Shooting-brake
Encyclopedia
Shooting-brake, shooting brake or shooting break is a term for a car body style
that has evolved through several distinct meanings over its history.
Shooting-brake originated as an early 19th century British term for a vehicle used to carry shooting parties with their equipment and game
. The term brake was initially a chassis used to break-in horses — and was subsequently used to describe a motorized vehicle.
The term was later applied to custom-built wagons by high-end coachbuilders and subsequently became synonymous with station wagon
or estate
.'
In contemporary usage, the term shooting-brake has broadened to include a range of vehicles from five-door station wagon
s — to three-door models combining features of a wagon
and a coupé
.
In 2006, The New York Times said the shooting-brake was conceived "to take gentlemen on the hunt with their firearms and dogs." and "although [its] glory days came before World War II, and it has faded from the scene in recent decades, the body style is showing signs of a renaissance as automakers seek to invent (or reinvent) new kinds of vehicles for consumers constantly on the hunt for the next new thing."
A shooting-brake became a variation of a wagonette
— a vehicle with longitudinal seats in rows with either a rear door or side doors — provided with game and gun racks and accommodation for ammunition.
Early examples include Albion Motor Car Company's
shooting-brake, described in the 1908 book The Commercial Motor as having "seats for eight persons as well as the driver, whilst four guns and a large supply of cartridges, provisions baskets and a good 'bag' can be carried."
The 1912 Hudson
Model 33 (described in the book, American Cars in Prewar England: A Pictorial Survey) "could be used for collecting people and luggage from the station (thus as a station wagon), it was also used to carry the beaters to and from the location of the shoot, and for bringing back the game shot.
Early motorized safari vehicles were described as shooting-brakes with no windows or doors. "Instead roll-down canvas curtains were buttoned to the roof in the case of bad weather. These cars were heavy and comfortable in good weather and allowed quick and silent exit as no shooting was permitted from the vehicles."
By the 1930s "the shooting-brake had adopted a more general purpose role, and the term 'estate car' was coined to describe a vehicle that could still carry a shooting party, yet at the same time be perfectly suitable for ferrying guests and their luggage to and from railway stations.
The terms shooting-brake and estate or station wagon became synonymous. The shooting-brake, which had been an "open carriage that carried shooting parties on large estates" became a general-use vehicle "for carrying master and servant" and the wagon became an estate car or estate, the current British term for station wagon.'
2006 editions of The Chambers Dictionary (TCD)
define the term shooting-brake as an archaic term for estate
(or station wagon).
In France
, a station wagon is marketed as a break, once having been called a break de chasse, literally translated: hunting break.
While continuing to include station wagons, the term shooting-brake has broadened to include sporty two-door hatchback
(i.e., three-door) variants. By 2006, The New York Times described a shooting-brake as "a sleek wagon with two doors and sports-car panache, its image entangled with European aristocracy, fox hunts and baying hounds,"
In 2011, Top Gear
described a shooting-brake as "a cross between an estate
and a coupé
".
Automotive designer Peter Horbury
described the contemporary three-door shooting-brake, saying
This trend was apparent by 1960, when Sunbeam marketed a limited-production three-door variant of its two-door open sports car
, the Alpine
, with leather interior and walnut trim, selling at a price double its open counterpart and marketed as a shooting-brake.
Between 1965 and 1967 a limited number of variants, marketed as shooting-brakes, were custom manufactured by coachbuilder Harold Radford
, based on the Aston Martin DB5
, DB6
and DBS
. Aston Martin
itself later manufactured in-house a limited production shooting-brake variant of its Virage/Vantage
.
Other three-door cars combining elements of a wagon and coupé have been described but were never formally marketed as shooting-brakes, including the Reliant Scimitar GTE
(1968-1975), Volvo P1800 ES
(1972-1973) and Volvo C30
(2006- ). Torque
magazine said the Mini Clubman
(2008- ) is "essentially a shooting-brake design."
In 1999, Popular Mechanics
presented a 2001 Jaguar five-door shooting-brake concept variant of its S-Type
, saying the term shooting-brake was interchangeable with station wagon.
