Cool Car Names and Their Meaning

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While we would love to drive the BMW M series or a Tesla Model X, there isn’t anything that touches the soul in the names of these amazing automobiles. Audi, Mercedes and other really leave the potential for bigger sales and stronger emotional attachment by naming their cars in a factory-like way with. Even the biggest car-nuts cannot keep track of all the GLRs, GTR-Xs and whatnot, but cool car names stick to the mind and the heart of anyone who encounters them.

Car model names that are actually words, and especially awesome-sounding with great backstory or meaning, are far more impressionable, and we decided to scratch the surface on them. Excluding those whose names are cool, but pretty self-explanatory like AC Shelby Cobra or Plymouth Barracuda.

Cool Car Names: Origins and History

Ferrari Testarossa

It’s really hard to say what’s prettier and more attention-grabbing, the actual car or its name. In Italian, Testarossa means “Red head”, and it just rolls off your tongue the same way the car rolls into the sunset when the traffic light turns green. Linguists say that Italian is the most singable European language as it has the most vowels in its words, and it shows in Testarossa.

Pagani Zonda

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Italian car was firstly supposed to be called Fangio F1 after the five-time Argentinian Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who was involved in the early stages of manufacturing it. Yet, the choice landed on Zonda, which is a type of tiring north wind that rushes down from the Andes in Fangio’s native Argentina. Such a great nod to the legend, and such a cool sounding name.

Lamborghini Murciélago

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This list could’ve been all made out of Lamborghini cars as the powerful models produced in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy are almost all named after champion bulls from the bullfighting world. Fitting for a company whose logo is a warlike bull. Murciélago is by far the most impressive of the immortalized bulls as it survived 24 sword strokes in 1879, and the matador realized his greatness and spared his life. The word itself means “Bat” in Spanish, so it’s quite fitting and subtly smart that Bruce Wayne drives the car in The Dark Knight.

Porsche Panamera

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Just the word Panamera somehow evokes the era of the ’50s even if you don’t know the origins story of Porsche’s unique car. The name itself gives out the impression that it’s a mythological creature or a strong wind somewhere near the seaside, but it’s actually derived from the legendary endurance “Carrera Panamericana” race which took place yearly between 1950 and 1954. The track long over 1,800 miles in the Mexican area of the transcontinental passage Panamericana and took six days to be completed. That’s why Porsche chose it for its car, seeing how Panamera possess speed and comfort for this voyage.

Chevrolet Corvette

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While Corvette has been around for decades and its name is familiar to anyone, not just automobile fanatics, there’s no denying that it belongs in the list of cool car names. Yet not a lot of people actually know what is a corvette, as the car’s reputation precedes that of its original bearer. Corvette is actually a name for the highly maneuverable armed escort warship that is smaller, than say, a destroyer. Perfect fit for the Chevrolet’s most famous model.

Bugatti Veyron

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The word Veyron has a regal ring to it, evoking the image of a chateau somewhere in northern France, but no, actually some people are just lucky and wear it as a name, like Pierre Veyron. The Frenchman was a test driver and development engineer for the company, but most notably, as a race car driver, he won 1939 24 Hours of Le Mans race along with his co-driver Jean-Pierre Wimille driving a Bugatti Type 57S Tank.

Lamborghini Countach

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No, Countach wasn’t a bull that had impenetrable skin and golden horns, Lamborghini sometimes gave their car names after other things, remember. Yet with Countach it still stayed true to itself and to its origins and tradition as the word is an Italian exclamation of awe, loosely translated it would be “oh my!” more than “wow!”. And this is exactly what you would say if you saw one flew by you.

Triumph Spitfire

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An English car company Triumph introduced their two-seat sports car in 1962, and with memories of the World War II still fresh and visible, they named their pride Spitfire, to honor the famed British plane fighter which was deemed pivotal in the Battle Of Britain. While it made marketing in Germany uncomfortable, the car represented the pride of the nation perfectly, and anyone who owns it should blast The Prodigy – Spitfire while driving it. Always.

Porsche Cayman

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In recent years Porsche gave up on their style of naming cars with numerals, usually three digits, and they really started nailing it as they gave their two-seater sports car an appropriate name, after a small crocodile-like reptile caiman. Only with a different spelling, just like the Cayman Islands did as well. A predator in nature, his head even resembles the outlines of the German car, although the vehicle is much smoother. Faster too.