Spyder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the car body. For other uses of "Spider" or "Spyder", see Spider (disambiguation).
Spyder or Spider is a term for a rear mid-engine rear wheel drive[citation needed] convertible car body style.
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[edit] Origin
The term derives from horse-drawn carriages, as do other automotive terms. A spider phaeton was a lighter version of a phaeton, having narrower, spindly wheels and two-seat accommodation. This term was subsequently applied to cars.
[edit] Porsche
The first car to be officially called a "spyder" was the Porsche 550 Spyder. The name implied an extremely rudimentary top mechanism originating from a small two-seat horse-cart with a folding sunshade made of four bows; with its black cloth top and exposed sides for air circulation it resembled an eight-legged spider
[edit] Later years
Other later spyders include numerous Ferraris and later Porsches.
[edit] Spyders
The following cars are true Spyders as per the basic criteria listed above:
[edit] Spyder in name only
In more recent times, the term has been erroneously used by many automakers as a synonym for convertible. The following cars' names include Spyder or Spider but do not meet the basic Spyder criteria as illustrated above:
- Mitsubishi Eclipse (only the convertible version is dubbed Spyder)
- Lamborghini Gallardo
- Mitsubishi 3000GT
- Maserati Spyder
- Alfa Romeo Spider.
