Here are 21 cars with great names

Among cars with great names, there couldn’t be a shortage of some like the Mustang, the Testarossa, the Stratos or the Road Runner… can you remember any more?

Whether they were great or not, these cars have some names that are worth remembering. Alphanumeric car names can help you understand where a car fits in a manufacturer’s lineup, but it’s hard to get excited about numbers and letters. A really great model needs an exciting name.

Toyota Mega Cruiser

Put the word “Mega” on something, and it generally means it’s the biggest and baddest version of whatever you’re talking about. That was certainly the case with the Toyota Mega Cruiser, exclusive to the Japanese market. It looked like a Hummer, and it was twice as big as almost anything else on the roads of Japan at the time.

Aston Martin Valkyrie

There are many great names worth borrowing from Norse mythology, but choosing Valkyrie as the title for its hypercar with over 1,100 horsepower was one of the best decisions Aston Martin has made.

Volkswagen Beetle

From the start, the design and name of the Beetle were meant to go together. That insect-like shape and its eyes perfectly encapsulate the name Beetle.

Jeep Gladiator

Gladiators were ancient Roman warriors who fought in coliseums. The Jeep Gladiator is just as tough and can go to more places than just big combat arenas.

Ford F-150 Raptor

The Raptor is a modern icon and a hellish off-roader. Its name is very fitting.

McLaren Senna

Naming a sports car in honour of one of the world’s greatest drivers, Ayrton Senna, is a bold move, but we think McLaren pulled it off. This model would make the man proud.

Plymouth Road Runner Superbird

Chrysler was having a lot of fun during the era of the muscle car. You get names like this one, Road Runner Superbird. A car named after a cartoon character.

Triumph Spitfire

The Triumph TR6 may have been the flagship, but the baby Spitfire had a much cooler name. Did it live up to that incredible aircraft? Probably not, but Triumph’s Spitfire was cool in its own right.

Aston Martin Vanquish

Aston Martin has many great car names in its recent history: Vantage, Virage, Vulcan, but Vanquish takes the crown. Just imagine being able to tell someone you drive a Vanquish.

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon

Is there a better name for a muscle car that can produce 840 horsepower? We don’t think so.

Lancia Stratos

Lancia always named its models with Greek words, but none had a better name than Stratos. It just works.

Ferrari 812 Superfast

Ferrari revived the Superfast name for its flagship front-engined V-12. With 789 CV on offer, it’s appropriate.

Ford Mustang

There is something so evocative about the name “Mustang”. It suits this car so perfectly.

Chevrolet Corvette

At sea, corvettes are small warships. On land, the Corvette could well be a warship. Its interior may not always have been the most luxurious, but (save for a few unfortunate years) Corvettes have always offered cheap speed.

Ferrari Testarossa

Italian names automatically sound cool in English, but this one was named in honour of the famous Ferrari 500 TR. It also translates as “red head”.

Lamborghini Countach

The word “countach” roughly translates as “wow!”, which is what most people will say when they see one go by.

Lamborghini Diablo

It takes a lot of confidence to name your car after the devil, but Lamborghini did it.

Land Rover Defender

The Defender evokes images of someone strong, honourable and dependable, which is exactly what you’d want in a basic, no-limits SUV.

Porsche Carrera GT

“Carrera” means “race” in Spanish, which is perfect for a street-legal racing car, but it also sounds cool.

Mercedes-Benz AMG

What better way to describe some of AMG’s coolest cars than as a blunt object hitting with a lot of force?

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

For the seventh-generation Corvette, Chevy brought back the wonderfully cool “Stingray” badge. This time, the company even put a small emblem of a real stingray on the side of the car. Undoubtedly one of the cars with great names.