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Coupé de ville

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1908 Thomas 4-20 town car
1908 Thomas 4-20 town car

Coupé de ville — also known as town car or sedanca de ville — is a car body style produced from 1908 to 1939 with an external or open-topped driver's position and an enclosed compartment for passengers. Although the different terms may have once had specific meanings for certain car manufacturers or countries, the terms are often used interchangeably.

Some coupés de ville have the passengers separated from the driver in a fully enclosed compartment while others have a canopy for the passengers and no partition between the driver and the passengers (passengers enter the compartment via driver's area).

Origin

Coupé carriage
Coupé carriage

The separate exposed area for the driver followed from horse-drawn carriages.

The term "coupé de ville" came into existence in the 19th century before the invention of the automobile. The initial usage of the term was for a variant of the coupé carriage that is very similar to the British clarence carriage.[1]

The term "de ville" is French for "for town"[2] and indicates that the vehicle is for use in town or for short distances. When added to the end of a body style (saloon, coupé, landaulet, etc.), "de Ville" indicated that the top over the driver's compartment could be folded away, retracted, or otherwise removed.[3] As a vehicle for town use, the coupé de ville usually had no facilities for carrying luggage.[4]

Design

1925 Hispano-Suiza Type H.6 with collapsible rear compartment roof, also called a Landaulet
1925 Hispano-Suiza Type H.6 with collapsible rear compartment roof, also called a Landaulet

Early cars had the driver fully exposed to the weather with no cover, no doors, and sometimes no windshield,.[2] As speed and distances travelled increased, windshields were added to protect the driver from dirt from the unpaved roads and dung from draught animals. Later models also included doors to the driving compartment.

Early roofs for the driver's area were made of a single skin of leather without any structural support, and were held in place between the passenger compartment and the windshield by poppers to allow for easy removal or rollback when the weather allowed.[5] From the late 1920s onward designs used a metal two-skin roof which retracted into a void above the passenger compartment, either manually or electrically.[6]

Due to its use as a chauffeured vehicle, the passenger compartment was normally luxurious,[5] clad in the best materials, with seating for between two and most often up to six or occasionally eight persons, made of the finest cotton or silk adorned with brocade. The same material was also most often used to provide complete curtain coverage for the compartment, and was matched by substantial carpet and fine inlaid woodwork. The driver's compartment had leather seats to endure bad weather. The division between the two compartments often held jump seats for lighter passengers such as children, and it would often accommodate various compartments for drinks, cigars, make-up, or books.

Some versions had a partition between the driver and the passengers. These partitions often had a small slide-back glass window, or were completely made of glass with a manual or electric winding system. The passengers could speak to the driver through a communications tube,[5] or, from the 1920s, through an electrical device similar to a telephone. Some designs included a switch panel in the rear passenger compartment, which contained a speedometer and switches to impart the most common instructions to the driver via a lighted dashboard panel, such as "stop", "left", "right", or "home".

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Hispano-Suiza

Hispano-Suiza

Hispano-Suiza is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. In 1923, its French luxury car arm became a semi-autonomous partnership with the Spanish parent company. In 1946, the Spanish parent company sold all of its Spanish automotive assets to Enasa, a Spanish state-owned vehicle manufacturer, and the French arm continued as an independent aviation engine and components manufacturer under the Hispano-Suiza name. In 1968, Hispano-Suiza was taken over by the aerospace company Snecma, which is now part of the French Safran Group. An attempt to relaunch the marque was made by the company Hispano Suiza Cars associated with the Peralada Group in 2019 with a fully-electric car.

Landaulet (car)

Landaulet (car)

A landaulet, also known as a landaulette, is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top. Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers by a division, as with a limousine.

Feces

Feces

Feces, known colloquially and in slang as poo, caca, scat and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relatively small amount of metabolic waste products such as bacterially altered bilirubin, and dead epithelial cells from the lining of the gut.

Chauffeur

Chauffeur

A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.

Brocade

Brocade

Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth", originally past participle of the verb broccare "to stud, set with nails", from brocco, "small nail", from Latin broccus, "projecting, pointed".

Jump seat

Jump seat

In aviation, a jump seat or jumpseat is an auxiliary seat for individuals—other than normal passengers—who are not operating the aircraft. In general, the term 'jump seat' can also refer to a seat in any type of vehicle which can fold up out of the way; vehicles include carriages, automobiles, vans, buses, fire tenders, and taxicabs. The term originated in the United States c. 1860 for a movable carriage seat.

