Shooting-brake

Shooting-brake is a car body style originally used to describe bespoke versions of 2-door luxury estate cars built for use by hunters [cite web | title=Woody Gallery - British Woodies | url=http://www.oldwoodies.com/gallery-shootingbrakes.htm] as well as golfers, riders, polo players and other sportsmen. In modern usage "Shooting-brake" generally refers to any 2-door hatchback with a squared-off rear, although some manufacturers have referred to other types of vehicles as a "Shooting-brake". [cite news | title=The Shooting Brake Makes a Comeback |date=2006-11-26 |url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/automobiles/26BRAKE.html?ex=1322197200&en=afaf8b051a65a468&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |publisher=New York Times ]

The body was usually custom built. An early manufacturer of shooting brakes was Albion Motors of Scotland. There are existing examples of custom-built Bentley S2, Mercedes 300, and also the Aston Martin DBS Shooting Brake.

VG, a small US coach builder, offers a model named VGD Shooting Brake.

Some modern manufacturers, such as Audi, have recently referred to some concept cars as shooting brakes. In French-speaking countries estate-bodied cars are often referred to as the "break" model. Sometimes the longer title of "Break de Chasse" has been applied — with "chasse" being French for hunting, and the phrase therefore meaning "hunting break".

History

A brake, also known as a break, was a type of horse-drawn carriage used in the nineteenth and early 20th centuries. It was a large or small, open-topped vehicle with four wheels and designed for country use . The form usually met, the "shooting brake", was designed to carry the driver and a gamekeeper at the front, facing forward and up to six sportsmen on longitudinal benches, with their dogs, guns and game carried alongside in slat-sided racks.

In the early 19th century, a break was a large carriage-frame with no body, used for "breaking in" young horses. By the late 19th century the meaning had been extended to also mean a large waggonette.

Examples of shooting brakes

:"This is not intended to represent a complete list."
* Aston Martin (various models)
* Bentley (various models)
* BMW Z3 coupé/M Coupe
* Reliant Scimitar
* Sunbeam Break de Chasse and Hillman Break de Chasse
* Lancia Beta HPE (High Performance Estate)
* Volvo 480
* (sport wagon)

References