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
From the 1930s to the mid 1940s American car makers made a Business Coupe. They usually didn’t have a rear seat.
http://classicvehicleslist.com/pics/bigpics/1941-chrysler-royal-business-coupe-highly-original-fantastic-condition-2.JPG
Step down, Kim Kardashian– THIS is a legitimately nice ass. Dodge definitely nailed it in the 40s.
I thought of these immediately.
Pretty much every hardtop sports car up to the 1970s. The 1963-1967 Corvette comes to mind.
http://www.anamericanclassic.com/images/1963WTCorvCoupe/WTCorvCoupe.jpg
365 GTB
https://auto.ferrari.com/en_US/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2013/07/Ferrari_365-GTB4_STRADA_xMAM5774_0718020.jpg
Ferrari 250 GT
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8nGX3VViwg-0Vf2f2EMfs9EgppVkceRT4PXaJgd7eKNjXIA3n
Really about 3/4th of the Ferrari coupes.
2 doors – check
fixed roof – check
no hatch – check
2 passenger – Strato buckets oh yeah
http://cdn.chevyhardcore.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/28/files/2011/04/El-Camino-70.jpg
Dang. That was going to be my clever idea.
And more sporty than a Business Coupe.
Yes I was going to nominate all utes. Lots of luggage space for very grand touring particularly with a hard lid.
Let’s bring it up to date.
https://www.hsv.com.au/hsv/2017/images/see/maloor8lsa/maloor8lsa-exterior-1.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/145288fd31e3823a1c293825293fac4934a0e23aff7cc2ac7bf8fd84413a2d3a.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c245fad24c199b6813ce0aee8a45b5353b2346ee529cbf1e8637aaee74afb6fd.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7aa478f42abe892594c24604021d3e2646be43fca90bbf9783fbb7a629b40c7c.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/04bcf5d8188a70ddbcc66eecf96467cb7b90516861b60fc0198ee75553676785.jpg
Meh. Rules and schools are tools for fools.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/145288fd31e3823a1c293825293fac4934a0e23aff7cc2ac7bf8fd84413a2d3a.jpg
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
Damn, you’re just a gift that keeps on giving.
P161911 beat me to the punch on business coupes, so I naturally drifted to either the Leyat Hélica or the Commuter Cars Tango, but the Tango is a rear-motored hatchback.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dd86b6d8c4dd5d4d49620c83a6c376c716dbf09ee3cd6ccb5add9a39d5912930.jpg
I would have thought the Shape of Things to Come would have been low hanging fruit.
https://secure.i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01549/triumph-tr7a_1549226c.jpg
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.
This may be cheating a bit due to the picture up there, but the 1999-2000 pre-ZO6 fixed roof coupe Corvettes are pretty rare finds. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dae85f96f8d1e49937ab00ed7ffb1b9b42659e839f732e53d2d4d37620846b34.jpg
Since GTX got here first with the El Camino, I’ll just extend the stretching of the rules.
http://dealeraccelerate-all.s3.amazonaws.com/fastlane/marketing_assets/157/454SS.jpg
Did that have 2 or 3 front seats?
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.
Did you ever say that a pickup truck is a coupe?
I see a three-box shape with two doors.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b9dd0912bde4886652bb241ee89acad0350cce7c11aecc5be371c2054ff880fa.jpg
https://tommyscarblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/car-and-driver-september-1991.jpg
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.
Representing the 1980s Coupe.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–cbxwg4IZ–/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/ygh3sulrjm4ji8vjlaug.jpg
Cadillac Sevelle Elegante Opera Coupe.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/60/aa/8860aa1698cc692922309570bbfffef3.jpg
Seeing as this started life as a 4 door sedan, I’d bet it doesn’t count
American Bantam Coupe.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Bantam_Modell_60_Coupe_1938_2.jpg
MGA Coupe
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/coupe/pics/coupe.jpg
I would like to think that the ZIS-112 Coupe is a 2 seater.
http://en.sovetcars.ru/netcat_files/20070721210516.jpg
AMC AMX.
1968_AMC_AMX_390_GO_PAC_white_s.jpg
Were these removable hard tops?
https://cdn.barrett-jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsize/Cars/71991/71991_Front_3-4_Web.jpg
Yep. I believe they all came with the hardtop initially. I think by the end it was optional .
Some of these had fixed roofs.
https://assets.hemmings.com/uimage/54548452-500-0.jpg
That was the 450SLC. It also got a back seat.
https://res.cloudinary.com/carsguide/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto,t_cg_hero_large/v1/editorial/dp/albums/album-1114/lg/Mercedes-Benz-450SLC-2005-3.jpg
Dang.
