Shooting brake

Originally built as a simple but heavy frame for breaking in young horses to drive, over time it became a gentleman-driven vehicle and was popular for such aristocratic sports as shooting parties.

Taking the design from the rear-loading horse-drawn sporting vehicle, the station wagon was born, retaining the term "shooting brake".

[9][6][2] There is no universally agreed definition of a shooting brake as an autobody style; however the common themes are the coupé and station wagon, and the historical usage of the vehicle for hunting trips.

[10][11][12] Descriptions of the body style and usage of the term include: In the early 1900s, the Scottish Albion Motors began producing shooting brake models, described in the weekly magazine 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.

These cars were heavy and comfortable in good weather and allowed quick and silent exit as no shooting was permitted from the vehicles.

[29] Other 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),[30][31][32] the Volvo P1800 ES (1972–1973),[33][34][35] and the later 480 (1986–1995) – marketed as a coupé, and with a sporty, low nose featuring pop-up headlights, but with a distinctly estate-like rear body.

[59] The marketing descriptions have been further blurred between variations of the terms with names such as sports tourer, sportback, or "shooting break" as a way to differentiate from SUVs and reposition ordinary body styles with "sleeker lines" in the minds of consumers to "ooze sex appeal".