Here are nine cars named after sea creatures

With animal-based names in fashion at the end of the 1960s, Opel had already decided on Manta for its new two-door coupe, but it still needed a logo. Designer George Gallion met with marine researcher Jacques Cousteau for inspiration, and landed on a shot of the giant stingray from below.

A teeny little commercial vehicle launched in 2008, the Nemo was based on the same platform as the Peugeot Bipper and Fiat Fiorino. It’s likely Citroen was referring to the Latin word for nobody, or to Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo, but we like to think the name came from Disney’s titular clownfish.

Apparently the name Tiburon comes from the Spanish word for shark, but Hyundai decided that its sporty-ish little two-door coupe would be called the erm... Coupe in the UK. D’oh! For some reason, the first gen was also called the Hyundai Turbulence in its home market.

An evolution of the ducktail, Porsche’s monstrous ‘whale tail’ spoiler was first seen on the 1974 Carrera RS 3.0. With its flat surface and upturned rubber edges, the wing returned on the original 911 Turbo in several varieties.

OK, we’re clutching at straws slightly here, but with its protruding brow and forward-leaning front grille, it’s perhaps no surprise that BMW’s 1970s and ’80s coupe was given the nickname ‘Sharknose’.

Well, not all of them. Apparently the ‘Atto’ moniker that the terribly titled Build Your Dreams now uses on some of its crossovers is derived from ‘attosecond’ – the smallest time scale unit in physics. We prefer the Dolphin, Seal and Sealion.

Still in use today to describe the base model of the mid-engined C8, when the Stingray moniker first appeared on a production car it was as two words on the 1960s C2 Corvette Sting Ray.

Later becoming the AMC Marlin, this ludicrously cool two-door fastback was essentially a response to the Ford Mustang. It was also based on another fish-based concept – the 1964 Rambler Tarpon.

The story goes that back in the 1960s, Plymouth execs wanted to name their new small sports car the Panda. Thankfully, designer John Samsen suggested Barracuda, and the pony car was christened with a slightly sportier name.