In automotive engineering, the bodywork of an automobile is the structure which protects:

• The occupants
• Any other payload
• The mechanical components.

In vehicles with a frame or chasis, the term bodywork is normally applied to only the non-structural panels, including doors and other movable panels, but it may also be used more generally to include the structural components which support the mechanical components.

Construction

There are three main types of automotive bodywork:

• The first automobiles were modelled on horse-drawn vehicles, and had body-on-frame construction with a wooden frame and wooden or metal body panels. Wooden-framed motor vehicles remained in production until the middle of the 20th century, for example the MG A which continued in production until 1962.

• A steel chasis or ladder frame replaced the wooden frame. This form of body-on-frame construction is still common for trucks.

• Monocoque construction, in which the metal body itself provides support as well as protection and there is no separate frame or chasis. Steel monocoque construction is now the most common form of car bodywork.

Less common types include tube frame and space frame designs used for high-performance cars. There have also been various hybrids, for example the Volkswagen Beetle had a chasis, consisting of the floor pan, door sills and central tunnel, but this chasis relied on the stiffening provided by the bodywork, a technique sometimes called semi-monocoque construction.

Non-structural body panels have been made of wood, steel, aluminium, fibreglass and several more exotic materials.

Body styles

There are several common car body styles:

• Enclosed:
  • Sedan, known as a Saloon in British English.
  • Hardtop
  • Coupe
  • Limousine
• Open or partly enclosed:
  • Roadster
  • Convertible
  • Cabriolet
• Rear door designs:
  • Station wagon or Estate car
  • Hatchback
  • Liftback
• Other:
  • Ute, also known as a Coupe Utility or sport utility vehicle

See also

• Body-on-frame, a general term covering both wooden-frame and steel-chasis vehicles.
• Car body styles for a more complete list of body styles.
• Category:Car body styles for a list of Wikipedia articles on particular body styles.