Telephone

Telephone

A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into electronic signals that are transmitted via cables and other communication channels to another telephone which reproduces the sound to the receiving user. The term is derived from Greek: τῆλε and φωνή, together meaning distant voice. A common short form of the term is phone, which came into use early in the telephone's history.

Variants

Town car / town brougham

In the United States, a coupé de ville with rear doors for the passenger area, no roof or sides for the driver's area, and a partition between the passengers and the driver[7] was referred to as a "town car" or "town brougham".[5][8] Town cars normally had side windows in the doors only.[9] The name "town car" is an Anglicized version of "de Ville".[2]

Sedanca coupé

In the United Kingdom, a coupé de ville with a fixed or folding roof over the rear seats and open front seats was referred to as a "sedanca coupé".[10] A sedanca coupé may or may not have had some kind of roof for the driver's area.[11]

Sedanca / Sedanca de ville

Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville
Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville

The terms sedanca and sedanca de ville were introduced by Spanish nobleman Count Carlos de Salamanca, the Spanish distributor for Rolls-Royce, in 1923.[10][12] The strict definition of a sedanca includes a locker for the cant rails and canopy that form the roof; this was introduced by Count de Salamanca in his original sedanca.[10]

Usage of these terms in the United Kingdom is unclear. According to once source, "sedanca de ville" refers to a town car variant, and "sedanca" refers to a sedanca coupé.[11] According to another source, sedanca de ville is a redundant term and sedanca refers to a town car.[10]

Coupé de ville

In France, Germany and Italy, the term "coupé de ville" was used for both the town car and sedanca coupé variants. [7]

In the United States, the similar term "coupé de ville" is used for the Sedanca Coupé.[13] A coupé de ville is alternatively defined in North America as a drophead coupé with a three-position top which may be fully closed, fully open, or partially closed, leaving rear passengers covered.[14]

Cabriolet-Victoria

In the United Kingdom, a sedanca-style drophead coupé with three-position folding top (fully open, covering the rear passengers only, or fully closed) is called a "cabriolet victoria".[10] This variant is defined as a coupé de ville in the United States.[14]

Coupé chauffeur

French variant similar to the town car with a small passenger compartment.[4]

Coupé limousine

French variant similar to the coupé chauffeur but with a longer passenger compartment capable of holding up to seven passengers, with up to three on jump seats usually facing forward.[15] The style was referred to in the United States as a limousine town car and in Britain as a limousine de ville.[16] The term Coupé Napoleon was also used to describe a Bugatti Royale body of the type.

Brougham

The term is derived from the brougham carriage. In strict terms, a brougham would have a sharply squared rear end of the roof and a forward-curving body line at the base of the front of the passenger enclosure. The term degraded during the twentieth century.[17]

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Cadillac Type 51

Cadillac Type 51

The Cadillac V8, introduced as the Type 51, is a large, luxurious automobile that was introduced in September 1914 by Cadillac as a 1915 model. It was Cadillac's first V8 automobile, replacing the four-cylinder Model 30, and used the all new GM A platform for the entire series shared with all GM division brands using a 122 in (3,099 mm) wheelbase, while a 145 in (3,683 mm) chassis was offered separately to be used for custom coachwork. The Types 53, 55, 57, 59, and 61 were introduced every year through 1923 with yearly improvements until an all new platform was substantially updated and introduced as the V-63 using the business philosophy called planned obsolescence. It was built at the Cass Street and Amsterdam Avenue factory in Detroit, with the coachwork provided by Fisher Body. The chassis could be purchased separately and sent to the clients choice of coachbuilder optionally.

Rolls-Royce Phantom III

Rolls-Royce Phantom III

The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was the final large pre-war Rolls-Royce. Introduced in 1936, it replaced the Phantom II and it was the only V12 Rolls-Royce until the 1998 introduction of the Silver Seraph. It is the first of the three V12-powered Rolls-Royce Phantoms, with the 2003-2017 Rolls-Royce Phantom VII and 2018- Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII being the other two. 727 V12 Phantom III chassis were constructed from 1936 to 1939, and approximately 650 have survived. Although chassis production ceased in 1939, cars were still being bodied and delivered in 1940 and 1941. The last car, though the rolling chassis was completed in 1941, was not delivered with a body to its owner until 1947. The Phantom III was the last car that Henry Royce worked on – he died, aged 70, a year into the Phantom III's development.

Convertible

Convertible

A convertible or cabriolet is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.

Minerva (automobile)

Minerva (automobile)

Minerva was a Belgian firm active from 1902 to 1938 and a manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The company became defunct in 1956.

