![]() Later, automakers from Chevrolet to Mitsubishi stuck it on their cars to cash in on that Italian glamor. ![]() For whatever reason, carrozzerias latched onto the word. A few spiders emerged before WWII, but the name really seemed to take off with the explosion of sports cars that accompanied the postwar economic boom. Hence, the roadster (named after the roadworthy horse), barchettas ( ultra-focused performance cars so named for their resemblance to “little boats”), speedsters (self-explanatory) and, of course, spiders. To help define their offerings in a crowded field, automakers borrowed names from the past or invented new ones. As the car developed and closed body styles grew in popularity, open cars became discretionary purchases (much like the original spider phaetons, which were meant for speed and sport). Early automobiles at all price points tended to be roofless or convertible. Take a look at this baby, a drilled disc brake-equipped (!) model offered by WCC Carriages:Īs to why the term made the jump to sports cars, we have our suspicions. In any event, with sparse bodies riding on tall, spindly wheels, these things do come off as spidery. Parallel evolution occurring on both sides of the Atlantic can’t be discounted. Some sources say the spider was developed by a certain Archibald Holmes of Dublin around 1860 others suggest that the variant arrived in Europe via America. The exact origin of the spider name is somewhat murky. As a variant of the phaeton, also a name coachbuilders carried over to their automotive works, the spider phaeton was meant for sport and show, not cross-country touring typically, any top it had provided only basic protection from the elements, and unlike some true “convertible” carriages, it lacked permanent side windows. ![]() What is easy enough to prove is that the word itself is, as are many other automotive terms, a relic from a horse-drawn world.Ī spider - or more accurately, a spider phaeton - is a type of lightweight horse-drawn carriage. At this point, we’d guess that any automaker that has picked one will stick with it. If there’s a point here, it’s that there’s really no particular justification for either spelling of the word that we can identify. On the one hand, you have the Spyker C8 Preliator Spyder and the Panoz Esperante Spyder GT on the other, you have the Toyota MR2 Spyder, Mitsubishi’s Eclipse and 3000GT Spyders and the Chevrolet Corvair Monza Spyder (which, of course, could be had as both a convertible or a coupe). Or does it only do so because it’s a part of the Volkswagen Group, which uses the Y-spelling for its Audi R8 Spyder, plus open-topped Porsches like the 918 Spyder and the wonderful Boxster Spyder (to say nothing of the 917 Spyder variants and the 550 Spyder)? BMW is set to call its convertible i8 a Spyder perhaps it’s a German thing.įurther, and probably because of the grabby unconventional spelling, “Spyder” seems to be the preferred spelling attached to truly exotic cars - and, at the opposite end of the spectrum, aspirational vehicles from normcore marques. In any case, Spider is what Alfa has gone with in the past - stretching all the way back to the prewar Alfa Romeo 8C Spiders, among the first cars to use the term that we could find - and Spider is what it calls its open-topped 4C variant (which is more of a targa, but that’s another discussion for another day).įiat, for its part, has stuck with Spider for both old and new 124s.Īt the same time, Lamborghini has no problem defying Italian orthography with its Gallardo and Huracan Spyders. Weirdly enough, the Italian alphabet lacks the letter “Y,” which might explain why Ferrari uses “Spider” these days … but not why Lancia, which introduced the B24 Aurelia Spider in 1954, released the Beta Spyder (aka the Zagato) decades later - right around the time it sold a sunroof-equipped “Spider” variant of its wedge-shaped Montecarlo. Maserati used to build a Spyder, but it now calls its convertible the GranCabrio. Ferrari has used “Spyder” in the past see the 250 GT California Spyder for one prominent megabucks example. Historical consistency is no sure guide here. I debate, though, bad news: As far as we can tell, there’s no definitive answer to why some automakers say spyder, others use spider and why a few have gone with both - sometimes at the same time. If you want to finally settle the contentious Y vs. We’ve got the answer to that last question, and we’ll get to that in a moment. Quick - off the top of your head, what makes an open-top two-door a Spider? And why is it sometimes spelled “Spyder?” And while we’re on the subject, how did the term come to be attached to cars in the first place?
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