A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily fragile, but satisfactory wheels by a separate trade, a wheelwright, held together by iron or steel tyres, was always most critical.
From about AD 1000 rough vehicle construction was carried out by a ''wainwright'', a wagon-builder. Later names include ''cartwright'' (a carpenter who makes carts, from 1587); ''coachwright''; and ''coachmaker'' (from 1599). Subtrades include ''wheelwright'', ''coachjoiner'', etc. The word ''coachbuilder'' first appeared in 1794. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2011 Coachwork is the body of an automobile,

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

horse-drawn carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

, or railway carriage. The word "coach" was derived from the Hungarian town of Kocs. Coachbuilt body is the British English name for the coachbuilder's product. ''Custom body'' is the standard term in North American English. "Coachbuilt body" is also the British English name for mass-produced vehicles built on assembly lines using the same but simplified techniques until more durable all-steel bodies replaced them in the early 1950s. Prior to the popularization of unibody construction in the 1960s, there were many independent coachbuilders who built bodies on chassis provided by a manufacturer, often for

luxury Luxury may refer to: *Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge put ...

or sports cars. Many manufacturers such as

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

outsourced all bodywork to coachbuilders such as Pininfarina. Coachbuilders also made custom bodies for individual customers.The coachbuilder craftsmen who might once have built bespoke or custom bodies continue to build bodies for short runs of specialized commercial vehicles such as luxury motor coaches or recreational vehicles or motor-home bodied upon a rolling chassis provided by an independent manufacturer. A 'conversion' is built inside an existing vehicle body.

Horse-drawn origins

A British trade association the Worshipful Company of Coachmakers and Coach Harness Makers was incorporated in 1630. Some British coachmaking firms operating in the 20th century were established even earlier. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I,

Barker Barker may refer to: Occupations * Barker (occupation), a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events * Barker (coachbuilder), a builder of horse-drawn coaches and later of bodywork for prestige cars * a person who strips tanbar ...

founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards. Brewster, the oldest in the U.S., was formed in 1810. Coach-building had reached a high degree of specialization in Britain by the middle of the 19th century. Separate branches of the trade dealt with the timber, iron, leather, brass and other materials used in their construction. And there were many minor specialists with each of these categories. The “body-makers” produced the body or vehicle itself, while the “carriage-makers” made the stronger timbers beneath and around the body. The timbers used included ash, beech, elm, oak, mahogany, cedar, pine, birch and larch. The tools and processes used were similar to those used in cabinet-making, plus other specific to coach-making. Making the curved woodwork alone called for considerable skill. Making the iron axles, springs and other metal used was the work of the “coach-smith,” one of the most highly paid classes of London workmen. The coating of the interior of the coach with leather and painting, trimming, and decorating the exterior called for specialist tradesmen with a high degree of skill. Building carts and wagons required similar skills, but of a coarser kind.

Automobiles

From the beginning of the automobile industry manufacturers offered complete cars assembled in their own factories commonly using entire bodies made by specialist people using different skills. Soon after the start of the twentieth century mass production coachbuilders developed such as

Mulliners Mulliners Limited of Birmingham was a British coachbuilding business in Bordesley Green, with factories in Bordesley Green and Cherrywood Roads. It made standard bodies for specialist car manufacturers. In the 19th century there were family ties w ...

or Pressed Steel in Great Britain,

Fisher Body Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally Allo ...

, Budd, Briggs in the U. S., or Ambi-Budd in Germany. Many other big businesses remain involved. Austin 7 Swallow at Coventry Motor Museum

Specialist market sector

There remained a market for bodies to fit low production, short-run and luxury cars. Custom or bespoke bodies were made and fitted to another manufacturer's rolling chassis by the craftsmen who had previously built bodies for horse-drawn carriages. Bespoke bodies are made of hand-shaped sheet metal, often aluminum alloy. Pressed or hand-shaped the metal panels were fastened to a wooden frame of particularly light but strong types of wood. Later many of the more important structural features of the bespoke or custom body such as A, B and C pillars were cast alloy components. Some bodies such as those entirely alloy bodies fitted to some Pierce-Arrow cars contained little or no wood, and were mounted on a conventional steel chassis. Bugatti Type 57 chassis

The car manufacturer would offer for sale a chassis frame, drivetrain (consisting of an engine, gearbox, differential, axles, and wheels), brakes, suspension, steering system, lighting system, spare wheel(s), front and rear mudguards (vulnerable and so made of pressed steel for strength and easy repair) and (later) bumpers, scuttle (firewall) and dashboard. The very easily damaged

honeycomb radiator A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

, later enclosed and protected by a shell or even reduced to an air intake, was or held the visual element identifying the chassis' brand. To let car manufacturers maintain some level of control over the final product their warranties could be voided if coachbuilders fitted unapproved bodies. As well as bespoke bodies the same coachbuilders also made short runs of more-or-less identical bodies to the order of dealers or the manufacturer of a chassis. The same body design might then be adjusted to suit different brands of chassis. Examples include Salmons & Sons' ''Tickford'' bodies with a patent device to raise or lower a convertible's roof, first used on their 19th-century carriages, or ''Wingham'' convertible bodies by Martin Walter.

