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Iconic Animals Names In The Automobile World
People of every generation has shared a fascination for animals. Be it cavemen, the ancient Egyptians who came later or the Aztecs. Humans have always been influenced by the enigmatic creatures with whom they shared space. This fascination and admiration has continued to this day. Only difference being that instead of animal gods and animal warriors, we now have machines with references to animals.
Aircrafts are a prime examples. Several of which for obvious reasons have gained bird names, such as the Raptor. Another area widely dominated by references to wildlife are cars. Automakers for years have relied on animals to imbued their cars with qualities from their wildlife counterparts. Not just the names, but also how many cars look have a lot to do with animals that capture our imagination. The following list highlights a few such iconic cars and the animals which inspired their makers.
While it is not clear why Chevrolet named its car after a small and nimble African antelope species, when the car is anything but nimble and small. This full sized car came out first in 1958 and was one of the most expensive Chevy model offered until 1965. Nevertheless, the Impala Coupe full sized car went on to become one of best selling cars of its time and remains one of the most recognized to this day.
Jaguar E-Type coupe is a legend of the auto world. This famed Jaguar was showered with praises universally, for its beautiful design and performance alike. This V12 engine powered car is in fact considered as the most beautiful car of all times. This classic beauty from the 1960s, designed by British designer Malcolm Sayer, is Jaguar in all sense of the words. The car's spiritual successor is the new Jaguar F-Type convertible.
Mustang is the name of a band of cars which Ford first brought out in 1964. Over the years, the Mustang name has become a brand by itself, with its own identity and a large and loyal fan following. Mustang are the wild horses found in North America's western barren lands, or the Wild West. Ford chose this name for its car to signify the same freedom and "spirit of the West", which these horses represent. Not to mention the strength possessed by horses. Ford Mustang is a Bona Fide American muscle car.
This 1964 model was a muscle car version of the Sunbeam Alpine open top coupe. Though Sunbeam was a british company, owned by the Rootes Group, the ‘Tiger' models were designed by none other than legendary American car designer and pioneer, Carroll Shelby. Sunbeam is the only defunct auto name in this list.
This car needs no introduction. The original Beetle's general rounded shape has earned it several names nicknames. The ‘Beetle' word itself is used differently in countries around the world, depending on the language of the land. Besides the Beetel name it is also called ‘the bug', ‘frog', ‘tortoise' etc,. The modern VW Beetle still maintains the classic rounded shell design. Porsche 911 sports car is another model which has its roots in the original Beetle design.
The ‘Super Bee' name has been used by more than one Dodge model. The original Super Bee existed in the late 60s, as a limited production model and was based on the Dodge Coronet and Plymouth Road Runner full sized muscle cars. In 2007 the ‘Super Bee' name made a comeback with the Dodge Charger. Limited Edition Dodge Charger ‘Super Bee' models have since been launched every year. These special edition models come with special body paint and decals.
The Barracuda model was the name of a full sized, two door performance car produced by the Plymouth brand owned by Chrysler. Like a barracuda, this car was long and large, but then many cars in its generation had similar shaped bodies. The first Barracuda came out in 1964 and production lasted a decade. The Barracuda came out in several body styles including, fastbacks, notchbacks, open tops etc. The Barracuda is a sought after model among classic car enthusiasts.
The latest iteration of U.S.A's favourite sports car, the Corvette is called the Stingray. So called because of the way in which the aerodynamic body lines of the car flows. In the maker's own words "For the first time in decades, a stunning machine emerges with the aesthetic impact and the performance prowess worthy of the Stingray emblem." Sadly, the Corvette has the sad image of being an ‘old man's car'.
The ‘Cobra' brand name and logo is used by several Ford vehicles, mostly muscle cars, even to this day. But the origin of the Cobra word in the automobile industry started in 1962 with the AC Cobra, a notoriously powerful (for its day) speedster. While many think the Cobra name solely belongs to America, AC Cobra was in fact built by AC Cars Ltd., a british car maker, in collaboration with Carroll Shelby upon the latter's request. AC Cobra's sole purpose of existence was to defeat the Chevy Corvettes and Ferraris of its days. A purpose it failed to accomplish because it failed to get homologated for the 1965 race season.
SRT Viper or Dodge Viper as many still like to call it (the name models prior to 2013 sported) is a long nosed sports car manufactured by Dodge division of Chrysler. In its latest version the Viper's V10 engine produces the most torque for any naturally aspirated engined car in the world.
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