Ferrari tweaks car's name again

The car had originally been designated the F150, a title chosen to mark the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. But this prompted a complaint from Ford, which feared the name would cause confusion with customers as it has a popular truck design known as the F-150.

Ferrari then said it would switch to a full version of the car's name and use F150th Italia instead, and today Ford announced that the matter was settled.

But Ferrari has subsequently revealed one final tweak, saying the chassis will now be known as the Ferrari 150° Italia.

The name was announced in a sardonic 'Horse Whisperer' column published on Ferrari's website.

"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," said the column.

"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."