The Ferrari F150 changes its name!

Historically, the relationships between Ferrari and Ford have always been tense. It dates back to the 60s when Enzo Ferrari expressed his wish to sell his brand to the Americans, before turning around. Ford at the time took this change of position as an insult and set out to avenge this affront by humiliating the small Italian manufacturer in competition. Thus the GT40 program was born…

History does not repeat itself, but this old resentment still seems to be relevant, since Ford has just filed a complaint in court in Detroit (USA) against Ferrari for trademark infringement and Internet piracy. In this case, it is the name F150 which Ferrari uses to name its latest car, but which is also the name of a legendary Ford pickup that has been on sale for 34 years.

Still, confusing a pick-up with a F1 is not so obvious. The problem could therefore find its source elsewhere and be much more complex than initially assumed. For several months, the Fiat group (owner of Ferrari) has joined forces with one of Ford's major competitors in the United States, Chrysler. The Italian manufacturer will offer its small cars (Fiat 500, Lancia Delta, etc.) to Chrysler which in exchange will authorize Fiat to rebadge its large models (SUV, minivan or sedan) for the European market. The competition for Ford is obvious and its response to Ferrari expresses a real threat.

Faced with pressure from Ford, Ferrari therefore decided to change the name of its single-seater from “F150” to “F150th Italia”, an even stronger reference to the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.