OK, here's the dumb question of the week. What does "GT" in Mustang GT stand for? I get that "SS" stands for Super Sport and "R/S" stands for Rally Sport, but what the heck does "GT" stand for?

 

GT is found in many a' car.. From what little knowledge I have, it stands for Gran Turismo/ Grand Tourer... which is a type of performance car that is used in long races.

 

yes, GT stands for Gran Turismo.
It's Italian and the term originated there, it stood for cars that were very good tourers with a certain sporty flair.

 

Like GTO
Gran Tourismo Omologato

 

Omologato means homologated, meaning that manufacturers had to produce a specific number of production cars to run in the class. That meant that they couldn't legally enter a prototype in these classes. It lead to one of the most famous Ferraris in history: the 250 GTO. The number 250 refers to the volume of the cylinder in cubic centimers. Since there were 12 cylinders the car was a 3 liter.

You guessed it. Pontiac stole the name which caused outrage among automotive purists at the nam.

And this is probably more than you wanted to know.

 

the real GTO is one BEAUTIFUL car!

 

As is the "fake" one...

 

Grand Touring / Gran Turismo is generally associated with performance cars that have at least 4 seats (generally 2+2's), the idea being that you could take passengers with you as you shot off over the alps!

 

Gutless Tank is a term i've heard also....lol

 

So true. If you like this one go find some photos of the 250 GT's from the 50's, the Lusso circa 1964 (I had an offer in on one tattered model in Seattle in 1973 for $7500-it didn't fly) , ditto the 275GTB (my favorite) and 365GTB aka Daytona.

Yes, I'm a lot older than you guys, but in my opinion when Ferrrari progressed past these designs they left behind their most beautiful cars. I know style changes and beauty is in the eye of the beholder-I like the 328GTB/GTS-but these cars also brought the dreaded smog stuff, and they were "only" eight cylinders. They showed up after the carbed 308's that you may remember from Magnum PI days-and these were very slow cars. They are considered entry level Ferraris.

What's the attraction of the older Ferraris? ? Rarity, and the sound of their V-12's. You've got to hear it to understand it.

 

Thanks for solving that mystery for me. My guesses were Gran Tourismo or Gran Torino but I had no idear what the meaning behind it was.

 

Gran Tourismo cars basically were meant for extended high speed travel and touring across the continent. They would trade a touch of ultimate performance for a bit more comfort and utility and thus were generally hardtop coupes with from two to four seats. They would have excellent high speed cruising ability and athletic yet supple chassis to deal with all manner of road conditions. It's somewhat ironic that the Mustang GT has the "GT" moniker given that in many ways, its really evolved away from the long legged, agile long distance sport touring car embodied to a short geared, big motored quarter horse with a somewhat limited chassis aimed at little more than brief quarter mile squirts.

But imagine a Ferrari 275 GTB, Jaguar E-Type or Porche 911S taking off at dawn, howling down the autobahn, snaking through a winding Alpine pass, then down autostrada for a few rounds at the tables at Casino by evening. That's more the original GT image and connotation.