- published: 28 Oct 2006
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A coupé or coupe (from the French verb couper, to cut) is a closed car body style (permanently attached fixed roof), the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coupés are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan (saloon) body styles, with doors commonly reduced from four to two, and a close-coupled interior (i.e., the rear seat placed further forward than in a standard sedan) offering either two seats or 2+2 seating (space for two passengers in the front and two occasional passengers or children in the rear). Before the days of motorized vehicles, the word referred to the front or after compartment of a Continental stagecoach.
In Europe (including the United Kingdom), the past participle French spelling, coupé, and (mostly in English speaking countries) a modified French pronunciation (/kuːˈpeɪ/ koo-PAY), are used. The stress may be on either the first or second syllable; stressing the first syllable is the more anglicized variant. Most, but not all, speakers of North American English currently use the word coupe (without the acute accent - coupé) and pronounce it as one syllable. This was a gradual change occurring prior to World War II. A North American example of usage is the hot-rodders' term Deuce Coupe ("doos coop") used to refer to a 1932 Ford; this pronunciation is famously used in the Beach Boys' 1963 hit song, Little Deuce Coupe.