A coupe is generally considered to be a two door car with a similar shape to a sedan but without
the two rear doors.
A coupe consists of three main compartments:-
- The front of the car which is usually used as the engine compartment.
- The passenger area with one or two rows of seats. A coupe with one row (driver & front seat) would accommodate the driver and
one other person and coupes with two rows (driver seat, front passenger seat & back seat) would accommodate four persons
including the driver.
- The rear compartment with the trunk or boot allowing the driver to carry cargo.
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The layout of a coupe allows them to be smaller than sedans although coupes such as the Mercedes Benz CL, the Rolls Royce
Phantom coupe and the Bentley Continental GT are larger than many sedans. Most coupes are generally
lower and shorter in height and length than comparable sedans.
Other design cues is their roof is sleeker by design, the doors are slightly longer as there is no back door and to allow easier
access to the rear seats, the doors may be without a frame for the window glass and the B-pillar may be reduced to the height of the
door.
As coupes have a similar shape to sedans it is common to have four seater coupes built from a sedan model like the Cadillac CTS
or an entirely new model can be built using the platform from a sedan like the Audi A5 being built
off the A4 platform.
There are some marques that have four seater coupes with no connection to a sedan like the Masarati Gran Turismo or the Aston
Martin DBS. Two seater coupes are generally built with their own platform or share a platform with another two seater.
The side view of an Aston Martin DB9 coupe |
The rear view of an Audi A5 coupe |
The persons that have to sit in the back seat of a coupe will enter the car through the front doors as the front seats in any two
door vehicle with a backseat will be able to raise and push forward to gain access to the back seats.
Many of the features and luxuries than can be offered on a sedan can be offered on a four seater coupe. The CL, Phantom coupe and
Continental GT mentioned above offers most of the luxuries and refinement of the best cars in the world.
Practically all supercars are coupes with a roadster version usually being
developed afterwards. These exotic cars are two seaters with mid mounted powerful engines.
It is also relatively easy to make a convertible version of a coupe. This vehicle is then classified
as a convertible if it's a four seater or a roadster if its a two seater.
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