In 2004, Chevrolet presented its Chevrolet Nomad
concept, which the New York Times described as "fitting the formula" of a contemporary shooting-brake, and in 2005 Audi
presented a Shooting Brake
concept
at the Tokyo Motor Show
. The 2006 Renault Altica
concept was described as a shooting brake, and in 2010, Mercedes presented its concept Shooting Brake. In 2011, The New York Times described the newly introduced Ferrari FF
as a shooting-brake.
In 2005, Chrysler
, at the time Daimler-Chrysler, introduced the Dodge Magnum
as a five-door station wagon, saying it had a "shooting-brake profile". At the time of its introduction, a journalist commented that the Magnum looked "like a European 'shooting brake' custom fabricated for a car nut like the Sultan of Brunei’s kid brother."
In 2011, Fisker
presented the Surf at the Frankfurt Motor Show — a four-door plug-in hybrid described by Automobile as a shooting-brake.
Car body style
Automobiles' body styles are highly variable. Some body styles remain in production, while others become less common or obsolete. They may or may not correlate to a car's price, size or intended market classification. The same car model might be available in multiple body styles comprising a...
that has evolved through several distinct meanings over its history.
Shooting-brake originated as an early 19th century British term for a vehicle used to carry shooting parties with their equipment and game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
. The term brake was initially a chassis used to break-in horses — and was subsequently used to describe a motorized vehicle.
The term was later applied to custom-built wagons by high-end coachbuilders and subsequently became synonymous with station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
or estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
.'
In contemporary usage, the term shooting-brake has broadened to include a range of vehicles from five-door station wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
s — to three-door models combining features of a wagon
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
and a coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
.
In 2006, The New York Times said the shooting-brake was conceived "to take gentlemen on the hunt with their firearms and dogs." and "although [its] glory days came before World War II, and it has faded from the scene in recent decades, the body style is showing signs of a renaissance as automakers seek to invent (or reinvent) new kinds of vehicles for consumers constantly on the hunt for the next new thing."
Etymology and historic examples
A brake was originally a carriage chassis hooked to spirited horses to "break" them.A shooting-brake became a variation of a wagonette
Wagonette
A wagonette or an omnibus is a horse-drawn wagon for passenger transport. Two wooden benches along the right and left side of the wagon platform can hold several sitting people facing each other. The driver sits on a separate, front-facing bench.The term carried over to motorized vehicles...
— a vehicle with longitudinal seats in rows with either a rear door or side doors — provided with game and gun racks and accommodation for ammunition.
Early examples include Albion Motor Car Company's
Albion Motors
Albion Automotive of Scotstoun, Glasgow is a former Scottish automobile and commercial vehicle manufacturer, currently involved in the manufacture and supply of Automotive component systems....
shooting-brake, described in the 1908 book The Commercial Motor as having "seats for eight persons as well as the driver, whilst four guns and a large supply of cartridges, provisions baskets and a good 'bag' can be carried."
The 1912 Hudson
Hudson Motor Car Company
The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...
Model 33 (described in the book, American Cars in Prewar England: A Pictorial Survey) "could be used for collecting people and luggage from the station (thus as a station wagon), it was also used to carry the beaters to and from the location of the shoot, and for bringing back the game shot.
Early motorized safari vehicles were described as shooting-brakes with no windows or doors. "Instead roll-down canvas curtains were buttoned to the roof in the case of bad weather. These cars were heavy and comfortable in good weather and allowed quick and silent exit as no shooting was permitted from the vehicles."
Later usage and examples
The term shooting-brake was subsequently applied to custom-built luxury estate cars altered for use by hunters and other sportsmen. The New York Times said "the most famous shooting brakes had custom two-door bodies fitted to the chassis of pedigreed cars," citing Bentley, and Rolls-Royce as examples.By the 1930s "the shooting-brake had adopted a more general purpose role, and the term 'estate car' was coined to describe a vehicle that could still carry a shooting party, yet at the same time be perfectly suitable for ferrying guests and their luggage to and from railway stations.