The Lotus Elan Coupe
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Lotus_Elan_%282723404335%29.jpg/800px-Lotus_Elan_%282723404335%29.jpg
and dishonorable mention to the Buick Reatta
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/1988_Buick_Reatta%2C_front_left.jpg/1280px-1988_Buick_Reatta%2C_front_left.jpg
Fortunately for our sanity, the Suzuki X90 is disqualified by its targa top.
More like 3 bars of soap than 3 boxes. https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/images/car-reviews/first-drives/legacy/ev1.png?itok=JbT9UeTq
Good for a trip to a resort not very far away from home!
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?
You’re looking for luxury large coupes? They don’t come much larger than this.
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EDG9Vy2tEMM/VW93_JcZu5I/AAAAAAAAQDU/4Ud0LtbQip4/s1600/6w1.JPG
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dba0097e5f9915c5fdde73fbbf6b1488b92556ce2004a8abae7d1d493dd97113.jpg Morgan Plus 4 Plus
Nash Metropolitan https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/db1d947a85909c47c5df0a6cf97d08b00dcf409eda01799bd60287536633f667.jpg
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?)
The AC Frua/AC 428 coupe was also a two seater with a fixed roof and a trunk instead of a hatch.
Jaguar E-Type: not a hatch, according to the hinges-below-the-beltline rule. I’m going to disregard the part about glass, because anyone attempting to disqualify an E-Type doesn’t belong here anyway.
http://carteblanche.je/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Jaguar-4.2-Litre-E-Type-Fixed-Head-Coupe-boot.jpg
Fail on two counts
1. Dismissing the classic car magazine staple that everyone has to like this like everyones supposed to like *insert 70s dadrock album here* E-type is pretty Hooniverse I reckon.
2. E-Type Lightweight exists, the Hoons E-type.
https://indnets.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/lightness-dawns-again-for-the-jaguar-e-type-throughout-jaguar-e-type-lightweight-replica.jpg
Pretty sure the lightweight was just a hardtop convertible. However, the lightweight Low Drag Coupe didn’t have a rear hatch.
http://www.autopaedia.com/auta/Jaguar/Jaguar_E-Type/Jaguar_E-Type_Series_1_(XKE)_1961-1968_(1962__lightweight_low_drag_3.8_coupe_2d)_(01)_-CC1-.jpg
I would’ve thought it’d be welded in for racing, but apparently not. It’s removeable alright, which is odd.
Probably so that you can remove the top and the windscreen for low drag. Sort of like this non-lightweight.
https://www.sportscarmarket.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/72754b70fe6beee440ef38686ca1c17b.jpg
So many options, here’s four.
Ginetta G40R
https://www.autocar.co.uk/sites/autocar.co.uk/files/styles/gallery_slide/public/ginetta-g40-2_1.jpg?itok=SG7n8GuU
Marcos
http://ag-spots-2016.o.auroraobjects.eu/2016/08/09/marcos-30-gt-coupe-c224309082016195655_3.jpg
TVR Grantura/Griffith
https://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6085449857_75602022c8_z.jpg
Costin Amigo
https://spct2000.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/marcoscars-net.jpg
The Cobra Daytona Coupe doesn’t have a rear hatch.
http://www.simeonemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/historic/1965-shelby-daytona-pete-brock-historic.jpg
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Aston_Martin_Vanquish_S_-_Flickr_-_Alexandre_Pr%C3%A9vot_%281%29_%28cropped%29.jpg
Looking back through Aston Martin’s history I’m surprised how many were actually 2+2s.
The Sonett II and Sonett V4 are not hatchbacks, although honestly they should have been because trying to fill the available storage space beneath that fixed rear glass is a real pain.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b656423ff38f3278e0062c357330224012bb096f259b61177ca4f55c9de1d3c3.jpg
Funny, I always think of grand tourers as 2+2s.
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.
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.
Ford Model T “Doctor’s” Coupe
https://barnfinds.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/031716-Barn-Finds-1927-Ford-Model-T-2-e1458248748543.jpg
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.
Caveat? I didn’t think that’s how you pronounce Corvette.
1899 Renault Type B coupe – possibly the world’s first closed motorcar. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/898ffd574d478e381f64a39d965c5755644dedba973f9338746dce21f2bd1b47.jpg
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.
Could it be that I thought of one you all haven’t??
Jaguar XK120 coupe:
https://uncrate.com/p/2017/11/jaguar-xk-120-se-coupe-1.jpg
(there’s no back seat in there, right??)
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!
Opel GT(?)
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.
Buick Reatta
Opel GT.
Although it is technically front mid-engined, I think it should pass muster. Maybe a bit low on power, but that can be remedied with upgrades if you really insist.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/04d151ce6fbc2efe8b26ddf54703922de555ff81d27ba21f9d6b9a08bd9d36e1.jpg
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.