Phaeton body almost any vehicle with two axles and a row or rows of seats across the body could be called a phaeton. Convertibles and pillarless hardtops were marketed as "phaetons" after actual phaetons were phased out. The term "phaeton" had historically described a light, open four-wheeled carriage. When automobiles arrived it was applied to a light two-seater with minimal coachwork. The term was interchangeable with "spyder", derived from a light form of phaeton carriage known as a "spider". Originally meant to denote a faster and lighter vehicle than a touring car, the two terms eventually became interchangeable. A detachable folding or
HMS Phaeton (1782) October). Then on 28 December "Phaeton" took the 12-gun "Hazard" in the Bay of Biscay. The next day, the 44-gun "Anson", Captain Philip Charles Durham, with "Phaeton", retook the 20-gun "Sphinx"-class post ship , which the French had captured almost exactly three years earlier. Out of a crew of 276, including 30 passengers of various descriptions, "Daphne", lost five men killed and several wounded before she surrendered. "Anson" had no casualties. On New Year's Day, 1798, "Phaeton" took "Aventure". On 19 February she took the 18-gun "Légère" in the Channel. On 22 March she participated in damaging the 36-gun frigate