Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Two doors, two seats, fixed roof, and no hatch

By Kamil Kaluski May 8, 2018


I’m a big fan of grand touring automobiles. Those are usually luxury large coupes that were designed to swallow up miles while providing the driver and the passenger utmost comfort. Big engines, just enough room for you and yours, and the small amount of stuff two people may need for a weekend at a resort far away from home. 
But, I like my grand touring coupes in a certain specific way. First, I prefer two seats. The small useless rear seats bother me for some reason, I hate them. I also don’t love convertibles. I prefer fixed roof vehicles. And while I love hatches, I don’t want a hatch grand touring coupe. Hatches, while useful, add weight and may reduce structural strength. I also don’t think that they’re very classy. A coupe, by my own definition, is a sedan-like three-box shape but with two doors.
So today we are looking for two-passenger, two-door coupes, with a fixed hard roof, and no hatch. 
The Caveats (there are always caveats):

  • No rear- or mid-engine cars – a coupe, by my own definition, has the engine in the front. 
  • A model with rear seats deleted, such as the Mustang GT350R, doesn’t count. 
  • Just because you think a vehicle shouldn’t have rear seats (BRZ, Camaro) but has them, doesn’t count. 
  • A hatch is a cargo opening that has glass in it and/or hinges above the belt-line of the vehicle. 

Difficulty: 7.8 out of 8, harder than you think, I think. 
How This Works: Read the comments first and don’t post duplicates! Bonus points for adding photos.
Image: hagerty.com

By Kamil Kaluski

East Coast Editor. Races crappy cars and has an unhealthy obsession with Eastern Bloc cars. Current fleet: Ford Bronco, Lexus GX 470, and a Buick Regal crapcan racecar.

75 thoughts on “Encyclopedia Hoonatica: Two doors, two seats, fixed roof, and no hatch”
    1. Step down, Kim Kardashian– THIS is a legitimately nice ass. Dodge definitely nailed it in the 40s.

      1. Yes I was going to nominate all utes. Lots of luggage space for very grand touring particularly with a hard lid.

  1. Just to clarify: (1) As long as there are only two seats, do they have to be side-by-side or can they be in a row? (2) Do the two doors have to be directly opposite one another? (3) Precisely how “sedan-like three-box” does it have to be?
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2e8440f0e06aa7a083129098fd22e620c5737e8a8e505f00f9f7b20609f86361.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9f94a552da8938bf3e0436a41efd68f02526f43e7ee47652663163592273feb3.jpg

    1. I was too focused on the wrong Triumph. I was wondering whether the optional rear seats in the GT6 counted as a rear seat delete until remembering the hatch rendered the seat question moot.

      1. Two, these had a console in the middle. I initially was going to go with a Ford Lightning, but they seemed to all have a fold down seatback in the middle to accommodate a third passenger.

      1. Not personally, but it fits the criteria where something called a “coupe” by manufacturers of The Ultimate Driving Machine fails on nearly all of them. I’d say the term is up for grabs.

  2. By your definition the grandest grand touring coupe of the 1960’s, the Jaguar E type coupe, doesn’t qualify because it has a side opening hatch? Oh, the humanity! Does the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato Coupe count?

  3. Dodge Challenger Demon with the $1 front passenger seat option but not the $1 rear seat option.
    (It’s not really a rear seat delete if the default is not to have it, right?)

  4. The AC Frua/AC 428 coupe was also a two seater with a fixed roof and a trunk instead of a hatch.

        1. I would’ve thought it’d be welded in for racing, but apparently not. It’s removeable alright, which is odd.

    1. Likewise. Sports cars are 2 seats, GTs are 2+2.
      But I’m willing to play along with whatever arbitrary definition Kamil wants to use. It’s his game.

      1. I agree. The Corvette is a sports car. The Mustang, a GT. But like you said, it’s Kamil’s game.
        Speaking of car nomenclature, I think the coupe vs. sedan argument needs to be revisited. I still think of the BMW 2002 as a two-door sedan, but of the BMW E9 as a coupe (Wikipedia defines it as a Grand Tourer, by the way– and it has rear seats!). The Fox-body Mustang GT is a coupe, but the notchback LX is a sedan. There’s no such thing, in my mind, as a four-door coupe, but I don’t think a car is a coupe just because it has two doors. Perhaps this argument will be moot in 10 years when everything is a damned crossover.

  5. Finally found one: MG Xpower SV
    The Qvale/DeTomaso Mangusta had a removable targa and top. The Stevens’ update fixed the roof.
    My question was there a back seat in the SV… Nope.
    I finally saw a Qvale Mangusta last weekend. No one knew what it was, but my son and I being MG and Mustang fans knew right off.

  6. I think you missed the point on “Grand Tourer”– extra seats and a hatch are everything if you’re covering long distances with style. It’s your game and your criteria, but you’re really defining a sports car.

    1. Sports car. Not a GT. You’ve hit KK’s f’ed up definition of a grand tourer, but really given an example of an old sports car. Kudos for following the rules, though!

    1. I’d considered it but thought the fastback disqualified it, but if the Saab Sonnett made it then the Opel GT should also show up.

  7. In which I endeavor to meet the letter of the rules, without meeting the spirit of the rules.
    2003 Mazda Roadster Coupe. Because you wanted a small-engined sports car, not a big-engined grand tourer.
    Two passengers without seat deletes? Check.
    Two doors? Check.
    Fixed hard roof? Check.
    No hatch? Check.
    Front engine? Check.
    Dodge Rampage. OK, I’m not the first to use a truck, so I’ll use a front wheel drive truck.
    Two passengers without seat deletes? Check.
    Two doors? Check.
    Fixed hard roof? Check.
    No hatch? Check.
    Front engine? Check.

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