Although the term coupe is typically associated with cars, it
originally found its way into the English lexicon as a word to describe
carriages that featured no rear-facing seats. These seats had
effectively been cut out, or decouper as the French would say, hence the
term coupe. For car purists this particular car body style is the
source of considerable debate; there's no strict criteria, other than
the need for two-doors, a closed body and a fixed roof.
Due to the lack of fixed criteria, many car manufacturers over the years have used creative licenses to develop a number of variations on the standard coupe model. Some have taken off, remaining a constant presence in car showrooms across the world, others have mutated, and in some cases been rechristened to shed any ties to their original model, whilst others have faded from existence.
There's a good chance you won't have heard or know much about any of these models - some of them are pretty obscure. Therefore, the simple guide we've produced below will probably provide your knowledge with a bit of a boost:
Business: A pretty straightforward style to start with. Business coupe models were designed specifically with travelling salespeople in mind. They would always traditionally travel with all the stock they were responsible for selling for company - none of these order now, receive later systems we have today. So, they'd always require a significant amount of extra space. In order to cater to their needs, car manufacturers designed a coupe featuring no rear seat at all - not even one that could be removed - thus leaving them with plenty of dedicated space in which to conveniently store their goods.
Opera: Despite your initial assumptions, the opera coupe didn't come equipped with a singer wailing their way through an Italian baroque opera - as great as that would have been. Instead opera models boasted a higher roof in their passenger compartments. This taller compartment served the purpose of allowing gentlemen to continue to wear their hats to the opera. There wasn't any car model that reflected the original horse-drawn coupe carriages quite as much as this one.
Club: A club coupe is something that's not mentioned hugely in the modern era. Some enthusiasts might talk about them in such a way; however, most know them as two-door sedans. Stylistically they don't differ too drastically when compared to a standard coupe - the only real difference being that they feature a larger rear seat.
Sports: Everyone loves sports cars - there's something incredibly exotic about them, and they're usually impeccably designed. Sports model typically feature a roof that slopes gradually downwards in the style of a fastback. The way in which they're designed makes sport coupe models an incredibly aerodynamic option. Modern examples of sports coupes include the BMW 6 Series models and French manufacturer, Peugeot's RCZ.
Amongst the other coupe terms you may stumble across are the quad, the combi, and the four-door - all of which have a decent popularity amongst modern motorists.
Due to the lack of fixed criteria, many car manufacturers over the years have used creative licenses to develop a number of variations on the standard coupe model. Some have taken off, remaining a constant presence in car showrooms across the world, others have mutated, and in some cases been rechristened to shed any ties to their original model, whilst others have faded from existence.
There's a good chance you won't have heard or know much about any of these models - some of them are pretty obscure. Therefore, the simple guide we've produced below will probably provide your knowledge with a bit of a boost:
Business: A pretty straightforward style to start with. Business coupe models were designed specifically with travelling salespeople in mind. They would always traditionally travel with all the stock they were responsible for selling for company - none of these order now, receive later systems we have today. So, they'd always require a significant amount of extra space. In order to cater to their needs, car manufacturers designed a coupe featuring no rear seat at all - not even one that could be removed - thus leaving them with plenty of dedicated space in which to conveniently store their goods.
Opera: Despite your initial assumptions, the opera coupe didn't come equipped with a singer wailing their way through an Italian baroque opera - as great as that would have been. Instead opera models boasted a higher roof in their passenger compartments. This taller compartment served the purpose of allowing gentlemen to continue to wear their hats to the opera. There wasn't any car model that reflected the original horse-drawn coupe carriages quite as much as this one.
Club: A club coupe is something that's not mentioned hugely in the modern era. Some enthusiasts might talk about them in such a way; however, most know them as two-door sedans. Stylistically they don't differ too drastically when compared to a standard coupe - the only real difference being that they feature a larger rear seat.
Sports: Everyone loves sports cars - there's something incredibly exotic about them, and they're usually impeccably designed. Sports model typically feature a roof that slopes gradually downwards in the style of a fastback. The way in which they're designed makes sport coupe models an incredibly aerodynamic option. Modern examples of sports coupes include the BMW 6 Series models and French manufacturer, Peugeot's RCZ.
Amongst the other coupe terms you may stumble across are the quad, the combi, and the four-door - all of which have a decent popularity amongst modern motorists.
The coupe
is a style of car that doesn't have any strict criteria. As a result a
number of cars have been described as coupes over the past few years.
This article looks at just some of the coupe models from past and
present.
