Chariot (carriage)

This article is about the carriage. For the ancient vehicle, see Chariot.

Chariot on display in the Czech Republic

Closeup shows the truncated body, front window, and seating arrangement of a chariot

State Chariot for Manuel II of Portugal, 1908

A chariot is a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. It is a form of shortened coach, cut off in front of the door, with the front seat omitted and the front wall constructed with a window, and lighter than a full coach. A chariot seats two people on a single seat facing forward, though it might have a small fold-down seat in the front for a child. It would either be driven by a coachman, or the high driver's seat removed and guided by postilion riders. It was popular from the late 17th century to the late 19th century, but was eventually replaced by the smaller brougham and other coupé carriages. The origin of the word is obscured because chariot and the similar words char, chair, chare, charet, and charette, were liberally used interchangeably to indicate many two- and four-wheeled vehicles.

The ancient Greek and Roman chariots were war and hunting vehicles which are not related to the carriage type of chariot.

A state chariot, also called a gala chariot or dress chariot, is an elaborately decorated chariot for ceremonial occasions.

A post chariot was a privately owned version of the hired post chaise—a vehicle for travelling over longer distances, from post to post.

The unrelated chariotee was a name given to a phaeton-style carriage in the southern US.