landau
Merriam-Webster
A four-wheel carriage with a top divided into two sections that can be let down, thrown back, or removed and with a raised seat outside for the driver. Illustration: http://www.m-w.com/mw/art/landau.htm
Wikipedia
A landau is a lightweight open carriage on elliptical springs, invented in the 18th century (first noted in English in 1743 [1]), and named after the city of Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate, French at the time, where they were first produced.
Lord, Hopkinson, coachmakers of Holborn London, produced the first English landaus in the 1830s (Museum Victoria). A landau, drawn by a pair or four-in-hand, is similar to a vis-à-vis, a social carriage with facing seats over a dropped footwell (illustration), which was perfected by mid-19th century in the form of a swept base that flowed in a single curve. Double soft folding tops at front and rear ordinarily lie perfectly flat but in a pinch can completely cover the passengers, latched at the center, with some loss of a graceful line.
Additionally…
Landaus were expensive and luxurious.