Obsolescence

Separate coachbuilt bodies became obsolete when vehicle manufacturers found they could no longer meet their customers' demands by relying on a simple separate chassis (on which a custom or bespoke body could be built) mounted on leaf springs on beam axles. Unibody or monocoque combined chassis and body structures became standardised during the middle years of the 20th century to provide the rigidity required by improved suspension systems without incurring the heavy weight, and consequent fuel penalty of a truly rigid separate chassis. The improved more supple suspension systems gave vehicles better road-holding and much improved the ride experienced by passengers.

Ultra-luxury vehicles

1920 Editing Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 French Owner's Manual Chassis

Larger car dealers or distributors would commonly preorder stock chassis and the bodies they thought most likely to sell and order them for sale off their showroom floor. All luxury vehicles during the automobile's Golden Era before World War II were available as chassis only. For example, when

Duesenberg Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is ...

introduced their Model J, it was offered as chassis only, for $8,500. Other examples include the Bugatti Type 57, Cadillac V-16,

Packard Twelve The Packard Twelve was a range of V12-engined luxury automobiles built by the Packard Motor Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The car was built from model year 1916 until 1923, then it returned 1933 until 1939. As a sign of changing times, the m ...

, Ferrari 250,

Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 is an Italian luxury car made between 1919 and 1924. History The Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 is an automobile introduced in 1919 by Isotta Fraschini, a company which underwent a complete change after World War I. Unti ...

, Hispano-Suiza J12, and all Rolls-Royces produced before World War II. Delahaye had no in-house coachworks, so all its chassis were bodied by independents, who created their designs on the Type 135. For the Delahaye, most were bodied by Chapron, Labourdette,

Franay Franay was a French coachbuilder of renown operating at Levallois-Perret, a suburb on the prosperous north-western edge of Paris. The company was founded in 1903 by Jean-Baptiste Franay, a carriage upholsterer, following an apprenticeship with Bin ...

, Saoutchik, Figoni et Falaschi, or Pennock. The practice continued after World War II waning dramatically in the 1950s and 1960s. Rolls-Royce debuted its first unibody model, their Silver Shadow, in 1965.

Unibody construction

Independent coachbuilders survived for a time after the mid-20th century, making bodies for the chassis produced by low-production companies such as Rolls-Royce,

, and

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

. Producing body

die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

s is extremely expensive (a single door die can run to

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

40,000), which is usually only considered practical when large numbers are involved—though that was the path taken by Rolls-Royce and Bentley after 1945 for their own in-house production. Because dies for pressing metal panels are so costly, from the mid 20th century, many vehicles, most notably the Chevrolet Corvette, were clothed with large panels of fiberglass-reinforced resin, which only require inexpensive molds. Glass has since been replaced by more sophisticated materials, if necessary hand-formed. Generally, these replace metal only where weight is of paramount importance. The advent of unibody construction, where the car body is unified with and structurally integral to the chassis, made custom coachbuilding uneconomic. Many coachbuilders closed down, were bought by manufacturers, or changed their core business to other activities: *Transforming into dedicated design or styling houses, subcontracting to automotive brands (e.g. Zagato, Frua, Bertone, Pininfarina) *Transforming into general coachwork series manufacturers, subcontracting to automotive brands (e.g. Karmann, Bertone, Vignale, Pininfarina) *Manufacturing runs of special coachworks for trucks, delivery vans, touring cars, ambulances, fire engines, public transport vehicles, etc. (e.g., Pennock, Van Hool, Plaxton, Heuliez) *Becoming technical partners for the development of roof constructions (e.g., Karmann, Heuliez), for example, or producers of various (aftermarket) automotive parts (e.g., Giannini)

Gallery

File:Lancia Belna Cabriolet 1935 Pourtout.jpg,

Pourtout Carrosserie Pourtout was a French coachbuilding company. Founded by Marcel Pourtout in 1925, the firm is best known for its work in the decades prior to World War II, when it created distinctive and prestigious bodies for cars from numerous Europe ...

drophead coupé on a

Lancia Belna Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but i ...

chassis 1935 File:Coys vintage car 501593 fh000035.jpg, Touring 2-seater body on a 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B chassis File:Alfa Romeo 1900 SS Ghia.jpg, Fixed head coupé by Ghia 1954 on an

Alfa Romeo 1900 The Alfa Romeo 1900 is an automobile produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1950 until 1959. Designed by Orazio Satta, it was an important development for Alfa Romeo as the marque's first car built entirely on a production line and f ...

