Phaeton (carriage) Phaeton (carriage) A phaeton (also phaéton) was a form of sporty open carriage popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Drawn by one or two horses, a phaeton typically featured a minimal very lightly sprung body atop four extravagantly large wheels. With open seating, it was both fast and dangerous, giving rise to its name, drawn from the mythical Phaëton, son of Helios, who nearly set the earth on fire while attempting to drive the chariot of the sun. With the advent of the automobile, the term was adapted to open touring cars, also known as phaetons. The
Phaeton (carriage) outskirts of Nice, in the south of France. There is a print of the monarch enjoying her morning excursions on page 490 of the "Illustrated London News" of 10 April 1897. In addition, there is a photograph in the Royal Collection, dated 1898. There are also other photographs, using a black donkey, taken at Windsor Castle. Bolshevik revolutionaries used a phaeton to escape after carrying out the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery. Valerie, Lady Meux would startle London Society by driving herself in a high phaeton drawn by zebras. In the 1995 film "Sense and Sensibility", the character Mr. Willoughby drives