Roi-des-Belges ("King of the Belgians") or tulip phaeton was a car body style used on luxury motor vehicles in the early 1900s. It was a double phaeton with exaggerated bulges "suggestive of a

tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

". The rear bulges accommodated two corner seats like tub armchairs which were accessed from the rear by a central door with a small fold-down seat. The Roi-des-Belges style began with a 1901 40 hp

Panhard et Levassor Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed b ...

with a Rothschild body commissioned by

Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...

, '' Roi des Belges''. The style was suggested by the celebrity dancer,

Cléo de Mérode Cléopâtre-Diane de Mérode (27 September 1875 – 17 October 1966) was a French dancer of the Belle Époque. She has been referred to as the "first real celebrity icon" and the "first modern celebrity". She was also the first woman whose photo ...

, who was famously purported to be Leopold's mistress. The style and the name ''Roi-des-Belges'' were used on many makes of the time, including

Mototri Contal The Mototri Contal was a French automobile manufactured from 1907 until 1908. More elaborate than most three-wheelers of its era, it featured Roi-des-Belges bodywork on its more expensive models; the company also manufactured delivery tricycles. ...

, Packard,

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost name refers both to a car model and one specific car from that series. Originally named the " 40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, ...

Spyker Spyker or Spijker was a Dutch carriage, automobile and aircraft manufacturer, started in 1880 by blacksmiths Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker. Originally located in Hilversum, the company relocated to Trompenburg, Amsterdam in 1898. Notable produ ...

, and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...

and by other coachwork builders.

References

External links

Roi-des-Belges body, 1907, unrestored. Note form of access to rear seat
Car body styles Carriages {{brass-auto-stub