Coupe Explained

A coupe or coupé is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors.[1] [2]

The term coupé was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats.[3] It comes from the French past participle of, "cut".[3]

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Etymology and pronunciation

French: Coupé (in French pronounced as /kupe/) is based on the past participle of the French verb French: couper ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard.[3] It was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These French: berlines coupés[4] or French: carrosses coupés ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipped to French: coupés.[5]

There are two common pronunciations in English:

Definition

A coupe is a fixed-roof car with a sloping rear roofline and one or two rows of seats. However, there is some debate surrounding whether a coupe must have two doors for passenger egress[9] [10] or whether cars with four doors can also be considered coupes.[11] This debate has arisen since the early 2000s, when four-door cars such as the Mazda RX-8 and Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class have been marketed as "four-door coupes" or "quad coupes", although the Rover P5 was a much earlier example, with a variant introduced in 1962 having a lower, sleeker roofline marketed as the Rover P5 Coupé.

In the 1940s and 1950s, coupes were distinguished from sedans by their shorter roof area and sportier profile.[12] Similarly, in more recent times, when a model is sold in both coupe and sedan body styles, generally the coupe is sportier and more compact.[13]

The 1977 version of International Standard ISO3833—Road vehicles - Types - Terms and definitions—defines a coupe as having two doors (along with a fixed roof, usually with limited rear volume, at least two seats in at least one row and at least two side windows). On the other hand, the United States Society of Automotive Engineers publication J1100[14] does not specify the number of doors, instead defining a coupe as having a rear interior volume of less than 330NaN0.[15] [16]

The definition of coupe started to blur when manufacturers began to produce cars with a 2+2 body style (which have a sleek, sloping roofline, two doors, and two functional seats up front, plus two small seats in the back).[17] [18]

Some manufacturers also blur the definition of a coupe by applying this description to models featuring a hatchback or a rear cargo area access door that opens upwards.[19] [20] Most often also featuring a fold-down back seat, the hatchback or liftback layout of these cars improves their practicality and cargo room.[21]

Horse-drawn carriages

The coupe carriage body style originated from the berline horse-drawn carriage. The coupe version of the berline was introduced in the 18th century as a shortened ("cut") version with no rear-facing seat.[4] [22] [23] [24] Normally, a coupe had a fixed glass window in the front of the passenger compartment. The coupe was considered an ideal vehicle for women to use to go shopping or to make social visits.[25]

History

The early coupe automobile's passenger compartment followed in general conception the design of horse-drawn coupes,[26] with the driver in the open at the front and an enclosure behind him for two passengers on one bench seat.[27] The French variant for this word thus denoted a car with a small passenger compartment.[26]

By the 1910s, the term had evolved to denote a two-door car with the driver and up to two passengers in an enclosure with a single bench seat. The coupé de ville, or coupe chauffeur, was an exception, retaining the open driver's section at front.

In 1916, the Society of Automobile Engineers suggested nomenclature for car bodies that included the following:[28] [29]

During the 20th century, the term coupe was applied to various close-coupled cars (where the rear seat is located further forward than usual and the front seat further back than usual).[30]

Since the 1960s the term coupe has generally referred to a two-door car with a fixed roof.[31]

Since 2005, several models with four doors have been marketed as "four-door coupes", however, reactions are mixed about whether these models are actually sedans instead of coupes.[32] [33] [34] According to Edmunds, an American automotive guide, "the four-door coupe category doesn't really exist."[35]

Variations

Berlinetta

See main article: article and Berlinetta. A berlinetta is a lightweight sporty two-door car, typically with two seats but also including 2+2 cars.[36]

Club coupe

A club coupe is a two-door car with a larger rear-seat passenger area, compared with the smaller rear-seat area in a 2+2 body style. Thus, club coupes resemble coupes as both have two doors, but feature a full-width rear seat that is accessible by tilting forward the backs of the front seats.[37]

Hardtop coupe

A hardtop coupe is a two-door car that lacks a structural pillar ("B" pillar) between the front and rear side windows. When these windows are lowered, the effect is like that of a convertible coupe with the windows down. The hardtop body style was popular in the United States from the early 1950s until the 2000s. It was also available in European and Japanese markets.[38] [39] Safety regulations for roof structures to protect passengers in a rollover were proposed, limiting the development of new models.[40] The hardtop body style went out of style with consumers while the automakers focused on cost reduction and increasing efficiencies.[41]

Combi coupé

See main article: article and Combi coupé.