SS chassis File:VW Hebmüller-Cabriolet bicolor vl TCE.jpg, Hebmüller Cabriolet modifications upon a mass-produced Volkswagen platform chassis

List of coachbuilders

Austria

*Ambruster *Keibl

Belgium

D'Ieteren D'Ieteren SA () is a company, based in Belgium that is engaged in automobile distribution and vehicle glass repair and replacement (VGRR). Activities D'Ieteren is a group of services to the motorist, founded in 1805. D'Ieteren Auto distribu ...

*Grümmer (Bruxelles) *Simons *

Vanden Plas Vanden Plas is the name of coachbuilders who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group, ...

* Van Hool

Denmark

Carsten Jakobsen Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Charles Sabathia (born 1 ...

France

*Achard, Fontanel & Cie ( Lyon) *Ailloud & Dumond ( Lyon) *Alin & Liautard (

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Par ...

) * Amiot ( Dinard, Dinan) *Angé ( Toulouse) *Ansart & Teisseire (

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well ...

) * Antem ( Levallois) *Arnault (

Garches Garches () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, but is also the location of Raymond Poincaré University Hospital, which specialises in traumatol ...

) *Arqué (Toulouse) *Aubertin ( Levallois-Perret) *Paul Audineau (Levallois) *Augereau ( Brou) * Autobineau (

) *Bail (Paris) *Baqué ( Toulouse) *Barbier ( Cannes) *Bedel ( Trouville-sur-mer) *Belvallette (Paris, Neuilly) *Bergeon & Descoins ( Bordeaux) *Berlioz & Gouillon (Paris) *Berluteau ( Melun) *Bernin ( Tours) *Besset (

Annonay Annonay (; oc, Anonai) is a commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the capital ...

) *Bigatti ( Nice) *Billeter & Cartier ( Lyon) * Binder ( Paris) *Blanc & Barral (Paris) *Blesser (Paris) *Blois (Toulouse) *Boneberge (Lyon) *Bonneville & Chabrol ( Toulouse) *Gustave Borde ( Dijon) *Boré ( Saint-Lô) *Boschet (

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...

) *Bounet (Toulouse) *Bouteiller (

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

) *Brandone ( Cannes) *Bruand (

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C� ...

) *Henri Bretonniere (

, Brittany) *Gratien Calmettes ( Toulouse) *Candelaresi ( Lyon) *Carrier (

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

) *Chabrol (Toulouse) *Candelarési (Lyon) *Carde & fils ( Bordeaux) *

Chappe et Gessalin Chappe et Gessalin is the short-form of the name of French coachbuilder "Carrosserie Chappe Frères et Gessalin". The company built automobile bodies and did contract assembly for other automobile manufacturers. It was also the parent of Automobile ...

, ( Brie-Comte-Robert) * Chapron (Levallois-Perret) *

Philippe Charbonneaux Philippe Charbonneaux (18 February 1917 – 4 June 1998) was a French industrial designer, best known for automobile and truck design, but also known for other products such as television sets. Many of his works are now exhibited in places s ...

*Chatellard (Toulouse) *Chaussende (Lyon) * Chausson ( Asnières, Gennevilliers) *Chéreau (

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...

) *Chicot (Levallois) *Chilbourg (Paris) *Clabot ( Alfortville) *Clochez (Paris) *Cluzeau ( Bergerac) *Cottard ( Bourg-en-Bresse) *Crouzier frères ( Moulins) * Currus (Paris) * Darl'mat (Paris) *Declerq & Cordonnier ( Lille, Roubaix) *DeCostier (Boulogne s/Seine) *Decultil & Cie (Lyon) *Victor Delassale (Paris) *Delaroche & Turquet (

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

) *Delaugère ( Orléans) *Deloche (Paris) *Desouches, David & Cie ( Pantin) *Desvaux (

Rueil Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Par ...

) *Di Rosa ( La Garenne-Colombes) *Drouet & Gaucher (Courbevoie) *Maurice Dumas ( Bordeaux) *Louis Dubos (Neuilly) *Dubos (

Puteaux Puteaux () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine department, from the centre of Paris. In 2016, it had a population of 44,941. La Défense, Paris's business district hosting the ...

