up from the side of a car and continues in an uninterrupted line over the roof and down the other side is sometimes called a targa band, targa bar or a wrapover band.
1972 Porsche 911T Targa: where the designation "Targa" appears for the first time.
Fiat X1/9
Triumph TR250 Surrey Top
Barchetta A barchetta (Italian pronunciation: [barketta], "little boat" in Italian) was originally an Italian style of open 2-seater sports car which was built for racing. Weight and wind resistance were kept to a minimum, and any unnecessary equipment or decoration were sacrificed in order to maximize performance. Although most barchettas were made from the late 1940s through the 1950s, the style has occasionally been revived by small-volume manufacturers and specialist builders in recent years.
Ferrari 550 Barchetta
1949 Le Mans-winning barchetta: Ferrari 166MM
Barchetta Berlinetta (from Italian) is an especially sporty form of coupĂŠ. Typically a two-seater, the type may include 2+2s. The original meaning for berlinetta in Italian is “little saloonâ€?. Introduced in the 1930s, the term was popularized by Ferrari in the 1950s. Maserati, Opel, Alfa Romeo, and other European car manufacturers have also used the Berlinetta label.
Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta SWB
1954 Maserati A6GCS Berlinetta (Pininfarina)
Minivan A minivan is a vehicle designed primarily for passenger safety and comfort, with three rows of adult-size seats, access through large sliding doors, and car-like handling and fuel economy. Minivans are purchased for their versatility and can often transport more people than a three-row sport utility vehicle, and also with better comfort, access, and fuel economy. Like most modern vehicles, minivans are typically of unibody construction with front-wheel drive. They also feature a short, sloping aerodynamic hood. They are usually taller than sedans or station wagons, affording a good view of the road. Minivans usually have removable seats to allow hauling of cargo on a flat floor.
Fourth generation Renault Espace
1950s Volkswagen Type 2
Microvan A microvan is a van that fits into Japanese kei car classification or similar. In China, these vehicles are nicknamed mian bao che ("bread loaf van") because of their shape, in a similar fashion, in several Hispanic American countries these vehicles are called Pan de Molde, which means "bread loaf".
Subaru Domingo second generation The first microvan, 1970s Honda Life "StepVan"
MPV A Multi - Purpose Vehicle ( MPV often abbreviated ) is a type of body configuration was born in the early two thousand , consisting of a cross between a minivan type body and a Station wagon, in order to increase both the ' interior space is the carrying capacity . Although the term is recent , the concept that encompasses has a much longer history that led sedans and small cars , since the mid-fifties to turn into vans . In English and German-speaking countries they are in fact simply defined minivan ( MPV ) .
Una Fiat Croma degli anni 2000, caratteristico esempio di berlina con carrozzeria MPV
Mercedes R-class
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV, sometimes called a sports utility wagon) is a vehicle similar to a station wagon or estate car that is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on-road or off-road ability. Some SUVs include the towing capacity of a pickup truck with the passenger-carrying space of a minivan or large sedan.
SUVs such as the Range Rover are sometimes referred to as "Toorak tractors" in Australia Jeep Cherokee: SUV trendsetter as designed by AMC
Limousine A limousine (or limo) is a luxury sedan or saloon car generally driven by a chauffeur and with a partition between the driver and the passenger compartment. Limousines often have a lengthened wheelbase.
1908 Studebaker limousine with open driver's compartment for the chauffeur and a closed cabin for the passengers Lincoln Town Car stretch limo
Pickup A pickup truck is a light duty truck having an enclosed cab and an open cargo area with low sides and tailgate. Once a work tool with few creature comforts, in the 1950s consumers began purchasing pickups for lifestyle reasons and by the 1990s less than 15 percent of owners reported use in work as the pickup truck's primary purpose. Today in North America, the pickup is mostly used like a passenger car and accounts for about 18 per cent of total vehicles sold in the US.
1922 Ford Model T Pickup 2
Ford F-150 with tonneau, 4 doors, sideboards
Shooting-brake Shooting-brake is a car body style that has evolved through several distinct meanings over its history. Shooting-brake originated as an early 19th century British term for a vehicle used to carry shooting parties with their equipment and game. The term brake was initially a chassis used to break in horses — and was subsequently used to describe a motorized vehicle.
Audi Shooting Brake Concept (2005)
Ferrari FF (2011)
Crossover A crossover or crossover utility vehicle (CUV), is a vehicle built on a car platform and combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback. Using the unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles instead of the body-on-frame platform used in light trucks and the original SUVs, the crossover combines SUV design features such as tall interior packaging, high H-point seating, high center of gravity, high ground-clearance or all-wheel-drive capability – with design features from an automobile such as a passenger vehicle's platform, independent rear suspension, car-like handling and superior fuel economy.