Coupée

Coupée is the feminine form of the French noun and adjective coupé, derived from couper, meaning to cut. In French, coupée can describe something that has been cut or separated, and historically the term has been used to name a private space within a carriage or railway coach that is separated from the main passenger area.

In automotive usage, coupé (often written coupe in English) designates a passenger car with a fixed roof and typically two doors. Coupés are usually styled to emphasize sportiness or a sleek silhouette, and many two‑door coupes are configured as 2+2, offering two front seats and two smaller rear seats. Marketing and regulatory definitions vary by region, and some four‑door cars marketed as “coupes” adopt a sloping rear roofline to evoke the two‑door look.

In rail transport, coupé refers to a private compartment within a train car, a small enclosed space separated from the rest of the carriage. Coupés were common in European passenger coaches in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and persist in some forms of contemporary first‑class or club car configurations, though the term is more often seen in historical descriptions than in everyday use.

Beyond these primary meanings, coupée appears in branding and naming to evoke style or exclusivity. The English term coupe remains the most common designation for two‑door passenger cars, while the French term preserves its broader sense of a cut or separated section in various contexts.