) *Duhamel et Compagnie (Paris) *Duvivier (Levallois-Perret) *Ehrler (Paris) *Ehmgard et Delbenque (Paris) *Esclassan – Tôlerie automobile et industrielle (Boulogne s/Seine) * Facel-Métallon (

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

) *Faget & Varnet (Levallois) *Faurax (Paris since 1808, later Lyon) *Faurax & Chaussende (since 1920, Lyon) *Felber frères (Puteaux) * Fernandez & Darrin (Paris) * Figoni et Falaschi (Boulogne s/Seine) *Firmin (Paris) *Fleury (

Thonon Thonon-les-Bains (; frp, Tonon), often simply referred to as Thonon, is a subprefecture of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2018, the commune had a population of 35,241. Thonon-les-Bains is ...

) *Floquet (Saint-Amand) *Forrler (

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

) *Fournier ( Bordeaux) *Fournier ( Suresnes) *

(Levallois-Perret) *Frugier (Toulouse, Limoges) * Gallé (Boulogne s/Seine) *Gangloff (

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is ...

) *Garros (Toulouse) *Gaudichet & Turquet (

) *Henri Gauthier ( Villeurbanne, Beaulieu-Audincourt) *Gilotte (Courbevoie) *Girardo frères ( Cannes) *Grange frères (Valence-sur-Rhône) *Gras ( Dijon) *Gruau (

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

) *Grümmer (Clichy) *Guérard ( Nice) *Guetting (Paris) * Guilloré (Courbevoie) *Guilloux ( Châlon-sur-Saone) *Guldener ( Marseille) *Hamet (

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

) *Léon Hanovre (Paris) *Hénon ( Albert) *Henry ( Nancy) * Heuliez (

Cerizay Cerizay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Deux-Sèvres Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. History The name ''Cerizay'' probably originated during the Gallo-Roman, clos ...

) *

Hibbard & Darrin Carrosserie Hibbard et Darrin was a French coachbuilder which operated from 12 Rue de Berri, 75008, Paris, just off the Champs-Élysées. Owned by two Americans, Hibbard and Darrin it built bodies for the most luxurious chassis. Hibbard and Dietric ...

(Paris) *Jamet (La Guerche,

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

) *Jeanteaud ( Paris) *L. Jean ( Versailles) *Jouan, carrosserie de cuirs (

Clichy Clichy may refer to: In Paris Region, France * Canton of Clichy, an administrative division of the Hauts-de-Seine department, in northern France * Clichy-sous-Bois, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis ''département'' * Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, comm ...

) *Jousse & Parsy ( Montargis) *Justrobe (Toulouse) *

Kellner Kellner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ádám Kellner (born 1986), Hungarian tennis player * Alex Kellner (1924–1996), baseball pitcher * Alexander Kellner (born 1961), Brazilian paleontologist * Birgit Kellner, Austria ...

(Paris) *

Kelsch Kelsch is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Mose Kelsch Christian "Mose" Kelsch (January 31, 1897 – July 13, 1935) was an American football placekicker and running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was ...

(Levallois) *Klapper (Toulouse) *Kraemers fils (Paris) *Labarre ( Evreux) *Labbé (

Lamballe Lamballe (; ; Gallo: ''Lanball'') is a town and a former commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Lamballe-Armor. It lies on the river Gouessant east-sout ...

) *Henri

Labourdette Labourdette is a French surname derived from Gascon language People with the surname Labourdette include: * Elina Labourdette Elina Labourdette (1919–2014) was a French film actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a charac ...

(Paris) *La Carrosserie Industrielle (

) *Lacoste frères (Toulouse) *Lagache & Glaszmann ( Montrouge) *Lagogué (

) *Lamplugh & Cie (Levallois-Perret) *Langütt ( Besançon) *Laporte (Toulouse) *Le Bastard (

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

) *Leffondré (

Groslay Groslay () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located 15 km north of Paris, the capital. Boundaries The commune is bounded with Montmorency, Saint-Brice-sous-Forêt, Sarcelles, Deuil-l ...

) *

Letourneur et Marchand Letourneur & Marchand, located in the prosperous Paris suburb Neuilly-sur-Seine, was a car body manufacturing business which became one of the last French coachbuilders. Origins and growth 1905 - 1939 The company was founded by Jean-Marie Letou ...

(Neuilly) *Le Vieux (Paris) *Lourtioux (

Montluçon Montluçon (; oc, Montleçon ) is a commune in central France on the river Cher. It is the largest commune in the Allier department, although the department's prefecture is located in the smaller town of Moulins. Its inhabitants are known as ...

