It is so common to see many automobile manufacturers naming a car model after wild animals, mystical creatures, colors, and all sorts. Carmakers just seem to love the idea of relating the uniqueness of any car they build with a similar character found in animals, creatures, or things that people are already familiar with. We think it's more like a cool marketing strategy to constantly remind people of the unique “selling point” of any particular car.
There are many car models that you probably don’t know they were named after a particular species of fish
10 cars that are named after fish
A few weeks back, we revealed 10 cars that are named after animals and the popular ones in Nigeria. After that post, we did more research and came up with another article that lists out 10 cars that are named after cats. Now, we are back again with another interesting read and this time, it's about cars that are named after fish. See them below;
1. Perodua Kelisa
Probably not from a familiar car brand or model but this city car was made by a Malaysian automaker that chose to name it after the “Arowana” bony fish which is native to Malaysia. Its production run lasted from 2001 to 2007 and this model was sold in many nations including the United Kingdom.
The Perodua Kelisa is a car model named after popular Malaysian fish Ikan Kelisa also known as “Dragonfish”
2. Opel Manta
This sports coupe model was the “shiny new toy” back in the ‘70s and ‘80s for European drag racers. This particular model had a rear-wheel-drive system with a 110hp engine and an impressive overall appearance during its time. It was named after a fish called “Manta ray” that is mainly found in warm tropical waters.
Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, German automaker – Opel named its popular sports coupe after a fish known as Manta ray
3. Hyundai Tiburon
This used to be a beautiful sports coupe offered by the South Korean automaker, Hyundai, between 1996 and 2008. Its model name, “Tiburon” is just a slight variation of the Spanish word "tiburón" which simply means “Shark”.
The Hyundai Tiburon is a sports coupe whose name was borrowed from a Spanish word that means “Shark” fish
4. Plymouth Barracuda
Anyone familiar with species of fish will already know that the Barracuda is large, saltwater predatory fish. This “Fearsome” character of the fish is probably the reason the U.S automaker, Chrysler decided to name its 2-door pony car after the fish.
The Plymouth Barracuda is a 2-door pony car produced by U.S automaker, Chrysler between 1964 and 1974
5. Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Before the modern-day Corvette C8 that we all know, there was a Chevy Corvette Stingray that ruled between 1962 and 1982 as a remarkably “fast” and beautiful coupe sports car.
The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray got its name from a group of cartilaginous sea rays (fishes)
6. AMC Marlin
This particular car model was named after a beautiful looking fish that is also known to be very fast. It is actually a fact that Marlin fishes sometimes reach up to 110 kph.
The American automaker, AMC sold the Marlin 2-door fastback car between 1965 to 967 and it was named after the Marlin fish
7. Chevy Nova
This car is also known as the Chevrolet Chevy II and its production run lasted from 1961 t0 1988. It was offered as both 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan configurations alongside a station wagon and convertible body shape option as well.
The Chevy Nova is named after the Nova salmon fish usually found in Canada
8. Bertone Pirana (or Jaguar Pirana)
This was the sleek GT car that stole most gazes during the London Motor show in 1967. It was much loved for its luxurious interior apart from the fact that it was built on the powertrain and chassis of the Jaguar E-type. This car wasn’t officially named after a fish, however, its name was too close to that of the dangerous “Piranha” fish hence, most people just call it the fish’s name.
9. AMT Piranha
This isn’t a car you will ever see on any road in any country. Yes, that’s because it’s a fictional car that featured in the popular movie “The man from U.N.C.L.E”. It exists in the movie world as a futuristic car with so many scary features like machine guns, smoke machines, rocket launchers, laser beam, and flame-throwers.
The AMT Piranha is a popular futuristic fictional car that is scarier in the movies than a real-life piranha fish
10. Citroen Nemo
This is a small but roomy and easy to drive compact van model from the French automaker, Citroen. It was named after the Ocellaris clownfish that are also known as the false “Percula” clownfish or common clownfish.
The Citroen compact van is named after the popular Ocellaris clownfish
You can also check out the video below that lists out some popular cars that are named after wild animals;
Popular Vehicles Named After Wild Animals
What next?
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