A berlinetta (from it, berlinetta; ) is a sports
coupé, typically with two seats but also including
2+2 cars.
The original meaning for ''berlinetta'' in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
is “little
saloon”. Introduced in the 1930s, the term was popularised by
Ferrari in the 1950s.
Maserati,
Opel,
Alfa Romeo, and other European car manufacturers have also used the Berlinetta label. In America,
Chevrolet also produced a version of the
Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
called the Berlinetta, from 1979 to 1986. The Berlinetta model was marketed as having a luxury focus, through interior features and softer suspension.
Berlinette
Berlinette is the French name for a Berlinetta, which is defined as a sporty, low-profile two-door type of automobile body style closely related to the
coupé.
After World War II, the term came to refer to a small vehicle with enclosed coachwork similar to a two-door
berline, or
sedan in
France. It supplanted use of the term "coach" for a similar but older body style, which had replaced the even older term "demi-berline".
The most common recent usage was in reference to the
Alpine A110
The Alpine A110 is a sports car produced by French automobile manufacturer Alpine from 1963 to 1977. The car was styled as a " berlinette", which in the post-WWII era refers to a small enclosed two-door berline, better-known as a coupé. The ...
sports car, which was often simply called "la Berlinette".
References
{{Automobile configuration
Car body styles