) *Mamy ( Besançon) *Mandement (Toulouse) * Manessius (Puteaux) *Maron-Pot (Levallois-Perret) *Massias (Toulouse) *Mercier ( Toulouse) *Meulemeester (

) *Michel ( Nice, Marseille) *Mignot & Billebault (Boulogne s/Seine) *

Million Guiet One million (1,000,000), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the aug ...

(Levallois) *Léon Molon ( Le Havre) *Mouche & Cie ( Lyon) *Monjardet ( Besançon) *Montel & fils ( Marseille) *Morel (Paris) *Morin (

Parthenay Parthenay () is an ancient fortified town and Communes of France, ''commune'' in the Deux-Sèvres Departments of France, department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. It is sited on a rocky spur that is ...

) *Morin (

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

) *Mühlbacher & fils (Puteaux) *Nicolas (

Angoulême Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; oc, Engoleime) is a communes of France, commune, the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Charente Departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern Franc ...

) *Ottin ( Lyon) *Philippe Mühlbacher ( Toulouse) *Pelpel (Noyal s/Vilaine) *Petitprez & Verschure ( Tourcoing) *Pezet (Toulouse) *Phaetonia (

) *Société Phocéenne ( Marseille) *

Pichon-Parat Pichon-Parat was a French carrosserie based in the commune of Sens, in the department of Yonne. Established in 1952, it was known for producing custom cabriolet, coupé, estate car, and shooting brake conversions of established models from ma ...

(

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second city of the d ...

) *Henri Pique ( Toulouse) *Plante ( Pau) *Poinsenet ( Epernay) *

( Rueil-Malmaison) *Pralavorio Simon ( Lyon Montplaisir) *Privat ( Dijon) *Maurice Proux (

) *Pruneville ( Lyon) *Radovitch (

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

) *Rambert & fils ( Clermont-Ferrand,

) *Raquin ( Montrichard) *Rasp (Paris) *Ravistre & Martel (

) *Repusseau & Cie (Levallois-Perret) *Rétif (

Sancoins Sancoins () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Geography An area of farming and associated light industry comprising a small town and several hamlets situated by the banks of both the river Aubois ...

) *Rheims & Auscher, La Carrosserie Industrielle (Levallois-Perret) *Rieucros ( Cognac) *Georges Rigier (Neuilly) *Alexis Robert (Paris) *Rothschild, later Rheims & Aucher (Levallois-Perret) *Rotrou (

Verneuil sur Avre Verneuil may refer to: Places in France *Verneuil, former municipality, now merged with Moussy-Verneuil, Aisne department * Verneuil, Charente, in the Charente department * Verneuil, Cher, in the Cher department * Verneuil, Marne, in the Marne dep ...

) *Rousseau ( Montargis) *Rungette (Levallois-Perret) * Saoutchik (Neuilly) *Soulé (Toulouse) *Spinnewyn ( Tourcoing) *Surirey (Flers) *Tassé ( Pontchâteau) *Benjamin Thibaut (Toulouse) *Baptiste Thomas (1820–1877, Paris) *Tirbois ( Niort) *Tizot & Viguier ( Marseille) *Tremble (

) *Tual (Tredion) *Vallas (St-Just en Chevalet) *Van den Bussche ( Lille) *Van den Hende ( Roubaix) * Vanvooren (Courbevoie) *Vedrine & Cie (Courbevoie) *Verplancke ( Roubaix) *Veuillet (Fleurieu-sur-Seine) *Vidal (Toulouse) *de Villars (Courbevoie) *Vilotte (Toulouse) *Vinet (Neuilly) *Visse & Haf (Levallois) *Vivez ( Bordeaux) *VOG (

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, Neuilly) *Wanaverbecq ( Lambersart) *Wantz ( Meaux) *Warengehm ( Levallois-Perret) * Weymann ( Paris) *Widerkehr (

) *Willy van den Plas (Paris, Lille)

Germany

* Ambi-Budd *Auer *Autenrieth *

Baur Baur can refer to: People * A. C. Baur (1900–1931), American football player and stock broker * Alfred Baur, Swiss collector of Asian art * Eleonore Baur, only woman to participate in Munich Beer Hall Putsch * Erwin Baur, German geneticist and b ...

* Binz *Buhne *

Deutsch Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym *Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...

*Dörr & Schreck *Drauz *

Erdmann & Rossi Erdmann & Rossi was originally a coachbuilding company based in Berlin, Germany. In the early half of the 20th century, the company became known for the manufacture of chassis used on luxury vehicles. After the devastation of World War II, the comp ...

*Friederich * Gläser *Glüer *Grümmer (Aachen) *

Hebmüller Hebmüller Sons (') was a coachbuilder founded in 1889 by Joseph Hebmüller in the town of Wuppertal in Germany. History Hebmüller initially constructed horsedrawn carriages, but after the death of its founder in 1919 his sons started building ...

