Superstars: Five Legendary Formula 1 Cars and the Names They Inspired

Last week we drew inspiration from the platypus-style nosecones that are featured on almost every Formula 1 team’s car this year. We noted that there seems to be a direct correlation between ridiculous nicknames and hideously ugly chassis and that the more repulsive a car is, the more bizarre its name becomes.

Nicknames, however, are not only reserved for automobiles that offend us, they are also applied to a handful of iconic vehicles that dominated, dazzled and awed us with their speed and beauty. Just like some famous athletes, movie stars or glamorous supermodels, the following five cars are known by their nicknames alone.

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Check Out Former F1 Driver Mika Salo Drifting a 700HP Nissan 200SX

Proving that Formula One drivers can make the cut in most types of motorsports even in their after-years, former Finnish racing driver Mika Juhani Salo sat behind the wheel of a Nissan 200SX drift car.

The GT2 class winner of the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans had no problem harnessing the 700-horses (and 850Nm) found under the hood of the 1999 Nissan S14 coupe.

Watch him in action at Ahvenisto race circuit in Hämeenlinna, Finland, in the video that follows after the break.

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Notorious: Five Ugly Formula 1 Cars and their Nicknames

January 26th was a day that the international media as well as countless racing enthusiasts had been waiting for since the 2011 Formula 1 season finished two months earlier.

Caterham launched its new challenger, the CT01, and by the evening everyone was talking about one of the car’s features in particular. Located on the CT01’s nose was what can best be described as an awkward-looking step and the press quickly began referring to the design as the “platypus nose.”

Over the course of the following weeks, almost every team on the 2012 Formula 1 grid launched their own version of the design and it became apparent that the “Platypus nose” was here to stay.

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