The terms shooting-brake and estate or station wagon became synonymous. The shooting-brake, which had been an "open carriage that carried shooting parties on large estates" became a general-use vehicle "for carrying master and servant" and the wagon became an estate car or estate, the current British term for station wagon.'
2006 editions of The Chambers Dictionary (TCD)
Chambers Dictionary
The Chambers Dictionary was first published by W. and R. Chambers as Chambers's English Dictionary in 1872. It was an expanded version of Chambers's Etymological Dictionary of 1867, compiled by James Donald...
define the term shooting-brake as an archaic term for estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
(or station wagon).
In France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, a station wagon is marketed as a break, once having been called a break de chasse, literally translated: hunting break.
Contemporary usage and examples
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
(i.e., three-door) variants. By 2006, The New York Times described a shooting-brake as "a sleek wagon with two doors and sports-car panache, its image entangled with European aristocracy, fox hunts and baying hounds,"
In 2011, Top Gear
Top Gear (magazine)
Top Gear is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £3.95. The major presenters of the television series—Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson—are...
described a shooting-brake as "a cross between an estate
Station wagon
A station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
and a coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
".
Automotive designer Peter Horbury
Peter Horbury
Peter D. Horbury is a British car designer who is currently Vice President, Design of Volvo. He is probably best known for his design work for Volvo, but has worked in a variety of roles in the automotive industry, including as Executive Design Director, Americas for Ford between 2004 and 2009...
described the contemporary three-door shooting-brake, saying
This trend was apparent by 1960, when Sunbeam marketed a limited-production three-door variant of its two-door open sports car
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
, the Alpine
Sunbeam Alpine
The Sunbeam Alpine is a sporty two-seat open car from Rootes Group's Sunbeam car marque. The original was launched in 1953 as the first vehicle from Sunbeam-Talbot to bear the Sunbeam name alone since the 1935 takeover of Sunbeam and Talbot by the Rootes Group....
, with leather interior and walnut trim, selling at a price double its open counterpart and marketed as a shooting-brake.
Between 1965 and 1967 a limited number of variants, marketed as shooting-brakes, were custom manufactured by coachbuilder Harold Radford
Harold Radford
Harold Radford & Co Limited of Melton Court, South Kensington, London SW7, were bespoke coachbuilders. The business began in the late 1940s making relatively minor changes to bodywork for owners of new Bentleys, amendments to suit the rural lifestyle of the landed gentry...
, based on the Aston Martin DB5
Aston Martin DB5
The Aston Martin DB5 is a luxury grand tourer that was made by Aston Martin. Released in 1963, it was an evolution of the final series of DB4. The DB series was named honouring David Brown ....
, DB6
Aston Martin DB6
The Aston Martin DB6 is a grand tourer made by British car manufacturer Aston Martin. Produced from September 1965 to January 1971, the DB6 had the longest production run up to that date of any Aston Martin model...
and DBS
Aston Martin DBS
The Aston Martin DBS is a GT car produced by the British manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited. Originally produced from 1967–72, it featured in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service...
. Aston Martin
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire. The company name is derived from the name of one of the company's founders, Lionel Martin, and from the Aston Hill speed hillclimb near Aston Clinton in Buckinghamshire...
itself later manufactured in-house a limited production shooting-brake variant of its Virage/Vantage
Aston Martin Virage
The Virage was Aston Martin's replacement for the decades-old V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 1993, and the name of the standard car was changed to V8 in 1996....
.
Other three-door cars combining elements of a wagon and coupé have been described but were never formally marketed as shooting-brakes, including the Reliant Scimitar GTE
Reliant Scimitar
Reliant's first Scimitar was a coupé based upon the styling of a Daimler SP250 prototype and the chassis of a Reliant Sabre. It was first displayed in 1964. It was powered by a 2.6 L Ford straight six from the Ford Zephyr / Ford Zodiac...
