A coupé or coupe (from the French verb couper, to cut) is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coupés are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan (also known as saloon; see American and British English spelling differences) body styles, with doors commonly reduced from 4 to 2, and a close-coupled interior (i.e., the rear seat placed further forward than in a standard sedan) offering either two seats or 2+2 seating (space for two passengers in the front and two occasional passengers or children in the rear). Before the days of motorized vehicles, the word referred to the front or after compartment of a Continental stagecoach.

In Europe (including the United Kingdom), the original French spelling, coupé, and a modified French pronunciation (/ku??pe?/ koo-pay), are used. The stress may be on either the first or second syllable; stressing the first syllable is the more Anglicized variant. Most, but not all, speakers of North American English, at this time, pronounce coupé as "coop" (/ku?p/) and spell it without the acute accent (coupe).

This was a gradual change from the original French pronunciation occurring prior to World War II. A very North American example of usage is the hot-rodders' term Deuce Coupe ("doose coop") used to refer to a 1932 Ford. In the 19th century a coupé was a closed four-wheel horse-drawn carriage, cut (coupé) to eliminate the forward-mounted, rear-facing passenger seats, with a single seat inside for two persons behind the driver, who sat on a box outside.

If the driver had no roof over his head then it was a coupé de-ville. Commonly, a coupé had a fixed glass window in the front of the passenger compartment, The driver was protected from road dirt by a high curving dashboard. A landau is a coupé de-ville with a folding top.

Where only the passenger compartment has a folding top but the driver remains covered, the style is known as a landaulet.

Similar to 0 things you like: