A landaulet, or landaulette, is a car body style with a convertible top for the back seat, with the front seat either roofed or open.[1]
The term landaulet was originally used to describe a coupé version of a landau-style carriage, without the front seats that a landau would have had. The landaulet retained the rear half of the landau's two-part folding top.
Like many other coachbuilding styles, the landaulet was transferred from horse-drawn carriages to motor carriages.
Since a landaulet was always intended to be a chauffeured vehicle, the style was never popular in the mass market. They are sold mostly to celebrities, dignitaries, and those responsible for transporting celebrities and dignitaries. Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI, and Pope Benedict XVI used landaulets based on Mercedes-Benz automobiles.
The Maybach division of Daimler AG showed a landaulet concept car at the Middle East International Auto Show in November 2007.[2] They have since added the landaulet to their 2009 model line.[3]
Contents |
Gallery
 1908 Matheson landaulet |
 1911 Adler landaulet |
 Mercedes-Benz 300d landaulet used by Pope John XXIII |
 Lancia Flaminia landaulet of the President of the Italian Republic |
 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman landaulet used by Pope Paul VI |
 Mercedes-Benz S500-based landaulet |
See also
References
- ^ "The Random House College Dictionary" p. 753 Random House, Inc., 1975 ISBN 0-394-43600-8
- ^ Car Body Design - Maybach Landaulet Study
- ^ Left Lane News: 2009 Maybach 62S Landaulet
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Landaulets |
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