Coach (automotive design)

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Typical coach from A. Guilloré on the Delahaye 135 M chassis (1939)
This very coupé-like coach from Carrosserie Gangloff (Colmar) was manufactured in 1952 for a pre-war Bugatti Type 57 chassis .

The coach is a closed car with a fixed roof, two doors and four to five full-size seats in two rows. As a rule, the roof is supported by three pairs of vehicle pillars (so-called A , B and C pillars ).

Definitions

The term was adopted from coach construction , where it meant a closed, spacious vehicle that was also suitable for regular and postal services (“stagecoach”).

As a car body, the Coach originally combined elements of the coupé and the sedan (the latter according to German usage). The term was common in French and was used somewhat more cautiously in English- speaking countries; in the United States , Two-Door Sedan or Club Sedan were always more common. The briefest definition can be found on the US specialist website www.coachbuilt.com :

  • COACH - a two door sedan - COACH - a two-door sedan
  • CLUB COUPE - a two door closed car with a rear seat - CLUB COUPÉ - a two-door, closed car with a rear seat.
  • COUPE - a closed car with two doors for two or three people. May also have a rudimentary rear seat in which case it is usually called a Club Coupe… COUPÉ - a closed car with two doors for two or three people. It can also have a simple back seat; in this case it is usually called a Club Coupé.

The latter also corresponds to the definition of the Society of Automobile Engineers from 1916.

While there is a tendency today to generally refer to closed two-door models as “coupé”, a more precise distinction was made earlier. The fact that the terms would become blurred over time resulted from this delimitation with its overlaps. Advertising also contributed: it's easier to sell a spacious, sporty car than a sedan with just two doors. In any case , the term coach never really caught on in the German language and was almost completely displaced by this "two-door sedan".

Comparison Coupé / Coach

Three examples that make the difference between the two body shapes particularly clear:

  • Chevrolet Two-Ten Series 2100B, model 2102; 2-door Sedan (1956): Coach

  • Chevrolet Two-Ten Series 2100B, model 2154; Sport Coupe (1956)

  • Opel Rekord B as a two-door sedan (1966): a coach for the French

  • Opel Rekord B as a Coupé (1966): The roof line makes the difference

  • Panhard 24 CT: Coupé

  • Panhard 24 BT: Coach, created by lengthening the vehicle

The coupé version usually has a shorter roof, hence smaller rear side windows and a longer rear; with the coach it is the other way round. This results in a larger interior space, which benefits the rear passengers. The missing B-pillar of the Chevrolet Sport Coupé is not a unique selling point for a coupé, but corresponds to the sense of form of the time. In the Opel and Panhard, this is indicated by the particularly thin B-pillars. The latter was created by enlarging the wheelbase , the rear is identical in both versions. Both also have a more sporty line. From today's perspective, they are perceived as a coupe, but only the 24CT was originally intended as such.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c coachbuilt.com: Terminology (Limousine)
  2. ^ What's What in Automobile - Bodies Officially Determined. In: The New York Times. August 20, 1916.

literature

  • George Hildebrand (Ed.): The Golden Age of the Luxury Car - An Anthology of Articles and Photographs from Autobody , 1927-1931. Dover Publications, 1980, ISBN 0-486-23984-5 . (English)
  • Hugo Pfau: The Coachbuilt Packard. Dalton-Watson, London / Motorbooks International, Minneapolis 1973, ISBN 0-901564-10-9 . (English)
  • Richard S. Adatto, Diana E. Meredith: Delage Styling and Design: La Belle Voiture Francaise. Dalton Watson Fine Books, 2005, ISBN 1-85443-204-4 . (English)
  • Lawrence Dalton: Those Elegant Rolls Royce. revised edition. Dalton-Watson Publishers, London 1978. (English)
  • Lawrence Dalton: Rolls Royce - The Elegance Continue. Dalton-Watson Publishers, London, ISBN 0-901564-05-2 . (English)
  • Nick Walker: AZ of British Coachbuilders, 1919-1960. Bay View Books, Bideford, Devon, UK 1997, ISBN 1-870979-93-1 . (English)
  • Beverly Rae Kimes (Ed.), Henry Austin Clark Jr.: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. 2nd Edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 1985, ISBN 0-87341-111-0 . (English)
  • Chris Halla: Dreamboats & Milestones: Cars of the '50s. Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit PA 1981, ISBN 0-8306-2065-6 . (Modern Automotive Series)
  • Consumer's Guide (Ed.): Automobiles of the '50s . Publications International, 1993, ISBN 0-7853-0110-0 . (English)
  • Consumer's Guide (Ed.): American Cars of the 1950s . Publications International, 2005, ISBN 1-4127-1156-8 . (English)
  • Consumer's Guide (Ed.): American Cars of the 1960s . Publications International, 2005, ISBN 1-4127-1159-2 . (English)
  • Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1920-39. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-026-8 . (English)
  • Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1940-65. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-057-8 . (English)
  • Tad Burness: American Car Spotter's Guide, 1966-80. Motorbooks International, ISBN 0-87938-102-7 . (English)

Web links