Published: April 30, 2020, 7:30 AM
Updated: June 4, 2020, 8:09 PM
Cars named for animals
2018 Ford Mustang GT grille
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One of the first cars named for an animal
The Stutz Bearcat, introduced in 1912, was one of the earliest cars to be named for an animal, presumably as an intimidating tactic for its competitors on the race track. In the animal world, however, a bearcat (also called the binturong) is a small, shy, bushy-tailed mammal in the family group that includes civets and fossas. It lives in the canopies of tropical rain forests in southeast Asia and is far less ferocious than its name implies. (Photo courtesy RM Auctions - 2006)
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Named for an animal or an airplane?
Arguably, the Ford Mustang, introduced in April 1964 as a 1965 model, is the best known of all cars named for animals. But there are different accounts of how it got its name. Reportedly, one of its designers, John Najjar, suggested that it be named after the P-51 Mustang fighter plane from WWII but that idea was rejected as sounding too "airplaney." Then he pitched the name again as a type of horse and it stuck. Others, including Lee Iacocca, remember it differently but whatever the true story, the name fit.
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Mustang offspring?
Offered from 1971 through 1980, the Ford Pinto was so named to take advantage of its very loose familial connections to the then highly-successful Mustang, a Pinto being a horse with patches of white on a darker colour. Ironically, the subsequent Mustang II, introduced as a '74 model, was derived largely from the Pinto. (Photo courtesy RM Auctions - Fawcett Movie Cars 2007)
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A horse of a different colour?
Spreading the Mustang mystique as widely as possible, Ford maintained the equestrian connection when it named its original SUV the Bronco, for model year 1965. The Bronco name survived through 1996 and it's about to be revived as a 2021 model. (Photo courtesy RM Sotheby's)
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Menage a trois?
While it may now suggest another attempt to benefit from a Mustang-related name, Mitsubishi's Colt predated the Ford model, beginning way back in 1962. It was subsequently applied to a succession of Mitsubishi models, as well as multiple Dodge and Plymouth models, such as the 1994 Dodge Colt shown here, Mitsubishi supplied rebadged small cars to Chrysler for sale under its own brand names.
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African antelope
Now as American as apple pie, Chevrolet adopted the name of an unfamiliar African antelope, the Impala, for its new top-of-the-line model in 1958, demoting the popular Bel Air. It continued as a trim-level of the full-sized Chevrolet through 1985, then reappeared as a performance trim from 1994-96, and a model of its own from 2000 to present.
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Continuing the antelope/deer theme, the Triumph Stag name represents the quintessential trophy target of any British huntsman. Ostensibly aimed at the Mercedes-Benz 450 SL market, it proved wide of the mark, becoming known mostly for its legendary lack of reliability, as well as its awkward Targa-top appearance, penned - surprisingly - by Michelotti. (Photo courtesy RM Auctions - Santa Monica 2016)
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The Growler!
A more successful British name appropriation was that of the Jaguar - applied initially to a range of SS Cars models in 1935 and adopted as the company name as well as that of the marque in 1945. The aura of grace, speed and strength inherent in the big jungle cats, which are native to Central and South America, has served the automaker well over the decades.
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North-America's big cat
While Ford capitalized on the Mustang mystique, its Mercury sister-division chose the graceful but aggressive persona of the native-American Cougar to name its variant of what was the same car under-the-skin. Introduced as a 1967 model, the Cougar name continued through 2002, although few if any subsequent models served it as well as the original. (Photo: 1970-Mercury Cougar Eliminator courtesy RM Auctions - Auburn Fall 2016)
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Cougar junior
Just as Ford played off the Mustang's success with the Pinto, Mercury leveraged the Cougar's success with the Bobcat. Introduced first in Canada as a rebadged Pinto for 1974, it joined the U.S. market for 1975 and continued in both until 1980.
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Yet another feline
Stretching the feline connection even further, Mercury replaced the Bobcat with the Lynx - effectively a rebadged and up-level Ford Escort - from 1981 through '87. The car was mot a good characterization of the name.
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Buick adopted the name Wildcat for a series of concept cars beginning in 1953 and applied it to performance-oriented versions of the full-size Buick lineup from 1963 to 1970. (Photo: 1964 Buick Wildcat courtesy RM Auctions 2013)
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Cat of a different stripe
Following the pattern established by Carroll Shelby's Cobra, the British Rootes' conglomerate's Sunbeam brand stuffed a small-block Ford V-8 into its Alpine sports car and called it the Sunbeam Tiger, produced from 1964 through 1967. (Photo courtesy RM Auctions - Auburn Fall 2017)
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Spanish tiger
Back when Opel was owned by General Motors it built two different cars called Tigra, the first from 1904-2001, the second from 2004-2009. A 2004model is shown here. The Tigra was also sold under the Chevrolet, Vauxhall and Holden brand names in different markets.