Saab used the term "combi coupé" for a car body similar to the liftback.[42]

Business coupe

A two-door car with no rear seat or with a removable rear seat intended for traveling salespeople and other vendors carrying their wares with them. American manufacturers developed this style of coupe in the late 1930s.[43]

Four-door coupe / quad coupe

The 1921 and 1922 LaFayette models were available in a variety of open and closed body styles that included a close-coupled version featuring two center-opening doors on each side that was marketed as a Four-Door Coupe.[44] The 1927 Nash Advanced Six was available in four-door coupe body style.[45]

More recently, the description has been applied by marketers to describe four-door cars with a coupe-like roofline at the rear. The low-roof design reduces back-seat passenger access and headroom.[46] The designation was used for the low-roof model of the 1962–1973 Rover P5,[47] followed by the 1992–1996 Nissan Leopard / Infiniti J30.[48] Recent examples include the 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS, 2010 Audi A7, Volkswagen CC, Volkswagen Arteon, and 2012 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe.[49]

Similarly, several cars with one or two small rear doors for rear seat passenger egress and no B-pillar have been marketed as "quad coupes". For example, the 2003 Saturn Ion, the 2003 Mazda RX-8, and the 2011-2022 Hyundai Veloster.

Three-door coupe

Particularly popular in Europe, many cars are designed with coupe styling, but a three-door hatchback/liftback layout to improve practicality, including cars such as the Jaguar E-Type, Mitsubishi 3000GT, Datsun 240Z, Toyota Supra, Mazda RX-7, Alfa Romeo Brera,[50] Ford/Mercury Cougar[51] and Volkswagen Scirocco.[52]

Opera coupe

A two-door car designed for driving to the opera with easy access to the rear seats. Features sometimes included a folding front seat next to the driver[53] [54] or a compartment to store top hats.[55]

Often they would have solid rear-quarter panels, with small, circular windows, to enable the occupants to see out without being seen. These opera windows were revived on many U.S. automobiles during the 1970s and early 1980s.[56]

Three-window coupe

The three-window coupe (commonly just "three-window") is a style of automobile characterized by two side windows and a backlight (rear window).[57] The front windscreens are not counted. The three-window coupe has a distinct difference from the five-window coupe, which has an additional window on each side behind the front doors.[58] These two-door cars typically have small-sized bodies with only a front seat and an occasional small rear seat.[59]

The style was popular from the 1920s until the beginning of World War II. While many manufacturers produced three-window coupes, the 1932 Ford coupe is often considered the classic hot rod.[60] [61] [62]

Coupe SUV

See main article: Coupe SUV.

Some SUVs or crossovers with sloping rear rooflines are marketed as "coupe crossover SUVs" or "coupe SUVs", even though they have four side doors for passenger egress to the seats and rear hatches for cargo area access however only a car with 2 doors and no B style are considered a true coupe.

Positioning in model range

In the United States, some coupes are "simply line-extenders two-door variants of family sedans", while others have significant differences from their four-door counterparts.[63]

The AMC Matador coupe (1974–1978) has a shorter wheelbase with a distinct aerodynamic design and fastback styling, sharing almost nothing with the conventional three-box design and more "conservative" four-door versions.[64] [65] [66]

Similarly, the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus coupes and sedans (late-1990 through 2000s), have little in common except their names.[67] The coupes were engineered by Mitsubishi and built in Illinois, while the sedans were developed by Chrysler and built in Michigan.[68] Some coupes may share platforms with contemporary sedans.

