When car names still had sjeu: these models had fish names

Jaguar Pirana (1967)

To promote the issue, The Daily Telegraph’s car editors had their own sports car built to fulfill their wildest car dreams. Exactly this scenario played out in 1967, with the Jaguar Pirana as a result. Jaguar’s 4.2-litre six-cylinder was one of the most powerful car engines at the time. The E-type formed the technical basis, Gandini drew the coach around it.

Vauxhall Manta (1970)

The sporty coupé with which Opel answered the Ford Capri in 1970 is named after the Manta Ray, or the giant manta. As graceful as this flat fish moves through the water, the body of the Opel is so elegant.

Rambler Marlin (1965)

The Marlin is one of the ten species of the sailfish family and namesake of the large sports coupe from Rambler, whose Tarpon concept car was also named after a fish. In 1966, the Rambler Marlin became an AMC Marlin.

Plymouth Barracuda (1970)

The first Barracuda dates from 1964, but the most famous is the third generation from 1970. This sister model of the Dodge Challenger is a true muscle car. The thickest version is simply called ‘Cuda.

Plymouth Barracuda

Chevy Stingray (1963)

Although Stingray (stingray) is not the official name of the Corvette, it is the (nick)name that is inextricably linked to the C2, C3 generations. Chevrolet reintroduced the Stingray name for the 2014 Corvette C7.

Monteverdi Hai (1970)

‘Hai’ is German for shark and also the name of a study model from the Swiss brand Monteverdi. Equipped with a thick Chrysler V8, the sights were set on the Italian supercars, but unfortunately only two Hai’s were built.

Renault Dauphine (1956)

With its convex, smooth body and friendly snout, it looks a bit like a Dauphine (French for dolphin, not a fish of course, but a marine mammal). However, Dauphine also means ‘crown princess’; it was the successor to the 4CV, the ‘queen of the road’. In that context, we should encourage that BYD has named a model Dolphin, and the Seal (seal is a fish eater but less ‘fishy’) is also coming.

Citroen Nemo (2007)

He’s a bit lame, but because the Nemo reached youngtimer status last year, he can still participate. Nemo is the clown fish that plays the main role in the 2003 Disney movie ‘Finding Nemo’.