What is a shooting brake and why are they a good idea?

With shooting brakes in the news again after Porsche released the new electric Taycan Sport Turismo, we explain what shooting brakes are and why they’re generating excitement.

As with many other things, manufacturers rarely use the term consistently, so the definition of a shooting brake is pretty interchangeable. Traditionally, though, a car would qualify as a shooting brake if it has an estate body-style with only two passenger doors, the Ferrari GTC Lusso perhaps the most famous example of recent years. The term has been more widely adopted by other manufacturers, including Mercedes, to describe more conventional five-door estates with sleeker lines than usual.
Loved for their funky yet sporty aesthetic, shooting brakes ooze sex appeal, making them a fitting choice for casual drivers and collectors alike. The combination of sportiness, style and a bit of practicality is also very appealing.

Historically, a ‘brake’ referred to a horse-drawn carriage. It later became broader in definition to label wagons in general.
The shooting brake first launched in England in the 1890s, and was a horse-drawn wagon designed to transport goods and spoils from hunting trips, although modern variations have dramatically transformed over the years and the term was dropped for a time. Shooting brakes are designed with certain similar features which allows them to stand out from the crowd: • Generally two-doored, though many now have rear doors too • Sleek, elongated profile with a long bonnet • Larger than expected boot for a sporty car

The term shooting brake reappeared in the early 2000s, with Chevrolet and Audi unveiling their shooting brake concept cars in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
Between 2005 and 2015, a handful of cars were released which weren’t promoted as shooting brakes as such, but were designed similarly: • 2006 Volvo C30 • 2008 Volkswagen Scirocco • 2011 Ferrari FF • 2014 Volvo Concept Estate In more recent news, manufacturers such as Mercedes have released their own interpretations of the shooting brake format. The Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake was launched in January 2015, whose design was based on the brand’s predecessor, the CLA coupé. Combining low-slung, sporty estate features with impressively stylish and comfortable interior design, Mercedes has breathed new life into the shooting brake for the 21st century.

First things first – a station wagon is the American term for the British estate.
It seems that the only distinguishing feature of a shooting brake is that they are generally two-doored, compared to four-doored estates. A prime example of the modern shooting brake would be the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato. Designed similarly to the last-gen Vanquish, the Zagato shooting brake can be distinguished against the coupé model by its larger boot space and sportier exterior accents. This followed a tradition of custom-built shooting brakes based on classic Aston Martins created by specialist coachbuilders. However, over the decades the lines have blurred, and the definition for a shooting brake has grown broader to encompass different variations of the term as manufacturers have sought to rebrand supposedly boring estate cars with names such as sports tourer, sportback and the like. Audi meanwhile uses its own term ‘Avant’ for its estate models. So can a shooting brake now have four doors? Mercedes seems to think so, justifying its use of the term by describing their standard CLA as a four-doored coupé, which has then been combined with a traditional estate look to give the retro silhouette of a typical shooting brake; a sweeping roofline, longer body and hatchback boot. The jury is still out on that one, but like with anything, language evolves over time and we’re inclusive of all shooting brakes, two or four doored.

Shooting brake cars are a practical yet stylish choice, meaning they could be the perfect type of car for families, or drivers in general, who need the extra space for a hefty shop, sporting kit like bikes or golf clubs or to take the kids and pets out on an adventure.
The good news is, shooting brakes often consume less fuel than an SUV or 4x4, so you get the refinement and space without the total ecological impact.

There are fully electric shooting brake cars out there, but unfortunately, there aren’t any currently sold as such in the UK.
The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, released in 2021, could be seen as the world’s first all-electric shooting brake as it ticks all the boxes in terms of shape and design, although it’s officially sold as an estate. Chinese manufacturer Geely (the parent company of Volvo) revealed their first all-electric shooting brake at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, under its all-electric sub-brand Zeekr, and the 001 has received global praise for being the world’s first pure electric shooting brake car. The Volkswagen Arteon shooting brake is a hybrid with an all-electric ‘e-mode’ range of up to 38 miles, so the pure electric energy would be perfect for city driving.

We’re glad you asked!
The only shooting brake cars currently advertised as such on Auto Trader, are the estate-coupé love-children; the Mercedes CLA shooting brake and the Volkswagen Arteon. However, if you like the idea of owning a shooting brake car, without the label, we’d recommend that you check out the estates and coupe’s available on Auto Trader right now.