Ihle The Ihle is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A former tributary of the Elbe, it discharges into the Elbe–Havel Canal (and its predecessor ''Ihlekanal'') since the 1860s. See also *List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt A list of rivers of Saxon ...

* Kässbohrer * Karmann * Kathe *

Keinath Keinath Automobilbau was a car manufacturer based in Reutlingen, Germany owned and operated by Horst Keinath. The company began by producing a convertible variant of the Opel Monza, and the Vauxhall Cavalier Mark 2. Along with Hammond & Thiede and ...

*Konigsberg *Kruse (Husum) *

Kühlstein The Kühlstein Wagenbau in Berlin-Charlottenburg was a coachbuilding company that produced electric cars from 1898 to 1902. Some were vehicles of in-house design, others were Jeantaud cabs built under licence. The firm also built tractor units to ...

*Kühn *Johann Michael Mayer (

München Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

) *Mengelbier (

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

) * Neoplan * Neuss *Nowack *Papler *Plenikowski ( Hartha) *

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

Reutter Reuter or Reutter may refer to the following people: Reuter * Christian Reuter (1665 – 1712), writer * Edzard Reuter (born 1928), former Daimler-Benz manager * Émile Reuter (1874–1973), Luxembourgian politician * Enzio Reuter (1867–1951), ...

Rometsch Karosserie Friedrich Rometsch, a German metallurgical-coachbuilding company based in Berlin-Halensee, manufactured, modified, and repaired coaches, trailers, bodies and chassis. History Founded in 1924 by Friedrich Rometsch, the company was one ...

Setra Setra is a German bus brand of EvoBus GmbH, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. The name "Setra" comes from "selbsttragend" (self-supporting). This refers to the integral nature of the construction of the vehicles back in th ...

*Spohn *

Styling Garage Styling Garage (also known as SGS) was a coachbuilder and tuner near Hamburg, Germany, which operated from 1979 until 1986. SGS made extravagant and expensive designs, mainly based on the Mercedes-Benz W126 (S-class). More than half of their buyer ...

*Szase *Voll & Ruhrbeck *Weinberger, Karl *Weinberger, Ludwig * Weinsberg *Wendler

Indonesia

Adi Putro Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chie ...

* Laksana * Morodadi Prima *

New Armada New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

* Tentrem

Italy

* * Allemano * Bertone * Bizzarrini *

Boano Boano Island is an island in West Seram Regency, Maluku Province, Indonesia. It is located off the northern coast of the Hoamoal Peninsula at the western end of Seram Island, across the Boano Strait. The inhabitants speak the Boano language, ...

* Boneschi * Castagna *

Cecomp CECOMP Spa (Centro Esperienze COstruzione Modelli e Prototipi) is an Italian automotive company established in 1978 by Giovanni Forneris and is based in La Loggia, Turin. The company specialises in developing prototypes and models for car manufac ...

* Coggiola * Colli *

De Simon De Simon Group S.p.A. is a bus manufacturer and coachbuilder based in Osoppo, Udine, Italy. History The company was founded in 1925 by Giovanni De Simon, who started assembling wooden-body buses for the local public transport. Later, under ...

* Farina * Fissore * Frua * Garavini * Giannini * Ghia *

Giugiaro Giorgetto Giugiaro (; born 7 August 1938) is an Italian automotive designer. He has worked on supercars and popular everyday vehicles. He was born in Garessio, Cuneo, Piedmont. Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century in 1999 and inducted ...

* I.DE.A * Italdesign * Lombardi *

Maggiora Maggiora is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about northwest of Novara. Maggiora borders the following municipalities: Boca, Borgomanero, Cureggio Cureg ...

* Marazzi * MAT * Morelli * Motto * Nembo *

OSI OSI may refer to: Places * Osijek Airport (IATA code: OSI), an airport in Croatia * Ősi, a village in Veszprém county, Hungary * Oši, an archaeological site in Semigallia, Latvia * Osi, a village in Ido-Osi, Ekiti State, Nigeria * Osi, Ekiti ...

* Pininfarina * Sala * Scaglietti * Sports Cars (Drogo) *

Studiotorino Studiotorino is an Italian automotive design house, or The ''carrozzeria'', specializing in completely handmade sports car. The company was founded on 1 January 2005 in Rivoli by Alfredo and Maria Paola Stola with Marco Goffi. The carrozz ...

* Touring * Varesina * Vignale *

Viotti Giovanni Battista Viotti (12 May 1755 – 3 March 1824) was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness. He was also a director of French and Italia ...