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Fastest feline
Named for the fastest of cats, the Cheetah was developed by race-car builder Bill Thomas, with the covert assistance of Chevrolet, to challenge the dominance of Shelby's Cobras on the race track. Not enough were built in the 1963-66 period to gain "manufacturer" status and the Cheetahs proved fast but fragile.
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A Japanese cat
While it is unfamiliar in the North American market, the Leopard was Nissan's high-end, rear-wheel-drive luxury/sports model from 1980-1999, ultimately morphing into the Infiniti brand. The original Leopard (1986 model shown here) was a direct competitor to the Toyota Soarer, which spawned the Lexus brand.
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Alias Cougar
The Cougar that inhabits the Americas is also called the Puma, which is the name Ford Europe has used at two different times for two different vehicles - a compact sports coupe produced from 1997 to 2001 and a subcompact crossover (shown here) produced since 2019.
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The Mongoose's quarry is the Cobra, exemplified in automotive form by Carroll Shelby's Cobra, which began as an outdated British AC sports car stuffed full of American Ford V-8 to become a race-track terror. The car shown is a 1965 427 race car, the most fearsome of them all.
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Venemous successor
Clearly the spiritual successor if not the bloodline kin of the Cobra, the Lamborghini V-10-powered Dodge Viper began life as a concept car in 1989, proceeding to production as a 1992 model. It continued to be built, through five generations, until 2017, with periods of hiatus in 2007 and 2010–2013.
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A pretty vixen
Breaking from the pattern of ferocious animal names, Audi fittingly christened its lithe and quick, front-wheel-drive 80 model the Fox when it came to North America in 1973 and maintained the name until the car was replaced by the 4000 in 1980. Shown here is a 1974 Audi Fox.
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Continuing the canine connection, Volkswagen named the little city car the company built from 1998 to 2005, Lupo - Italian for wolf. There was nothing predatory about the Lupo, except perhaps for the VW badge's impact on competitors. Ironically, its successor revived the Fox name.
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Definitely not prey
Rabbits tend to be prey for foxes, wolves and dogs but the Volkswagen Rabbit was nobody's prey when it arrived in North America in 1975. Its boxy, front-wheel-drive layout proved to be the prototype for competitors to follow and it became so successful that Volkswagen began producing it in the U.S. (Pennsylvania) in 1978. The Rabbit name reverted to Golf, as it was called in other markets, in 1984, although it was briefly revived from 2006-2009 for the U.S. market. Shown here is a 1983 Rabbit GTI. (Photo courtesy RM Auctions - BENNETT COLLECTION 2012)
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It's all bull!
Astrologically, Ferruccio Lamborghini was a born a Taurus. Hence, Lamborghini's emblem is that of a raging bull. And almost all its cars, beginning with the Miura in 1966 and including this gorgeous 2011 Aventador, are named after famous fighting bulls - either breeds or individuals. It's a long list!
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American bull
Breaking new ground in terms of layout and styling, Ford also chose a new name - Taurus - for its all-new mid-size 1986 model. With its soft sculpted shape and improved aerodynamics, it bore no visual connection to the bull for which it was named. No matter. The Taurus was so popular it quickly became the country’s number-one selling vehicle, accounting for one-quarter of all Ford’s North American sales. The name was briefly abandoned from 2005 to 2007, then reinstated.
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Sleek and shiny
Breaking with its tradition of wild cat names, Mercury chose Sable as the label for its new mid-size Taurus-sibling, introduced as a 1986 model. Presumably the name was expected to relate to the classy and expensive fur coats sourced by the animals, rather than the small Russian weasel relative itself. A third-generation 1996_99 Sable is shown here. The name was dropped in 2005, then reinstated briefly on a fifth-generation version in 2008-2009, before the brand's demise in 2011.
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Dodge first attached the Ram name to its 1981 model-year trucks, although the company had used a ram's-head hood ornament on some trucks as early as 1933. The whole truck lineup was rebranded Ram, dropping the Dodge name, in 2010.
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Prehistoric predator
Ford went way back into the age of dinosaurs for the name of its high-performance F-Series sport truck variant, and its ferocious nature seems well worthy of the Raptor name. The term raptor also applies to big birds of prey, however - eagles, hawks, falcons and the like. Which opens a whole new thesaurus of vehicle names. Keep watch for our upcoming gallery of "Cars named for birds, fish and insects."
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