Buggy is generally used to refer to any lightweight automobile with off-road capabilities and sparse bodywork.

Most are built either as a kit car or from scratch.

The word buggy was originally used in England to describe a lightweight two-wheeled carriage for one person,[1]: 121  and later in America to describe a common 4-wheeled carriage.

[2]: 25  The term was extended to lightweight automobiles as they became popular.

[3][4] As automobiles became increasingly sophisticated, the term briefly dropped out of use before being revived to describe more specialised off-road vehicles.