(1968-1975), Volvo P1800 ES
Volvo P1800
-History:The project was started in 1957 because Volvo wanted a sports car, despite the fact that their previous attempt, the P1900, had been a disaster, with only 68 cars sold. The man behind the project was an engineering consultant to Volvo, Helmer Petterson, who in the 1940s was responsible for...
(1972-1973) and Volvo C30
Volvo C30
The Volvo C30 is a small family car produced by Volvo Cars. The C30 is a three-door, four-seat hatchback powered by straight-4 and straight-5 engines. The car is a hatchback version of the S40/V50/C70 range, and uses the same Ford C1 platform. It is being marketed as a premium hatchback or a...
(2006- ). Torque
Torque (magazine)
Torque magazine is a monthly motorsport magazine which is published by The Race Drivers Academy in the United Kingdom. It was first released in September 2008. The magazine's tag line is that it is 'By Drivers, For Drivers'. The magazine is written solely by racing drivers and includes...
magazine said the Mini Clubman
MINI Clubman
Introduced for the 2008 model year the Mini Clubman is an estate variant of the Mini two-door hatchback.Identical to the two-door hatchback from the B-pillar forward, the Clubman features a length increased by 240 mm , a 80 mm longer wheelbase, increased rear-seat leg room and cargo...
(2008- ) is "essentially a shooting-brake design."
In 1999, Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics
Popular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
presented a 2001 Jaguar five-door shooting-brake concept variant of its S-Type
Jaguar S-Type
The Jaguar S-Type was a mid-size luxury/executive car that debuted at the 1998 Birmingham Motor Show and went on sale in spring 1999. The name is a revival of a previous Jaguar model, the S-Type introduced in 1963.-Overview:...
, saying the term shooting-brake was interchangeable with station wagon.
In 2004, Chevrolet presented its Chevrolet Nomad
Chevrolet Nomad
The Chevrolet Nomad was a station wagon model made off and on from 1955 to 1972, and a Chevy Van trim package in the late 1970s and early 1980s, produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors...
concept, which the New York Times described as "fitting the formula" of a contemporary shooting-brake, and in 2005 Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
presented a Shooting Brake
Audi Shooting Brake
The Audi Shooting Brake is a concept car developed by the German manufacturer Audi and officially unveiled at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. It is a study of a sporty two-door compact shooting brake hatchback....
concept
Concept car
A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....
at the Tokyo Motor Show
Tokyo Motor Show
The is a biennial auto show held in October-November at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Hosted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association , it is a recognized international show by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs...
. The 2006 Renault Altica
Renault Altica
The Renault Altica is a concept car made by Renault and was debuted at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. The design combines features of a station wagon and a coupe — and has been described as a shooting-brake...
concept was described as a shooting brake, and in 2010, Mercedes presented its concept Shooting Brake. In 2011, The New York Times described the newly introduced Ferrari FF
Ferrari FF
The Ferrari FF is a grand tourer presented by Ferrari on March 1, 2011 at Geneva Motor Show. It is Ferrari's first production four-wheel drive model and has been described as a shooting-brake. It will replace the 612 Scaglietti. The FF has a top speed of and it accelerates from zero to in 3.7...
as a shooting-brake.
In 2005, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
, at the time Daimler-Chrysler, introduced the Dodge Magnum
Dodge Magnum
The Dodge Magnum name has been used on a number of different automobiles. The most recent is a large rear-wheel drive station wagon introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year and produced through to 2008. This new Magnum is Dodge's first car to use the new Chrysler LX platform, shared with the...
as a five-door station wagon, saying it had a "shooting-brake profile". At the time of its introduction, a journalist commented that the Magnum looked "like a European 'shooting brake' custom fabricated for a car nut like the Sultan of Brunei’s kid brother."
In 2011, Fisker
Fisker
Fisker may refer to:*Fisker, a Scandinavian surname*Fisker Automotive, a car company, based in Irvine, California and founded by Henrik Fisker, that produces the Fisker Karma*Fisker Coachbuild, a car design firm based in Orange County, California...
presented the Surf at the Frankfurt Motor Show — a four-door plug-in hybrid described by Automobile as a shooting-brake.