Aesthetics is a bit of a tricky business, especially when it comes to the automotive scene. The most obvious application of aesthetics to a car is in its name – because you want it to convey resilience, reliability, accessibility, etc. The name of a car is usually a complete aspect, because a car is supposed to be something different to different people, whether it is a speed demon or a comfortable family wagon. However, the components of a car vary from model to model.

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For example, a car’s engine is designed to do exactly one thing: make it move. Maybe it gets things done quickly, maybe it gets things done economically, but the fact is it gets things done. If you’re trying to sell someone a device that propels a huge piece of metal at 70 mph, you need a name that conveys that force-of-nature feeling. It’s this special sensibility that has led to some of the coolest and fiercest engine names ever conceived by man. These engines, developed in the 1950s, conquered the automotive world with names that inspired fear and respect..

Animals are a great starting point for coming up with cool names, especially predatory animals. If you wanted to convey that an engine is not only fast, but much faster and deadlier than you might expect, an excellent animal to choose would be the wily cobra. The Cobras are a great design on their own, but if you really want to drive the point home, you can also add a bit of mechanical flair, like an equally powerful vehicle. Thus, we have the Ford Cobra Jet, a name that conjures up the image of a massive mechanical beast flying towards you with the dogged determination of a striking predator.. Feel free to make a reference to “Snakes on a Plane” if that interests you.

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THE Original 428 Cobra Jet engine was designed for exclusive use on drag racing circuits in the late 1960s, taking the Mustang to the winner’s circle at the 1968 NHRA Winternationals. Although Ford no longer made Cobra Jet engines, the name rather been picked up by Ford’s line of race-ready Mustang vehicles.

Naming your engines after animals that actually exist is a very good practice, but if you want to go further, you may need to delve into the realm of imagination. It’s one thing to take inspiration from an animal people have seen before, but if they have to use their imagination, there are no limits. However, in the case of Mopar Helléphantyou probably wouldn’t look up to the sky, but rather down into the fiery depths.

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Originally concocted in 2018 as part of the 1968 Dodge Charger restoration projectThe Hellephant is actually a fusion of two of Mopar’s existing engines. It started with the 707 Hellcat HEMI engine, which had become very popular in the street racing scene at the time, and then combined it with a massive second generation HEMI engine which had been nicknamed the Elephant due to its bulk.. Fuse the fiery dynamism of the Hellcat with the imposing stature of the Elephant, and you get the Hellephant, a giant 1,000 horsepower engine.

Let’s just say that animals don’t really do it for you in terms of naming inspiration. Rather than any living creature, you instead want to draw your ideas from the natural forces of the Earth, the all-powerful elements that govern our very existence. If elements are the name of the game, then only two elements can properly convey the pure concepts of speed and force: wind and electricity. Do you know where you can find a lot of wind and lightning? In the middle of a hurricane, of course. “Hurricane” in itself is a great name for an engine, but just to drive the point home, Willys decided to put a quantifier in there. So, the Super Hurricane took the proverbial skies by storm.

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Originally appearing in the early 1950s, the Super Hurricane engine was primarily used in large utility vehicles produced by Willys.. It was a 226 cubic inch six-cylinder engine, ideal for powering large Jeep vehicles. The Super Hurricane replaced the previous Willys utility engine, the regular Hurricane, before it itself was replaced by the Willys Tornado in 1962. Talk about being committed to a theme.

In the 1960s, one of Oldsmobile’s flagship vehicles was the compact Jetfire, not to be confused with Optimus Prime partner of the same name from “Transformers”. The Jetfire already had a very good name with its sleek and striking body, evoking the image of jets of fire shooting from a rocket booster.. It was all part of a concentrated effort to make you want to participate and have fun with it. But that wasn’t all the Jetfire had to offer: under the hood was its powerful engine, itself boasting a great name with a similar vibe to the car itself. This engine was called Turbo Rocket, which was not only a cool name in general, but also indicative of its capabilities.

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The Jetfire Turbo Rocket was actually one of the very first examples of a turbocharged enginea scene that was just beginning to emerge in commercial cars in the 1960s, although the concept itself is as old as the 1900s. The engine was first tested on Oldsmobile’s previous vehicle at the It was the Cutlass coupe at the time, but the engine really hit its stride when paired with the fiery Jetfire.

Setting aside animals and elemental forces, authority figures are another good source of naming potential. After all, if you’re creating an engine that’s supposed to convey an image of indomitability and enduring strength, it would make sense to name it after someone everyone is supposed to admire and respect. For General Motors in the 1970s, the authority figure of choice was a duke, but in order to show how reliable its new engine would be, GM added some metal to the mix. Thus, we have the Iron Duke, a name with a bit of nobility to go with his muscle.

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Interestingly, despite its exceptionally cool name, the Iron Duke actually wasn’t a very good engine. The Iron Duke was intended to be a low-tech engine, focusing more on reliable fuel mileage than sporty performance, which was admittedly a growing concern for the time. Unfortunately, although they were very sturdy engines, the Iron Dukes just weren’t very fun to drive. Consider this a life lesson: a cool name doesn’t automatically make a good product.