What does 'F' stand for?

That craziness is why I assumed that was the tipping point where Ferrari decided to put F in front to denote paddles. Since more astute observers have pointed out obvious discrepancies in my non-researched, weak theory, perhaps it's just a marketing ploy along the lines of emulating F1 > F40 > F50.

 

A Berlinetta is a small Berline.
A Berline is a large Coupé.

 

Ferrari FF F1?

hahah what a mash

 

It looks like, in most cases, if an F precedes the engine displacement, cylinder count etc then the car does not have a "name." E.g., F430. OTOH if an F does NOT precede the engine displacement, cylinder count (or whatever else is popular at the time) then the car is given a "name" such as 550 Maranello or 458 Italia etc.

 

Ferrari = Ford. Or, Ford = Ferrari. Right?

 

Eerrrrr....no, wrong.

 

As someone who knows a good bit about Ferrari, the bottom line from Maranello is that the only consistent thing about Ferrari is their inconsistency. Why did they start and end the 'F' prefix within the 355 line to designate the use of an F1 gear box and yet have no 'F' prefix to the 360 line at all? Why is the Challenge Straddle not the 360 Challenge Straddle? Its all about choice, however there is an interesting thing about said choice all of these 'recent' choices were actually made by ONE person. As a point of interest the new super Ferrari already has its name picked by this one person.

 

Not true. Case in point the F430 Scuderia

 

F=FAST

 

F = Flummox


via rubber ducky

 

That is what makes life more interesting, doesn't it?
If all the controls would be the same, all the nomenclature the same, for all makes, then it would be a really boring world.
At least this is my opinion....

 

Previous 63AMG's where 6.2s
65AMG's are 5.5
newer ''50'' BMWs are 4.4 and 4.8.

It's getting ridiculous.

 

You guys are wrong about the ff. FF= forgettable Ferrari. (jk). Or my other term is fu**ing forgettable.

 

It was my understanding that Montezemolo added 'F' to denote something special, not sure what though. I think LdM wanted to add 'F' to all the new models but obviously it didn't play out that way. It seems like the 'F' is added to the second generation of cars, 348-F355, 360-F430, 599-F12. I wouldn't be surprised if the 458 replacement has an 'F' before the number.

Like Tool-Fan said, there is nothing consistent about Ferrari. They often make stuff up and then drop it when they want. We are talking about Italians here.

-F

 

Good observation!

Regarding inconsistency, I'm still confused about the GTO badge on the 599

 

I don't think that is a counter-example. The F430 had already been out for several years when the Scuderia was introduced. They had to break the naming convention to distinguish the new model which had the same engine displacement. BTW on the rear of the Scuderia it doesn't say "F430 Scuderia" it says "430 Scuderia."

 

Oh no you didn't. Yes, yes you did.

-F

 

Here we go again though take the 550 and 575M, as an example, why not F575M then? Its just silly, the best thing to do is to try understand the names on a case by case basis. There are very strange things Ferrari has done through out its history with the names of its cars. Look at the 'Daytona' there is no Ferrari officially called the 'Daytona' there would have been, had Enzo not gotten angry/embarrassed, instead officially we have the 365gtb/4 or even more strange Ferrari never originally called the 250 GTO a 250 GTO, the first 'official' appearance of the moniker 'GTO' was used by Pininfarina when they called the four liter cars 330 GTO(s).

 

After the F40, Ferrari said that each model name would begin with an F (F355, F512 M, etc.). Later, they inexplicably dropped the F with some models, but then included it with others - there's no rhyme or reason to the approach.

Some models have the word berlinetta in their names (GTBs, 355s, Boxers, F12berlinetta), and some do not, but all Ferrari coupes are berlinettas. Each model's chassis type will tell you whether or not it's a berlinetta or a spider, and whether or not it has a manual transmission or an F1 transmission (e.g., F131 EB/E is an F430 Berlinetta with F1 paddles, whereas F131 ED/M is an F430 Spider with a stick; in this case, the E is representative of the F430's evolution from the 360. F141 ABM is a manual 599, whereas F141 ABE is the same model but with paddles; now F141 ADL is an SA Aperta, the D representing the open top and the L representing the limited run, but that's another story entirely).

Indeed FF stands for Ferrari Four - but encompassing both the four wheel drive as well as the number of seats.

As Michael pointed out, Ferrari's only consistency is their inconsistency. The evolution of the 456 and 550 Maranello respectively bore an M (456M and 575M) to represent that models modifications (modificata). But there is no such M with the 360's evolution to the F430, or the F430's evolution to the 458.

The nomenclature is, in some regards, an afterthought - as are many of the amenities that adorn the contemporary lineup. There is no logic with Ferrari. Wanting one, buying one, going to watch them race - it's all emotion. And the fact that threads like this exist and recur portend the likelihood that the air of mystery that goes with all things Ferrari is deliberately maintained.

 

The "nomenclature" is in the minds of threadsmiths on chat sites. Folks who for some reason seem to believe there should be some enduring logic or equation that spits out each model's name. And that this equation should remain the same forever. Sure there's logic in Ferrari's naming, but as someone said, look at that logic purely on a model-by-model basis.

 

I should also add that the owner's manual for the Scuderia refers to it as the "430 Scuderia" not the "F430 Scuderia": http://www.ferraridatabase.com/The_Downloads/The%20Documents/Owners%20Manual%20430%20Scuderia%20ENG.pdf Showing, once again, that any characterization beyond the model number designation does not use "F" prefix and that any car with an "F" prefix does not have any further characterization.

Whereas the owner's manual for the F430 characterizes it as an "F430." : http://www.ferraridatabase.com/The_Downloads/The%20Documents/Owners%20Manual%20F430%20Coupe%203232.08%20EN.pdf

The F430 has "F430" on the outside rear view mirrors. The Scuderia has "430 Scuderia" on the rear.

Still looking for an exception to the rule I mentioned.

 

There are several things that Ferrari calls the (F)430 Scuderia officially these include what the car is actually called internally at Ferrari, 'F131evo' what the window sticker says '430 light Pista', '430 Scuderia' and finally F430 Scuderia. For example the Enzo is actually named 'The Ferrari Enzo Ferrari' how many people actually called it the 'The Ferrari Enzo Ferrari' after it was introduced including Ferrari? *crickets*. The 430 Scuderia is commonly referred to as just that, but as I've pointed out it has many official names and all have reasons behind them.

 

The window stickers cannot be trusted for accurate information that's been translated by what appears to be short bus fifth graders. And while Ferrari sometimes has more than internal designation for any given model (or variants of a single designation), the official name for the 430 Scuderia, outside of the factory, is 430 Scuderia.

 

I had read that it actually stood for "Four Four", indicating both the four-wheel-drive and the four seats.

That might make sense, as it seems more appropriate to call a car a "Ferrari Four Four" than a "Ferrari Ferrari Four". But then, a "Ferrari Enzo Ferrari" seems strange, so who knows the real story?

 

It says F355 Berlinetta on the back of my car. What about the F12 Berlinetta?