1912 Daimler Landaulette

The Landaulette is an example of an early hybrid automobile design. The back passenger portion of the automobile is covered and styled after a closed horse-drawn carriage. The driver's seat is open and doorless with chassis-mounted lamps, yet the front engine signals there is no need for horses to move this carriage through the streets.

Hybrid cars such as this model illustrate the evolutionary link between the carriage and the infant automobile industry. They encapsulate the elemental design changes that were taking place as auto designers and the public were swept up in the automobile craze.

Daimler made luxury vehicles, with elaborate construction and fine detailing that made them affordable to only the very wealthy. England's King Edward VII favored the 1900 model, and the royal family continued to purchase the vehicles as the designs became more refined. The Landaulette is indeed an English car, first developed in 1896 when the Daimler factory of Coventry, England, began making two-cylinder automobiles modeled on the French Panhard. First known for producing sturdy and powerful vehicles, in 1908 Daimler began to specialize in refined vehicles for discriminating buyers. Daimler's designs have stood the company in good stead, for its still producing cars in Coventry.

Source - The Frick Car and Carriage Museum