A cabriolet (alternatively cabriole) is a light

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a piece of equipment pulled by one or more horses. These vehicles typically have two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by auto ...

, with two wheels and a single

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

. The

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

has a folding hood that can cover its two occupants, one of whom is the driver. It has a large rigid apron, upward-curving shafts, and usually a rear platform between the C springs for a

groom A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bridegroom's future spouse is usually referred to as the bride. A bridegroom is typically attended by a best man and Groomsman, ...

. The design was developed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the eighteenth century and quickly replaced the heavier

hackney carriage A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on t ...

as the

vehicle for hire A vehicle for hire is a vehicle providing private transport or shared transport for a fee, in which passengers are generally free to choose their points or approximate points of origin and destination, unlike public transport, and which t ...

of choice in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Etymology

The word ''cabriolet'' is derived from the French version of the Italian ''capriolo'' meaning a young goat, due to the swaying motion of the vehicle at speed suggestive of the skipping and capering of a kid. The ''cab'' of taxi-cab or "

hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...

" is a shortening of ''cabriolet''. One who drives a horse-drawn cab for hire is a ''cabdriver''.

History

Imported from France to England in the 1790s, the cabriolet was originally a two-seater driven by its owner, with a platform on the rear for a groom to stand on. The vehicle soon came of interest to the hire-trade. Londoners had wanted a faster alternative to the slow 4-wheeled hackney carriages, but the hackney proprietors had an exclusive license to carry passengers in the center of London. In 1805, the first 9 cabriolets were granted license to ply for hire but only outside of the main center of London and limited to two persons only—limiting the arrangement to a single passenger, with the driver uncomfortably sitting beside his fare. In 1823, 12 cabriolets were licensed and put into service with an awkward seat built off to one side for the driver—increasing the number of ''paying'' passengers to two. Accidents were common because the drivers showed off their new-found speed and would occasionally collide with streetposts or other vehicles causing the passengers to be pitched forward into the road. There were several attempts to ban the cabriolet as a safety hazard to other users of the roads. The next two-wheel cab to come into popularity was the

Hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...

which had a lower center of gravity, thus a better safety record, and the driver was positioned ''behind'' the passengers. Hansoms gradually took over the hire-trade from the cabriolets.

References

{{Horse-drawn carriages Carriages

Etymology

History

See also

References