Coupe

A coupe is a car body style that features enclosed interior and fixed roof tops, having 2 seats or 2+2 seating arrangement. A coupe styled vehicle features a frameless door along with the window glasses stretched up to the weather strip of the main body. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) defines a coupe as a fixed roof automobile that has a rear interior volume less than 33 cubic feet. Any vehicle that has a larger interior volume is classified as a sedan.

Coupe is a French origin word that was used to describe a closed 4-wheel vehicle in the 19th century. By the 20th century, all the closed-coupled automobiles were being termed as coupe. A large variety of coupes were available in 1950s. In the 1950s convertibles were also referred to as convertible coupes. Some of them were Club coupe, Business coupe, Opera coupe, Four-door coupe and sport coupe also known as the berlinetta. There were many sedans which were known as coupe like the Rover P5 and the Mercedes Benz CLS since thy featured body designs similar to coupes.

Coupe-styled cars are very popular as they appear sportier than a sedan. To tap the popularity of coupe cars commercially, all the major automobile manufacturers have started designing cars with coupe styled body design. Hyundai coupe, Fiat coupe, Audi coupe TT and BMW coupe are some of the coupes that are available in the European car market.