Faeton is a type of car body with a stuffed roof and no side lift. In order to protect against bad weather, the first fatalists had special sheets of tarp with transparent celluloid film in the middle, which were fastening to the sides.
Later, the understanding of the phaetone has changed slightly, and at the peak of its popularity, the Phaeton was a 4-door sedan with removable side windows and a soft emerging roof. It is believed that it was the Phaeton which gave the beginning to all the modern open bodies of the car.
The name was borrowed from ancient Greek mythology: Faeton was the son of Helios, the god of the Sun. He strove for the sun on his father's chariot and burn, almost burned down the earth. The term "Phayton", even before the beginning of the car era, was a equestrian carriage with a soft opening and one or more rows of seats.
Origin and variety of the "Phaeton" body
The inspiration for the first car designers was horse carts. In fact, the first cars were carriages without horses. Before the beginning of the twentieth century, the phaetons called all two-local automobiles with folding horses, and this type of bodywork gave preference to rich and distinguished buyers. However, there was no unanimeness in road terminology, so that in Europe the same fatonas were called tourer (sometimes also touring or torpedo).
In addition to the usual faetone with one row of seats, there were also "double-phase" (double-phaeton) and triple-phaeton at the dawn of the automotive industry, which had two and three rows of seats, respectively. Sometimes the second windscreen, which was moved from the back of the front seat, was used to increase the stiffness of the body. The modern limousine can be considered a modern limousine that serves to separate the driving and passenger parts of the passenger compartment.
Another variation of the "Phaeton" body is dual-cowl, which was characterized by a wide partition between the front and rear passenger compartments with the cover. Cars in these bodies were made only for an order.
There was also a sport-phaeton, which differed from his own by the more smooth lines of the body and, as a consequence, improved aerodynamic characteristics (as far as the early twentieth century was possible).
However, all these subspecies existed until the 1930s. By that time, the concept of "Phaeton" was associated only with expensive open top cars and a place for the three rows of seats (shorter versions of the faetones could not withstand the competition with the convertible).
Famed vehicles with a "Phaeton" body
At the beginning of the 20th century, many of the major automakers produced phaetons for wealthy customers at the time. Mercedes, Hudson, Rolls-Royce, Studebaker, Isotta, Ford-the choice of buyers was quite extensive. One of the last real phetons was the Willys-Overland Jeepster, which ended in 1951. A year later, Willys released three exclusive beans to be used at ceremonies-one for New York, Los Angeles and the White House. These were dual-cowl facets on the extended Chrysler Crown Imperial Limousine platform.
When the phaetons began to disappear gradually from the market, manufacturers began to call this term all the expensive cars with the open body and the increased space for the rear passengers. So, for example, in the model range Buick Phaeton appeared in the 1930s, but in fact it was a four-door convertible, because there were climbing glass in the doors. Later in 1956, the Phaetons were named as the Montclair and Monterey versions, although they were equipped with a hard roof.
In 2002, Volkswagen produced a new model-Phaeton. The car represented by this name is a four-door sedan, and the name was chosen to highlight its connection with the prestigious and comfortable models of the past.
Phaeton and Soviet Automotive Industry
It is noteworthy that the body of the first Soviet car of GAZA was a Phaeton (if more precisely, the "double-faceton" with the second row of seats). The machine was a licensed copy of the American Ford-A and was produced in serial from 1932 to 1936. In all, almost 42,000 copies have gone off the pipeline.
Since the 1930s, GAZ and ZIL plants have been producing melodic serial production of several models with the "Phaeton" body, all of which were destined for the Soviet elite, not exceeding several dozen copies. By the way, according to the original "canons," some models were rather convertible and not convertible, because they had hoisting windows in the side doors.
Sometimes the Phaetons were also referred to as Army trucks (GAZ-69 or UAZ-469) because they had completely removable side windows. There was no hint of luxury and increased comfort in the Soviet understanding of the Phaeton, and the absence of side glazing was the decisive argument in the classification.
In recent times, automotive designers are fond of inspiration from the past, re-attracting the attention of the public to such types of body as a landau or a four-door compartment. However, the phaaton in its original form on the modern market is unlikely to return, because there is no point in depriving the cars of the side windows.
Now it's only a museum piece, not a car that you can meet on the street. Perhaps the only places where you can see such a car are the solemn ceremonies at the highest level (in some countries the first faces of the state are used for the first persons of the state), as well as the festivals and exhibitions of the retro-mobile.