* Zagato

Japan

* Mitsuoka

Spain

Abadal The Abadal was a Spanish car manufactured between 1912 and 1923, named after Francisco Abadal. Considered a fast luxury car, it was closely patterned on the Hispano-Suiza and offered in two models. One had a 3104 cc four-cylinder engine while th ...

* Ayats *Bettla *Blancou * Capella *Carrizo *J Farré *Forcada *Fiol *Galo Mateos * Herrero *Hijos de Labourdette *

Irizar file:Irizar i4.jpg, Irizar i4LE in Madrid Irizar Group is a Spain, Spanish-based manufacturer of luxury buses and coach (vehicle), coaches. Established in 1889, the company is located in Ormaiztegi in the Basque Country (autonomous community) ...

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk" * ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities * ''L ...

*Molist *Reynés *Roqueta *Serra *Vert * Vidal

Sweden

*Hoflageribolaget * Nordberg * Norrmalm

Switzerland

*Beutler *Gangloff *Geismeister *

Graber Graber (also known as Carrosserie Hermann Graber) was a coachbuilder based in Wichtrach in central Switzerland. Between 1927 and 1970 the firm supplied coach-built bodies for fitting on the chassis of various European and US auto-makers. G ...

* Hermann Graber *

Ramseier Ramseier is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Mikhail W. Ramseier (born 1964), Swiss writer *Daniel Ramseier (born 1963), Swiss equestrian *David Ramseier (born 1987), Swiss-French basketball player *Doris Ramseier (born 1939), Swi ...

Worblaufen Ittigen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality was formed in 1983 when it and Ostermundigen were separated from territory once part of Bolligen. History Its ...

The Netherlands

*Akkermans *

Bronkhorst Bronkhorst is a village in the municipality of Bronckhorst, Gelderland, the Netherlands. Technically, it is a city (see below) and with only 157 inhabitants (2010), it is one of the smallest cities in the Netherlands (after Staverden, Eembrugge an ...

Bij 't Vuur The Bij 't Vuur was a Dutch automobile manufactured by C. Bij 't Vuur in Arnhem from 1902 until 1906. The name means something like "Near to the fire". The company started out as a coachbuilder, when in 1901 it made her first car. The first cars ha ...

*Dolk *Donderwinkel *

Egbers Tom Egbers (18 October 1957 in Almelo) is a Dutch journalist of Irish descent, writer and TV presenter (Studio Sport)Tom Egbers
on ...

*Garstman *Gips & Jacobs *

Hermans Hermans is a Dutch patronymic surname, cognate with German Hermann and and the Scandinavian Hermansen. It is the 14th most common name in Belgium, with 12,794 people named Hermans in 2008. In the Netherlands, 10,641 people carried the name in 200 ...

*Hover & Tiwi *

Hulsman Hulsman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cornelis Hulsman (born 1955), Dutch sociologist * Johann Hulsman (1610–1652), German Baroque painter * John Hulsman John C. Hulsman (born 1967) is an American foreign policy expert ...

*Jac Met *Kimman *Lathouwers *Van Leersum & Co *De Ley *Van Lijf & Co *Mudde * Muller *Mijnhardt *N.A.M. (Nederlandsche Auto-Maatschappij) *Nederlandsche Carrosseriefabrieken *

Oostwoud Oostwoud is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Medemblik, and lies about 8 km north of Hoorn. History The village was first mentioned around 1312 as Oestenwoude, and means "eastern fores ...

*Pennock *Van Rijswijk & Zoon *

Roos Roos is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated east from Kingston upon Hull city centre and north-west from Withernsea, and on the B1242 road. History The de Ros family originated from the villa ...

*Schutter & van Bakel *

Smulders Smulders is a Dutch occupational surname. It is a compression of "des mulders", meaning "the miller's son". Notable people with this surname include: *Ans Smulders (born 1951), Dutch artistic gymnast * (1863–1934), Dutch composer, pianist and no ...

*Soudijn *Spyker *Jean Stegen *Teulings *W J Van Trigt & Zoon *

Vandenbrink Design Vandenbrink Design is a Netherlands-based automotive design and coachbuilding company, founded in 2006 by Michiel van den Brink and Robert Koumans. Cars In 2006, Van den Brink introduced a plan to design and build a special coachbuilt Ferrari, ...

Verheul Verheul is a Dutch toponymic surname A toponymic surname or topographic surname is a surname derived from a place name.

