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Coachwork
Styles
by
Lisa Buckleton, W A Registrar
In
going through the registrar’s vehicle details,
it seemed to me that members could sometimes select a more specific coachwork
"style" for their vehicles.
To
provide guidance (or possibly the start of an argument), is the following review
of various coachwork styles. I have drawn heavily on the book The Rolls-Royce
25/30 h.p. and Wraith, by Bernard L. King. Please note that the descriptions
are my interpretation and any errors should be laid at my doorstep.
Coachwork styles appear to be based on whether the body is intended for the smaller models (e.g. 20/25, 2S/30) or larger models (40/50, Phantom), and whether the roof was fixed or folding.
This creates 4 general classes – Saloon (small model, fixed roof); Coupe (small model, folding roof); Limousine (large model, fixed roof); and Tourer (large model, folding [or no] roof).
There
are many exceptions to these classes. For instance, the "fixed head coupe"
does not have a folding roof, whereas the "sedanca de ville" (in the
"saloon" class) has both a folding roof and a division. To add to
the confusion, separate coachbuilders sometimes used different terms to refer
to the same coachwork, or the same term for different coachwork!
There
is also a style that fits none of these classes – the "Estate Car"
also called "Shooting Brnke" or "Countryman". (It has been
claimed that us Yanks called this a "Station Wagon". However, "Station
Wagon" is a fairly recent term and I don’t believe there were any
coachbuilt station wagons, let alone "station wagon" R-Rs. I would,
however, be happy to be corrected!)
There are some terms (often regarding roof design) that are frequently used in conjunction with a base style. This results in style names such as the "Coupe de ville", a coupe with a roof that could be locked in the "de ville" position.
The following (doubtless incomplete) table lists some of these terms:
Table 1: Terms and Description
|
Term
|
Description
|
| de Ville | Originally called the tenderlet, a folding top that may be opened over the front passenger area, leaving the rear passenger area covered. |
| Sedanca | A folding top over the front and a fixed, enclosed rear section. |
| Drophead | A folding top. Generally used only for the smaller engined models. Called a "convertible" in the USA, but this term may only be used in the registrar's listings for the Corniche. |
| 3-position drophead | A folding top that could be locked in 3 positions: fully closed, "de Ville", and fully open. |
| Tickford | The trade name for a wind-down fabric roof, able to be raised and lowered using a handle. Designed by Arthur H. Dalby-Balls in 1925, these were exclusively made by Salmons & Sons Ltd., who took the name from their Tickford Street location in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. |
| Fixed Head | Having a top that does not fold down. (Called a "hardtop" in the USA, a term not generally applied to coachwork on Rolls-Royces and Bentleys.) |
| Landaulette | Having a folding top over the rear roof quarter. |
| Division | A physical divider between the front and rear compartments. |
| Four-light | Coachwork without windows behind the rear doors, i.e. four windows (excluding the windscreen and rear window.) |
| Six-light | Coachwork with windows behind the rear doors, i.e. six windows. |
| Pillarless | Coachwork with no pillar between at least one pair of side windows. |
| Weymann | A construction method perfected in 1922 by Charles Terres Weymann. Instead of mortise and tenon, the wooden frame was joined by steel plates, leaving a gap of approximately 4 mm. This frame was usually covered in fabric. |
| Close coupled | Having the whole of the passenger compartment within the wheelbase; ie, the entire sear seat is forward of the rear wheel. |
| Boat tail, skiff | With the rear of the coachwork shaped like the prow of a boat, usually used on tourers. |
Click on thumbnails to enlarge
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|
Sedanca
|
de Ville
|
Boat-tail
(8 litre Bentley)
|
Division
(with picnic table)
|
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 |
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|
Tourer
|
Four-light
|
Six-light
|
Landaulette
|
The next two tables are of the styles themselves, grouped into the four classes. Many of these styles could be further refined by adding any of the terms decribed in the first table (eg, "boat-tail tourer"; Limousine de Ville; Saloon with Division).
