Phaeton (carriage)

A phaeton (also phaéton) was a form of sporty open carriage popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

Drawn by one or two horses, a phaeton typically featured a minimal very lightly sprung body atop four extravagantly large wheels.

With open seating, it was both fast and dangerous, giving rise to its name, drawn from the mythical Phaëthon, son of Helios, who nearly set the Earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the Sun.

[5] Fashionable phaetons used at horse shows included the Stanhope, typically having a high seat and closed back,[6] and the Tilbury, a two-wheeled carriage with an elaborate spring suspension system, with or without a top.

[15] A social statement of a different kind was made during the 1880s by Valerie, Lady Meux, who defied London Society by driving herself in a high phaeton drawn by zebras.