Coupes may also exist as model lines in their own right, either closely related to other models, but named differently – such as the Alfa Romeo GT or Infiniti Q60 – or have little engineering in common with other vehicles from the manufacturer – such as the Toyota GT86.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brandt . Eric . For the Last Time, a Coupe Is a Car With Two Doors . Autotrader . 28 November 2017 . 24 February 2021.
  2. Web site: Lindland . Rebecca . What Is a Coupe Car? . J.D. Power . 24 February 2021 . 23 March 2020.
  3. Web site: Coach Building Terminology . 2004 . coachbuilt.com . 19 April 2024.
  4. Book: Haajanen, Lennart W. . Illustrations by Bertil Nydén . 2003 . Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles . McFarland . 0-7864-1276-3 . 2002014546 . 16, 18, 20, 50.
  5. .
  6. and pronounced as one syllable.
  7. Web site: Porsche Actually Made a Video on How to Pronounce Its Name. roadandtrack.com. 9 December 2016 . 13 April 2018.
  8. Book: Mencken, Henry L. . 1936 . The American Language . 4th . 347 . I have... heard... coop for coupé . H. L. Mencken .
  9. Web site: For the Last Time, a Coupe Is a Car With Two Doors. autotrader.com . 16 April 2018.
  10. Range Rover's $295K Coupe SUV Proves No Niche Is Too Small. Wired . 16 April 2018. Stewart . Jack .
  11. Web site: Sedan vs. Coupe Cars: Meaning, Definition & Differences. automoblog.net . https://web.archive.org/web/20210304054011/http://www.automoblog.net/2009/02/12/coupe-vs-sedan-whats-the-difference/ . 4 March 2021 . 19 April 2024.
  12. Book: Breitenstein, Jeff . The ultimate hot rod dictionary: a-bombs to zoomies . 55 . Motorbooks International . 2004 . 9780760318232 . 22 April 2015.
  13. Web site: Coupé . Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary . 2010 . 22 April 2015.
  14. Web site: J1100: Motor Vehicle Dimensions - SAE International . sae.org . 20 April 2019.
  15. David Traver . Adolphus . Club Coupes - If you think you know what a Club Coupe is, think again . March 2007 . Hemmings Classic Car . 14 July 2018.
  16. Web site: Coupe – Coupe Body Style – Two Door Coupe . autobytel.com . 22 April 2015.
  17. Web site: Jack . 2022-12-28 . What is a Coupe Car . 2022-12-29 . USACoupe . en-US . 29 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221229173125/https://usacoupe.com/what-is-a-coupe-car/ . dead .
  18. News: Weber . Bob . What is the difference between coupe and sedan? . Chicago Tribune . 1 June 2019 . 19 April 2024.
  19. Web site: hatchback - definition . thefreedictionary.com . 2014 . 19 April 2024.
  20. Web site: Hatchback - definition . merriam-webster.com . 19 February 2020.
  21. Web site: Collins . Dan . Best Hatchbacks . Carbibles . 4 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200923180751/https://www.carbibles.com/best-hatchbacks/ . 23 September 2020 . 19 April 2024.
  22. David Traver . Adolphus . Club Coupes - If you think you know what a Club Coupe is, think again . March 2007 . Hemmings Classic Car . 30 March 2020 . Coupé (some designers still insist on the 'koo-pay' pronunciation) is the French verb meaning 'to cut,' and it was first applied to 19th Century carriages, where the rear-facing seats had been eliminated, or cut out..
  23. . "When the Berline body was shortened the Berline Coupe, or just Coupe, resulted."
  24. Web site: Royal carriages. . 14 April 2018.
  25. Book: Stratton, Ezra . World on Wheels . 2014-09-04 . Ezra Stratton . New York . 1878 . 0-405-09006-4 . Chapter VIII. French carriages, including historical associations . 242 . For the use of ladies making calls or engaged in shopping, no better carriage has yet been invented. . 7004294M.
  26. Book: Haajanen, Lennart W. . Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles . Second . 2017 . McFarland . 978-0-7864-9918-2 . 52–53, 57. 14 July 2018.
  27. Book: Clough, Albert L. . A dictionary of automobile terms . 1913 . The Horseless Age . 89 . 17 May 2015.
  28. News: What's What in Automobile Bodies Officially Determined . The New York Times . 20 August 1916 . Here it is, with other body types and distinctions, officially determined recently by the Nomenclature Division of the Society of Automobile Engineers . 22 April 2015.
  29. Book: Forbes, Kingston . The Principles of Automobile Body Design: covering the fundamentals of open and closed passenger body design . 1922 . Ware Bros. . 238 . 22 April 2015.
  30. Book: Beattie, Ian . The Complete Book of Automobile Body Design. 1977 . Haynes Publishing Group . Yeovil, UK. 0854292179. 17.
  31. Web site: Sedan vs. Coupe: What's the Difference? . carmax.com . 14 April 2018.
  32. Web site: Car Review: 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500. driving.ca. 14 April 2018. 14 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180414233819/http://driving.ca/mercedes-benz/cls-class/reviews/road-test/road-test-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500-2. dead.
  33. Web site: 2018 Mercedes-Benz CLS Class Review . thecarconnection.com. 14 April 2018.
