Terms used to describe early vehicle body styles

In the history of the motor car there has been someambiguity in the names used to describe varioustypes of body styles, built by coach builders fromdifferent countries. The following terms relate tothe vehicles produced during the period 1895 to1915, and show the derivation of the terminologyused to describe the modern vehicle.
 Berlina Rarely used before the First World War.A closed luxury car with small windows whichallowed the occupants to see without being seen.Cab A term taken directly from the days of thehorse-drawn carriages. Used to describe an enclosedvehicle which carried two passengers, while thedriver was situated in front of this compartment andunprotected.
 Cabriolet Used towards the end of the period.Describes a car with a collapsible hood and seatingtwo or four people.
 Coupé A vehicle divided by a fixed or movableglass partition, behind the front seat. The driver’sposition was only partially protected by the roofwhilst the rear compartment was totally enclosedand very luxurious.
 Coupé cabriolet or double cabriolet A long vehiclehaving the front part designed as a coupé and the rearpart designed as a cabriolet. There were often twosupplementary seats.
 Coupé chauffeur A coupé with the driving positioncompletely covered by an extension of the rear roof.Coupé de ville A coupé having the driving positioncompletely open.
 Coupé limousine A vehicle having a totallyenclosed rear compartment and the front drivingposition closed on the sides only.
 Double Berlina A longer version of the Berlinabut having the driving position separated from therear part of the vehicle.
 Double landaulet A longer version of the lan-daulet. It had two permanent seats plus two occa-sional seats in the rear and a driving position in front.
 Double phaeton A phaeton which had two doubleseats including the driver’s seat.
 Double tunneau A longer version of the tonneauin which the front seats were completely separatedfrom the rear seats.
 Landau A cabriolet limousine having only theroof behind the rear windows collapsible.Landaulet or landaulette A small landau hav-ing only two seats in the closed collapsible roofportion.
 Limousine A longer version of the coupé withdouble side windows in the rear compartment.Limousine chauffeur A limousine with an extendedrear roof to cover the driving position.
 Phaeton A term from the days of the horse-drawncarriage. In early motoring it was used to describea lightweight car with large spoked wheels, onedouble seat and usually a hood.
 Runabout An open sporting type of vehicle withsimple bodywork and two seats only.Tonneau An open vehicle having a front benchseat and a semicircular rear seat which was built
 into the rear doors.
 Glass saloon A large closed vehicle similar to adouble Berlina but with enlarged windows.Saloon A vehicle having the driving seat insidethe enclosed car but not separated from the rearseat by a partition.
 Torpedo A long sports vehicle having its hoodattached to the windscreen.
 Victoria Another term derived from the era ofhorses. The Victoria was a long, luxurious vehiclewith a separate driving position and a large rearseat. It was equipped with hoods and side screens.
 Wagon saloon A particularly luxurious saloonused for official purposes.