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
High wheeler High wheeler A high wheeler is a car which uses large diameter wheels that are similar to those used by horse-drawn vehicles. These cars were produced until about 1915, predominantly in the United States. High wheelers were derived from horse-drawn wagons, and often were conversions of these. Similarly to these wagons, they often feature wood-spoke wheels, suspensions and boxy wooden bodies. The large-diameter slender wheels were frequently with solid rubber tires, to provide ample ground clearance on the primitive roads of the late 19th century. These cars were produced in many body styles. The most common were the motorized wagon