Bugatti Royale

Bugatti Royale

The Bugatti Type 41, better known as the Royale, is a large luxury car built from 1927 to 1933 with a 4.3 m (169.3 in) wheelbase and 6.4 m (21 ft) overall length. It weighs approximately 3,175 kg (7,000 lb) and uses a 12.763 litre (778 cu in) straight-eight engine. For comparison, against the Rolls-Royce Phantom VII, the Royale is about 20% longer, and more than 25% heavier. This makes the Royale one of the largest cars in the world. Furthermore, with the limited production run and the premium nature of the vehicle, it is also both one of the rarest and most expensive vehicles in the world.

Peugeot Type 27

Peugeot Type 27

The Peugeot Type 27 is an early motor vehicle produced between 1899 and 1902 by the French auto-maker Peugeot at their Audincourt plant. Only 29 were produced. This automobile had a brougham car body, similar to the older brougham carriage.

Brougham (car body)

Brougham (car body)

A brougham was originally a car body style where the driver sat outside and passengers seated within an enclosed cabin, as per the earlier brougham horse-drawn carriage. Similar in style to the later town car, the brougham style was used on chauffeur-driven petrol and electric cars.

Brougham (carriage)

Brougham (carriage)

A brougham was a light, four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage built in the 19th century. It was named after the politician and jurist Lord Brougham, who had this type of carriage built to his specification by London coachbuilder Robinson & Cook in 1838 or 1839. It had an enclosed body with two doors, like the rear section of a coach; it sat two, sometimes with an extra pair of fold-away seats in the front corners, and with a box seat in front for the driver and a footman or passenger. Unlike a coach, the carriage had a glazed front window, so that the occupants could see forward. The forewheels were capable of turning sharply. A variant, called a brougham-landaulet, had a top collapsible from the rear doors backward.

Manufacturer

Europe

Due to its high-end luxurious form, bespoke commissioning and resultant design nature, and final high cost, coupés de ville of both types were hand-built in small numbers. The cars were almost always made as individual ("Full Custom"), or in a small edition with individual equipment ("semi-custom").

In France, Audineau et Cie., Mulbacher and Rothschild became known for such works.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the style was applied to numerous chassis by the various specialist coachwork builders, but it is most often associated via the 4-door Sedanca de Ville variant with Rolls-Royce motor cars, and the 2-door sporting Sedanca variant with Bentleys. Coachbuilders included Barker,[19] Hooper, H. J. Mulliner and Park Ward.

North America

Bespoke

Due to its historic and luxurious connections, the term found early favour amongst many North America automobile manufacturers. Manufacturers included Brewster & Co. (especially for Rolls-Royce, Packard and its own chassis), LeBaron and Rollston.

In 1922, Edsel Ford had a Lincoln built with a town car body for his father's personal use.[20]

Seeking publicity and building on his work with Studebaker, Raymond Loewy had two Lincoln Continentals altered to coupés de ville in 1946 using a removable plexiglas cover over the chauffeur.[21]

Production

Cadillac town car, 1940
Cadillac town car, 1940

Ford introduced a town car body to its Model A line in December 1928.[22] Designed by LeBaron and designated the 140-A,[23] the Model A town car was sold until early 1930.[24] 1,065 Model A town cars were built by the end of production in 1930.[25]

In 1940 and 1941, a limited edition model of the Cadillac Sixty Special carried the Town Car name. It was reintroduced as a coupe hardtop in 1949 using the French name for the body style Coupe DeVille and in 1956 as a four-door hardtop called the Sedan DeVille.

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Bentley

Bentley

Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, and became widely known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. Bentley has been a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1998 and consolidated under VW's premium brand arm Audi since 2022.

Barker (coachbuilder)

Barker (coachbuilder)

Barker & Co. was a British coachbuilder, a maker of carriages and in the 20th century bodywork for prestige cars, including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Daimler.

Hooper (coachbuilder)

Hooper (coachbuilder)

Hooper & Co. was a British coachbuilding business for many years based in Westminster London. From 1805 to 1959 it was a notably successful maker, to special order, of luxury carriages, both horse-drawn and motor-powered.

H. J. Mulliner & Co.

H. J. Mulliner & Co.

H. J. Mulliner & Co. was a well-known British coachbuilder operating from Bedford Park, Chiswick, West London. The company which owned it was formed by H J Mulliner in 1897 but the business was a continuing branch of a family business founded in Northampton in the 1760s to hire out carriages. In December 1909 the controlling interest in this company passed to John Croall & Sons of Edinburgh. Croall sold that interest to Rolls-Royce in 1959.

