As a follow up to my previous post, I wanted to provide some insight into the origins and meanings of Ferrari’s naming conventions as they relate to the acronyms and terms associated with each car. The list is as follows:
- Inter – Named after a racing team that had success with Ferrari’s 166 S sports car in 1948
- America / Superamerica / Superfast – Top of the line models targeted at the lucrative, well-heeled American market
- MM (Mille Miglia) – Named after the grueling 1000 Mile Italian endurance race
- Europa – Designated mainly for European markets
- GT (Gran Turismo) – Italian for “Grand Touring.” A name often given to road cars not manufactured for racing
- GTC (Gran Turismo Competizione) – A GT car built for road AND competition / racing use
- Cabriolet - Convertible
- California – Convertible developed specifically for the U.S. market
- SWB (Short Wheelbase) – Given to 250 cars that carried a shorter than standard wheelbase
- 2 +2 - Ok. I realize that this is not a word or acronym. Anyway, this was given to cars that had 4 seats, 2 up front + 2 in the rear
- GTO (Gran Turismo Omologato) – Omologato is Italian for Homologated which means that it is granted approval of authority. Essentially, Ferrari needed to create a specific number of vehicles to be “homologated” into the specific class of racing.
- GTL (Gran Turismo Lusso) - Lusso is Italian for “luxury.” The 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso was one of the most luxurious sporting GTs of the time.
- GTB (Gran Turismo Berlinetta) – Berlinetta is Italian for “hard top” or “coupe”
- GTS (Gran Turismo Spider / Spyder) - Convertible or in some instances Targa
- GTB/4 or GTS/4 – The “/4″ referred to dual overhead camshafts per bank, or 4 overhead cams
- Daytona – Referred to the success of the 330 P4 racing car at the Daytona racing circuit
- BB (Berlinetta Boxer) – “Boxer” referred to the horizontally apposed engine. Recent examples of the Boxer engine can be found in both the Porsche and Subaru cars.
- “i” – Refers to engines that are fuel injected rather than carbourated
- Mondial – Italian for “world.” I’m not sure exactly what they were going for here but, maybe they meant it to be a car for the world?
- Testarossa / Testa Rossa – Italian for “red head.” Originally a race car from 1956, the name came from the red-painted cylinder heads.
- TR (Testarossa / Testarossa) - See above
- GTA - The “A” stands for “automatic.” A rather unfortunate addition to the stable in my opinion.
- Maranello – Ferrari’s home town
- Modena – The birthplace of founder, Enzo Ferrari
- Barchetta – Italian for “boat.” A name given originally to the Ferrari 166 MM because it resembled a small boat with its aerodynamic shape and open top.
- Enzo - Named after Ferrari’s founder, Enzo Ferrari
- Challenge Stradale – Stradale is Italian for “street.” Ferrari produces a series of race cars for its “challenge” series. The Challenge Stradale is the street-legal version of this race car.
- Scaglietti – Refers to the long-time Ferrari coach builder
- Fiorano – Ferrari’s private test track
- M (Modificata) – Modified
I hope I didn’t leave anything out but, if I did, just let me know!
Photo by ANITA.trans
Share
