1) Humber Hawk
The Humber Hawk was a four-door, four-cylinder Brit that was produced in various guises between 1945 and 1967. The MkI and MkII were actually rebadged prewar Hillman 14s, but giving a car the name of a bird of prey instantly makes it 100% better.
2) Aspark Owl
The Aspark Owl shot to fame with a video of it launching from 0–100kph in the car park of a small industrial property. We’re told it got its name because owls are considered good luck in Japan, and it was lucky that the driver managed to get it stopped in time after its initial run.
3) Buick Roadmaster Skylark
Buick first used the Skylark name on a glorious limited-run convertible version of the Roadmaster in 1953. The Skylark cost over $5,000—just over $60,000 (around P3.55 million) in today’s money—but did also feature the excellently named Buick Fireball V8.
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4) Corbin Sparrow
Was it a car? Was it a tricycle? Was it an overinflated jellybean as the popular nickname suggested? Whatever it was, the Corbin Sparrow was ahead of its time as a lightweight, three-wheeled electric commuter pod. Doesn’t look too dissimilar to the bird it shares its name with, either.
5) Ford Falcon
In 2016, Ford Australia finally retired the Falcon nameplate after seven generations and 56 years of continual production. Ford only secured the title for its new car in the US by submitting it 20 minutes before Chrysler. Apparently, neither knew the other company planned to use the Falcon name.
6) Reliant Robin
When Reliant needed a new name for its Regal replacement in the 1970s, it couldn’t exactly pick a bird of prey to christen its 750cc three-wheeler. The little redbreasted robin was perfect, and the name is now often wrongly applied to all Reliant three-wheelers.
7) Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust
A development of the excellent prototype ‘Geoff’, the Eagle i-Thrust was equipped with a diesel generator to supplement its milk float-sourced electric drive system. Built to rival the G-Wiz, it was the world’s first car sporting a moustache.
8) Aston Martin Cygnet
You know Hans Christian Andersen’s story of The Ugly Duckling, don’t you? Well, sadly, Aston’s restyled Toyota iQ never did grow up to be a beautiful swan. Should have called it the ‘Aston Martin Cy-nical Attempt to Reduce Average Fleet Emissions.’
9) Plymouth Road Runner
The Road Runner first appeared in a Looney Tunes cartoon with Wile E. Coyote in 1949, and it was this character that Plymouth licensed for use on its 1968 muscle car. The manufacturer paid $50,000 (around P2.96 million) to Warner Bros. for the privilege.
NOTE: This story first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