Park Ward

Park Ward

Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded in 1919 which operated from Willesden in North London. In the 1930s, backed by Rolls-Royce Limited, it made technical advances which enabled the building of all-steel bodies to Rolls-Royce's high standards. Bought by Rolls-Royce in 1939, it merged with H. J. Mulliner & Co. in 1961 to form Mulliner Park Ward.

Brewster & Co.

Brewster & Co.

James Brewster established Brewster & Company, an American custom carriage and motor coachbuilder, in 1810; it operated for approximately 130 years. Brewster got its start in New Haven, Connecticut, and quickly gained a reputation for producing the best carriages in the country. In 1827, he set his shop at 52 Broad Street in New York City.

Packard

Packard

Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958.

LeBaron Incorporated

LeBaron Incorporated

LeBaron Incorporated was an American design business from 1920 and also a coachbuilder from 1924 until 1953.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist and business magnate. He was the founder of Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. Ford created the first automobile that middle-class Americans could afford, and his conversion of the automobile from an expensive luxury into an accessible conveyance profoundly impacted the landscape of the 20th century.

Hardtop

Hardtop

A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the design, strength, and style of the vehicle.

Cadillac de Ville series

Cadillac de Ville series

The Cadillac DeVille is the nameplate used by Cadillac over eight generations, originally used to designate a trim level of the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 and later to designate a standalone model in the brand range. The last model marketed specifically as a DeVille was the 2005 full-size sedan, at the time, Cadillac's largest model.

Cadillac Series 62

Cadillac Series 62

The Cadillac Series 40-62 is a series of cars which was produced by Cadillac from 1940 through 1964. Originally designed to complement the entry level Series 61, it became the Cadillac Series 6200 in 1959, and remained that until it was renamed to Cadillac Calais for the 1965 model year. The Series 62 was also marketed as the Sixty-Two and the Series Sixty-Two. The Series 62 was used to introduce the Cadillac Coupe de Ville and the Cadillac Eldorado which started out as special appearance packages that were later placed into production.

Current use as model name

1950 Cadillac Coupe De Ville
1950 Cadillac Coupe De Ville

Production of cars with the coupe de ville body style ceased in 1939. However, car manufacturers in the United States have continued to release models called coupe de ville, sedanca de ville and town car despite the cars having other body styles;[26] for example the 1959 Lincoln Continental Town Car has a sedan body style.

Source: "Coupé de ville", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 25th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupé_de_ville.

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See also
  • Landaulet — the opposite with the rear convertible and the front closed. Landaulets de ville, or town landaulets, were similar to sedancas de ville but with folding tops on the passenger enclosure instead of fixed tops.
  • Targa top — also known in the United Kingdom as a Surrey Top.[27] Removable panel over the front seats, while the back of the top is usually fixed.
References

Citations

  1. ^ Stratton 1878, pp. 242–243.
  2. ^ a b c Haajanen 2003, p. 60.
  3. ^ Beattie 1977, p. 18.
  4. ^ a b Haajanen 2003, p. 55.
  5. ^ a b c d Town car – Coachbuilt 2004
  6. ^ de Ville extension – Coachbuilt 2004
  7. ^ a b Haajanen 2003, pp. 55–56.
  8. ^ Georgano 1971, p. 217.
  9. ^ Haajanen 2003, p. 148.
  10. ^ a b c d e Haajanen 2003, p. 121.
  11. ^ a b Culshaw & Horrobin 2013, p. 483.
  12. ^ Beattie 1977, p. 57.
  13. ^ Coupe de Ville – Coachbuilt 2004
  14. ^ a b Gove 1966, p. 521.
  15. ^ Haajanen 2003, p. 57.
  16. ^ Haajanen 2003, p. 58.
  17. ^ Haajanen 2003, pp. 24–27.
  18. ^ "Car of the Month - December 99". www.rrab.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  19. ^ "For Sale: 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I". www.classiccars.com. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  20. ^ "About Lincoln". Dearborn, MI USA: Ford Motor Company. The Roaring '20s. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. One of the most famous custom-built cars that came out of Edsel Ford's leadership was the 1922 Lincoln Town Car, which was built for Henry Ford himself. Town Car derived its name from its body styling, which featured an open chauffeur's compartment and enclosed passenger compartment.
  21. ^ Adler 2007, pp. 144–146.
  22. ^ Gunnell 2007, p. 27.
  23. ^ Schild 2009, p. 33.
  24. ^ Schild 2009, p. 83.
  25. ^ Gunnell 2007, p. 32.
  26. ^ Introduction – Coachbuilt 2004
  27. ^ Elliott 2007, pp. 104–105.

Sources

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