Ferrari have changed the name of their 2011 car a third time after running into trouble with the Ford Motor company.
It was announced today that Ford had dropped its legal proceedings against the Italian manufacturer following an amicable agreement.
The chassis will now be known as the Ferrari 150º Italia, dropping the ‘F’ so as not to confuse it with the Ford F-150 truck. They have also dropped the ‘th’.
The move was explained on the controversial ‘Horse Whisperer’ column on the Ferrari site. The article also pokes fun at Ford.
“It might seem like a Kafkaesque scenario, but the affair relating to the name of the car with which Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will tackle this year’s Formula 1 World Championship saw its final and decisive episode played out these past few days with the concomitant withdrawal by Ford of the summons. Therefore common sense has prevailed.
“In order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula 1 car with a pick-up truck, for their part, the men from Maranello have decided that the car will lose the F that precedes the number 150 and which stands for Ferrari, as it has done on numerous occasions when it’s come to giving a car a code name, be it for the race track or the road.
“It appears that this could have caused so much confusion in the minds of the consumer across the Pond that, at the same time as losing the F, the name will be completely Italianised, replacing the English ‘th’ with the equivalent Italian symbol.
“Therefore the name will now read as the Ferrari 150° Italia, which should make it clear even to the thickest of people that the name of the car is a tribute to the anniversary of the unification of our country.
“Let’s hope the matter is now definitely closed and that we can concentrate on more serious matters, namely ensuring that our car that already seems to be pretty good out of the box, becomes a real winner.”
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