*Veth & Zoon

United Kingdom

* Abbey * Abbott * Alexander Dennis (formerly Walter Alexander Coachbuilders) *

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

* Carbodies *

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

* Crayford Engineering * Charlesworth *

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

* Croall * Cunard * Gordon England *Flewitt * Freestone and Webb * Grose * J Gurney Nutting & Co *

Harrington Harrington (or Harington) may refer to: People as a surname * Harrington (surname) People as a forename * Arthur Raikes (Arthur Edward Harington Raikes, 1867–1915), British army officer *Charles Harrington Elster, American writer *Edward Josep ...

*John Hatchett (London) *Holmes (London) * Hooper *

Jarvis of Wimbledon Jarvis & Sons Limited were South London-based motor dealers for Morris and MG, and latterly coachworks providing special bodies for various car chassis until after World War II. Operations Like many similar UK motor dealers and coachworks, ...

* Jensen * John Charles * Hoyal *

Lancefield Lancefield is a town in the Shire of Macedon Ranges local government area in Victoria, Australia north of the state capital, Melbourne and had a population of 2,743 at the 2021 census. History The area was used by the indigenous aborigin ...

* Martin Walter * Arthur Mulliner * H. J. Mulliner & Co. *

Mulliner Park Ward Mulliner Park Ward was a bespoke coachbuilder in Hythe Road, Willesden, London UK. Mulliner now is the personal commissioning department for Bentley. Mulliner Park Ward was a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce and made bespoke bodies in London for ...

* Mulliners (Birmingham) *

Nu-Track Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

* Optare * Park Ward *

Harold Radford Harold Radford & Co Limited of Melton Court, South Kensington, London SW7, (opposite South Kensington tube station and now Lamborghini London) were long-established retailers of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars who, under G H Radford, developed a bes ...

* Rippon Bros * Salmons * Swallow * Tickford * Thrupp & Maberly *

* Vince & Son * Walter Alexander Coachbuilders *Wesleys Newport Pagnell * Vincent of Reading *Windovers * Wingham Martin Walter *

Wrightbus Wrightbus is a Northern Ireland based bus manufacturer and a pioneer of the low-floor bus. The company was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and was later run by his son William Wright, until it was acquired in 2019 by British businessman ...

* James Young

United States

*Alex Madjaric Body Works * Abbot-Downing * Biddle and Smart (Amesbury) *

Bohman & Schwartz Bohman & Schwartz was a coach building business in Pasadena, California. It was established after the collapse of the Walter M Murphy Company Walter M Murphy Company was a manufacturer of custom bodies for top quality car chassis which operate ...

* Brewster * Briggs * Brunn * Budd *Coachcraft *

Darrin of Paris Darrin of Paris was an American coachbuilding business. Designer and coachbuilder Howard "Dutch" Darrin (1897-1982) left France and set up a practice in Hollywood at the end of the 1930s and designed special automobile bodies on luxury chassis ...

*Demarest * Derham *

Dietrich Inc. Dietrich Inc. was an American coachbuilder founded in 1925 by Raymond H. Dietrich (1894–1980), co-founder of LeBaron Incorporated in New York City. He was a close friend to Edsel Ford who supported him by talking the owner of the J W Murray Manu ...

* Earl Automobile Works *

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

Albert Fisher (Detroit) Albert Fisher (January 2, 1864 – March 15, 1942) was a pioneer in the burgeoning auto industry in Detroit. He was the uncle of the seven Fisher brothers, founders of Fisher Body. Albert Fisher built some of the first bodies for many automobil ...

* Fleetwood * Holbrook * Judkins *KEM Motorworks * LeBaron *Locke *

Murphy Murphy () ( ga, Ua Murchadha) is an Irish surname and the most common surname in the Republic of Ireland. Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac ...

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

* Rollson * Rollston *Rubay *

Studebaker Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...

*Towson * Walker *

Waterhouse Waterhouse may refer to: People *Waterhouse (surname) Places * Waterhouse, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Waterhouse Island (disambiguation) * Waterhouse district of Kingston, Jamaica ** Waterhouse F.C., a football club based in the Waterho ...

*Widman * Willoughby *

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...

Survivors of the unibody production-line system

*Coway *Jankel *Jubilee *MacNeillie *

Overfinch Overfinch is a company that customises Land Rover and Range Rover cars and is based in Leeds, England. In 2005, Overfinch won the Ford "Special Recognition for Outstanding Achievement in Design" award for the SuperSport styling package. Hist ...

*Wilcox *Woodall-Nicholson

Notes

References

External links

Coachbuild.com: Encyclopedia of worldwide Coachbuilders from past to presentEncyclopedia of American CoachbuildersGoldarths: The Fine Art of Coachbuilding
by Peter M. Larsen and Ben Erickson. Details Jacques Kellner and George Paulin involvement in the French Resistance. {{Authority control