Table 2: Small Models
|
Name
|
Description
|
Also
Known As
|
| Saloon | A 4 - 5 seat car, usually 4-light, but occasionally 6-light, without division and usually with a fixed roof (a sliding sunshine roof may be offered as an extra) | Sedan (USA or Australian bodies only) |
| Saloon Coupé | Often used by James Young and others for 2-door 4-light saloons, less close-coupled than a fixed head coupé. | |
| Close coupled saloon | Originally used to indicate that all occupants were seated within the wheelbase. Now generally limited to close-coupled four-door vehicles. | Owner-Driver saloon; Sportsman's Saloon; Sports Saloon. |
| Saloon Landaulette | A saloon with the rear roof quarter able to be folded back. | |
| Sedanca de Ville | A saloon with a division and an opening top to the front compartment | Town Car (USA) |
| Coupé | Originally close-coupled four-door coachwork. Now generally used to refer to all 2-door coachwork, sometimes with dickey seat. | |
| Fixed Head Coupé | A coupé without a folding top | |
| Drophead Coupé | A coupé with a folding top that could be locked in either the fully open or fully closed positions | |
| 3-position drophead coupé | A drophead coupé with a top which can be locked in the "de Ville" position as well as fully open or fully closed. | Coupé de Ville |
| Continental coupé | A coupé featuring a seperate trunk at the rear for baggage, rather than a boot built into the body | |
| Sedanca coupé | A two-door design with folding top over the front seats, but a fixed, enclosed rear roof section. | |
| Roadster | An American term for a two-door, two seat vehicle with folding top, usually fitted with a rumble or dickey seat. |
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 |
 |
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|
Saloon
|
Close
coupled saloon
|
3-position
drophead coupé (mid position)
|
3-position
drophead coupé (down position)
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Sedanca
de Ville
|
Limousine
with occasional seats
|
Drophead
Coupe
|
Roadster
|
Table
3: Large Models
|
Name
|
Description
|
Also
Known as
|
| Limousine | A roomy 4-door six-light with division and occasional seats | ... |
| Brougham | Coachwork with a seperate passenger compartment (eg a division) and a door curved forward at the toe. | ... |
| Pullman | An especially large and roomy limousine | ... |
| Touring Limousine | Compact and usually without occasional seats (although sometimes with a single sideways occasional seat). Pre WW2 these were commonly 4-door 4-light and always included a luggage boot. Postwar, often compact 4-door 6-light designs; in some cases saloon limousines did not have a luggage boot. | Saloon limousine; Sports limousine |
| Landaulette | A limousine with a rear roof quarter able to be folded back. Originally limited to "open-drive" coachwork where the front compartment was open. | Landaulet |
| Enclosed Landaulette | A Landaulette with a fixed top over the front compartment | Limousine Landaulet |
| Sedancalette | A 4-door 4-light landaulette with an additional fold-back roof over the driver's compartment. | ... |
| Tourer | Open topped, two, three or four door with folding roof and roll-up "soft" or detachable sidescreens | |
| Phaeton | An open touring car with no roof. However, Thrupp and Maberley used the name when selling deluxe versions of their all-weather type. | |
| All-weather | Normally 4-door (but occasionally two-door) having a folding roof with windup windows. | |
| Cabriolet | Coachwork with folding (fabric) top | |
| Faux cabriolet | Coachwork with fixed fabric top, often with fake hood irons | False cabriolet |
| Salamanca | A luxuriously appointed formal 4-light Cabriolet de Ville | |
| Roi des Belges | An open top car with no roof, separate passenger compartment and distinctive high-back seat design. (AX 201 is a Roi des Belges) | |
| Estate Car | Fully enclosed with no division and large rear storage area (for hauling shot guns and bird dogs). Often with exposed wood framework. | Shooting Brake; Countryman; Wagonette (USA?), station wagon |
| Utility | A particularly Australian style with an enclosed 2 seat (or 4 seat) passenger compartment and open, non-passenger storage area in the rear. the US "pickup" is similar, but usually has a higher ground clearance. |
I put together this table by comparing the similarities and differences between the style descriptions and photos of the various identified styles to assist my understanding. Any errors or misinterpretations are mine. Feel free to disagree with these tables or provide more informed descriptions!
So, if the information regarding the coachwork style of your vehicle could be firther refined, you may like to use the above information to determine an appropriate style name. Finally, the style name used by the coachbuilder is the authoritative version, so if you know it, continue to use it! ¶