Barchetta
Barchetta (Italian pronunciation: [barˈketta]) is an Italian word commonly translated into English as "little boat". The term originally referred to a small skiff used for recreational purposes. It is also applied to some items of clothing, as well as being used in automobile styling, where it describes a class of open-top, two-seat sports cars.
Etymology[edit]
Italian[edit]
The root of barchetta is barca, the Italian word for "boat". In Italian "small boat" would be piccola barca.
The use of the diminutive suffix -etta, the feminine form of -etto, confers the sense of something small or tiny with a connotation of endearment or affection towards the object.
The plural form of barchetta is barchette.
French[edit]
In French the equivalent term is barquette. The root word barque, which in French refers to a boat with three or more masts, is combined with the diminutive suffix -ette. In common use, barquette may refer to a shallow container or tray. Its use when describing an automobile is similar to that of the Italian term.
Clothing[edit]
A cappello a barchetta refers to a military side cap similar to a bustina. It may also refer to an out-moded three-cornered hat somewhat similar to a tricorne with a less pronounced brim.
A tasca a barchetta or "barchetta pocket" refers to a breast pocket in a men's suit jacket or blazer cut and trimmed in the curved shape of a boat.[1]
Automobiles[edit]
Description[edit]
When applied to an automobile, barchetta describes a small car that is open-topped, without provision of a removable or foldable top for weather protection.[2][3] Instead of a full windshield, the barchetta has a low-rise transparent wind deflector that may be a single full width piece, be divided into two sections, or omitted entirely. With an emphasis on performance, unnecessary trim and equipment is kept to a minimum.
The barchetta has full-width enveloping bodywork, in contrast to an early spider corsa, which may have cycle or wing fenders.[2] Later (non-corsa) spiders added more heavily padded seats, interior carpeting and a full windshield, items not found in the more spartan barchette.[4] Some later cars still called barchette were more well-appointed, following the trend of the later spiders and convertibles.
Origins and use[edit]
The first car to be called a barchetta was a Ferrari 166 MM shown at the 1948 Turin Auto Show.[5][6] The car was designed by Federico Formenti at Carrozzeria Touring.[7] Giovanni Canestrini, editor of the Italian sporting newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, applied the term to describe the new car's original bodystyle.[6] The name barchetta has been associated with the open 166MM model ever since.[5]
Ferrari built other models also called barchetta, including versions of the Ferrari 212 Inter[8] and the Ferrari 250 MM Vignale.[9]
Other manufacturers began to use the name as well, such as the Maserati brothers' O.S.C.A. MT4 barchetta of 1948,[10] the 1953 Moretti 750 barchetta,[11] and the 1966 Abarth 1000 SP racing barchetta.[12]
The label was also applied retroactively to cars that had been built before the launch of the Ferrari 166MM, such as the 1943 Stanguellini Ala d'Oro.[13]
More contemporary barchette have included the 1991 track-oriented Maserati Barchetta,[14] the Fiat Barchetta of 1995–2005, Ferrari's 2001 550 Barchetta Pininfarina built to mark Pininfarina's 70th anniversary,[15] the 2003 Lamborghini Murciélago Barchetta Concept, that entered production under Roadster nameplate;[16] the 2001 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Barchetta recreation,[17] the 2007 Bertone Barchetta Concept[18] and the 2018 Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta.
References[edit]
- ^ Icasiano III, Aurelio (6 September 2018). "The unbreakable connection between Naples and the suits it makes". news.abs-cbn.com.
- ^ a b Haajanen, Lennart W. Illustrated Dictionary of Automobile Body Styles. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina, and London. ISBN 978-0-7864-3737-5.
- ^ "Ferrari's Race Cars: An Exclusive Exhibition In Padua". autoemotodepoca.com. 16 October 2019.
- ^ "The Roadster: Siata 208S". robbreport.com. 17 September 2019.
- ^ a b Anderloni, Carlo Felice Bianchi (April 1998). "BARCHETTA...A MYTH" (PDF). Registro Internationale Touring Superleggera magazine.
- ^ a b Davis Jr., David E. (March 2002). "Ferrari's Dreamboat" (PDF). Automobile Magazine.
- ^ "Il Designer Dimenticato". driventowrite.com. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ Ahlgrim, Steve (October 2015). "1952 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta". www.sportscarmarket.com.
- ^ Zal, Pawel. "1952 Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Barchetta". www.automobile-catalog.com.
- ^ "Part 80: O.S.C.A." www.italiantribune.com. 16 November 2017.
- ^ "La Storia Della Moretti" [The History of Moretti]. www.automoretti.com.
- ^ D., Nick (20 April 2016). "1966 Fiat Abarth 1000 SP". www.supercars.net.
- ^ "The flight of the Stanguellini "Ala d'Oro"". www.italianways.com.
- ^ "Barchetta". www.maserati.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
- ^ Kacher, Georg (1 September 2001). "2002 Ferrari 550 Barchetta". www.automobilemag.com.
- ^ "Lamborghini Murciélago Barchetta". www.caranddriver.com. 1 February 2004.
- ^ D., Nick (23 April 2016). "2001 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Barchetta". www.supercars.net.
- ^ Cole Smith, Steven (1 March 2007). "Bertone Barchetta Concept". www.caranddriver.com.
External links[edit]