  34. Web site: 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLS 500 - First Look. superstre etonline.com. 16 March 2005. 14 April 2018. 13 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210613123535/http://www.superstreetonline.com/cars/new-car-reviews/epcp-0503-2005-mercedes-benz-cls-500/. dead.
  35. Web site: Montoya . Ronald . Defining Vehicle Types . Edmunds . 28 May 2013 . 14 July 2018.
  36. Web site: Porsche 960: une nouvelle berlinette à moteur flat-8 . autonews.fr. 28 April 2016 .
  37. Web site: Club coupe . merriam-webster.com . 19 April 2024.
  38. Web site: Niedermeyer . Paul . Curbside Classic: 1984 Subaru GL Hardtop Coupe – A Requiem For The Affordable Hardtop . .curbsideclassic.com . 27 July 2020 . 19 April 2024.
  39. Web site: Jaguar XK140 Hardtop Coupe . supercars.net . 2 March 2016 . 19 April 2024.
  40. Web site: Severson . Aaron . What is a hardtop? . Ate Up With Motor . 9 April 2008 . 28 February 2021.
  41. A History of Hardtops . Hemmings Classic Car . April 2006 . 28 February 2021.
  42. Book: Jazar, Reza N. . Vehicle dynamics: theory and applications . 31 . Springer-Verlag. 2008 . 978-0-387-74243-4 . 22 April 2015.
  43. Web site: Automotive History: Trying To Make (Business Coupe) Sense Of The Gremlin. 14 April 2018 . curbsideclassic.com.
  44. Web site: LaFayette . 19 May 2020 . Deb . Tracy . americancarhistorian.com . 16 July 2024.
  45. Web site: The Nash Advanced Six, Seven Passenger Sedan, Four Door Coupé, Victoria (brochure) . xr793.com . 23 July 2024.
  46. Web site: Powell . Philip . The Fastback is Back Thanks to Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen . Classical Drives . 8 January 2008 . 1 August 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130801122953/http://www.classicaldrives.com/50226711/the_fastback_is_back_thanks_to_mercedes_audi_bmw_volkswagen.php . 22 April 2015.
  47. Book: Langworth, Richard M. . Complete book of collectible cars, 1930–1980 . 1986 . Random House Value Publishing . 389 . 978-0-517-47934-6 .
  48. Web site: The Infiniti J30 Was A Four-Door Coupe Before It Was Fashionable . kinja.com . 21 April 2019 . 21 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190421133838/https://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-infiniti-j30-was-a-four-door-sedan-before-it-was-fa-1679477558 . dead .
  49. Web site: Neuer Audi A7 Sportback: Erste Bilder, Details und Preise . 27 July 2010 . New Audi A7 sportback: First pictures, details and pricing . de . Heise . 22 April 2015.
  50. Web site: Alfa Romeo Brera Used Car Buying Guide . 10 January 2017 . Autocar .
  51. Web site: Ford Cougar (1998 - 2002) used car review . Andy . Enright . 8 Apr 2009 . rac.co.uk .
  52. Web site: The Top Gear car review: Volkswagen Scirocco . topgear.com . 13 January 2015 .
  53. Web site: Dictionary of Historic Automotive Terms . Chalk Hill Educational Media . https://web.archive.org/web/20110514084222/http://www.chalkhillmedia.org/Museum/historic_automotive_terms.htm . 14 May 2011 . 22 April 2015.
  54. Book: Burness, Tad . American Car Spotter's Bible 1940–1980 . Krause Publications . 2005 . 736 . 9780896891791.
  55. News: Archival Revival: One-of-a-kind Nash here a few more weeks. Kenosha News . 6 September 2016 . 19 April 2024.
  56. Book: Frazee, Irving Augustus . Automotive Fundamentals . American Technical Society . 1949 . 81 .
  57. Web site: Schueter . Roger . What's the difference between an old three-window coupe and a five-window model? . Belleville News-Democrat . 17 December 2017 . 15 December 2020.
  58. Web site: Wagner . Rob . What Is the Difference Between a 1934 Ford 3-Window & 5-Window Coupe? . It Still Runs . 15 December 2020.
  59. Web site: Kilchermann . Lori . What is a Three Window Coupe? . WiseGeek . 21 November 2020 . 15 December 2020.
  60. Web site: Bernsau . Tim . Hot Rod 3-Pack: 1932 Ford Three-Window Coupes . Hot Rod (Motor Trend) . 6 October 2020 . 19 April 2024.
  61. Book: Thacker . Tony . '32 Ford Deuce: the official 75th anniversary edition . 2007 . Motorbooks . 9780760317419.
  62. Web site: Taylor . Thom . How the 1932 Ford Deuce became the quintessential hot rod . Hagerty . 15 March 2018 . 19 April 2024.
  63. Web site: Comparison: 2008 Honda Accord Coupe vs 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse vs 2008 Nissan Altima Coupe (Front-wheel-drive coupe comparison) . Edward . Loh . Motor Trend . 11 February 2008 . 19 April 2024.
  64. Web site: What's a Matador? The AMC Matador, Rebel, and Classic . Aaron . Severson . 25 December 2009 . ateupwithmotor.com . 19 April 2024.
  65. Web site: Fish Out of Water: AMC's 1974-78 Matador Coupe . macsmotorcitygarage.com . 6 May 2018 . Bill . McGuire . 19 April 2024.
  66. Web site: Dunton . Pete . 1974 AMC Matador Coupe – the Forgotten Coupe . oldcarmemories.com . 15 December 2008 . 19 April 2024.
  67. Web site: Markus . Frank . Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring . Car and Driver . 1 September 2009 . 19 April 2024.
  68. News: Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring; When Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice . Michelle . Krebs . The New York Times . 18 February 2001 . 22 April 2015.

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