notchback

Notchback is a car body style defined by a three-box design with a distinct trunk separate from the passenger cabin. The rear end is typically upright, and the rear window is near-vertical, producing a defined notch at the base of the rear screen where the trunk lid meets the window. This contrasts with fastback and slopeback designs, where the roof line flows down to the rear, and with hatchbacks, where the cargo area opens via a rear hatch that forms part of the window.

Notchbacks were common in mid-20th-century passenger cars in North America and Europe, reflecting the traditional three-box layout that emphasizes separate storage space. With the rise of hatchbacks and more aerodynamic designs, the notchback style declined in mainstream production, though it persisted in many sedans and was retained by some markets as the conventional three-box sedan orientation.

In contemporary usage, the term notchback is less frequently applied in official model descriptions; it remains a descriptive term used by enthusiasts and in older automotive literature to distinguish sedans with a clearly separated trunk from hatchbacks and liftbacks. Some markets may still describe certain four-door sedans as notchbacks in catalogs, but the distinction is increasingly subtle in modern marketing, where the generic term sedan is more common.