What is a GT car

[R33Hesh]

this might be a stupid question, but wat is a "GT" car?

i knw wat it stands for but.

[zakalwe]

wat is a "GT" car?

i knw wat it stands for but.

Originally a Grand Tourer was defined as a car that was suited for long touring trips, roomy enough for 2 people & enough luggage for a week or so. Had to be fast & comfortable for long drives, as opposed to a sports car which is more of a quick accelerating, tight handling car for fun. Back then (60's) a GT would also have a certain style & class, although once the Yanks started putting GT badges on Pontiacs that went out the window. I think the original GT cars were things like Lamborghini 350 GT, Ferrari 330 GTC etc.

On this definition, a stock R33 gts-t is a real grand touring car, I've done about 8000 highway kilometers in the 6 months I've owned mine & I've never driven a better open-road car. But a stocker R33 isn't really a sports car, a bit squishy in the handling department & a bit heavy...

Z

[MLCrisis]

The Grand Tourer goes back a little further than the 1960s! The name comes from the Grand Tour which people undertook in Europe to round off their education. It was highly popular in the 18th century. People would visit the main cultural capitals of Europe - London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Lisbon, Venice, Rome, etc. - and would spend months away.

The advent of the railways in the 19th century made such travel easier. Then, of course, the motor car brought a new element to it, with greater freedom to explore and greater speed. Not surprisingly, a number of car manufacturers recognised this and developed their cars to suit the requirements of the Grand Tour.

As Zakalwe said, the Grand Tourer had room for luggage, and were generally four seaters or a 2+2, and were capable of high speed touring in comfort. I am not sure which was the first manufacturer to christen one of their cars a "Grand Tourer", but Alfa Romeo comes to mind. Other manucturers such as Bentley, Alvis, Hispano Suiza, Mercedes, Maserati, Bugatti all had early Grand Tourer models. Quite which was the first to just put the letters "GT" in the name, I am not sure. But the hey day of the GT car was probably the 1920s and 1930s. Society and the face of Europe changed so hugely in the 2nd World War that the Grand Tour fell out of fashion, although the GT car remained with motoring holidays a firmly established phenomenon.

Here endeth the history lesson!

Cheers.

[Jax]

Initially 'Gran Turismo' I think.

[someonestolecc]

Wow thanks for the history lesson.

That sounds about right about the car definition - but yeah the grand tourer car is something like a XW GT

[R33Hesh]

i learnd something new today, thanx guys

[Shrub32]

Initially 'Gran Turismo' I think.

Which translated into english is Grand Touring

[MLCrisis]

Initially 'Gran Turismo' I think.

All nationalities did the Grand Tour. The Italian for "Grand Tourer" is "Gran Turismo", which is prominent in the car world due to the number of Italian firms that made GT cars. This is also one of the reasons why I think that Alfa Romeo may have been the first manufacturer to officially christen a car as "Gran Turismo".

Cheers.

[Jax]

Know what the translation is. Encyclopaedia of Motor Cars says that GT on badges = Gran Turismo. It translates nicely into English, but it still means Gran Turismo in Yiddish or Kurdish, or Cantonese, where it would'nt translate so neatly. Therefore it is always,correctly Gran Turismo. [Like entrepeneur is always entrepeneur, even if it translates nicely to another word in another language, starting with an "e".]

[MLCrisis]

I think we are arguing at cross purposes. My point is that, quite possibly, the first car manufacturer to christen their cars officially as a Gran(d) Turismo/Tourer/Whatever was Italian. Other manufacturers also christened their cars as Grand Tourers, in their own language. The Brits, bless 'em, had more than a few cars that were thus christened - i.e. not called "GT", but called "Grand Tourer".

One of the manufacturers eventually dubbed one of their models as "GT" - again presumably this was an Italian make, hence their claim to the meaning of the acronym. But the British makes would tell you that "GT", for their models, was short for the English translation. The French makes would almost certainly tell you the equivalent, in their own parochial way. Quite what the German for "Grand Tourer" is, son of rajab knows, but I am sure they too did not bow to their Italian rivals and adopt the Italian name.

So the Italians got in first, but other manufacturers used the acronym, but with their own translation. So it is arguable that "GT" cannot be claimed as meaning just the version from one language. So "GT" is not "Gran Turismo" in any language. That is the point I was trying to make.

Sorry to be so longwinded!

[Jax]

It was SHRUB32 I was taking issue with, I just could'nt resist the "entrepeneur'. Like that, -GT only stands for one thing.

[Shrub32]

It was SHRUB32 I was taking issue with, I just could'nt resist the "entrepeneur'. Like that, -GT only stands for one thing.

what the ****!! haha get off ya high horse

GT is an abbreviation of the italian words Gran Turismo or the english words Grand Tourer which could even be translated again to Great Tourer!

the fact is words have meanings and words are pointless if they dont mean anything ie turismo to the common english speaker means what???? **** all

so keep your auto encyclopdia and use proper lingual ones alright!!!!

[nemz]

gt stands for greasy torago

[Homo Lover]

also known as GOOD TARGET CAR

[StraightSix]

Definition of a GT car was quite broad back in the day, basically any car that would've been considered a sports car, but had a fixed roof, was considered a GT car - even something like the Lotus Elite, I don't think I'd want to tour in that!

[The_Paladin]

Soarer. there's a good example of a cheap, modern GT.............

[Jax]

what the ****!! haha get off ya high horse

GT is an abbreviation of the italian words Gran Turismo or the english words Grand Tourer which could even be translated again to Great Tourer!

the fact is words have meanings and words are pointless if they dont mean anything ie turismo to the common english speaker means what???? **** all  

so keep your auto encyclopdia and use proper lingual ones alright!!!!

I don't mind at all, if you have a problem understanding,not even a teenie little bit.

[Shrub32]

I don't mind at all, if you have a problem understanding,not even a teenie little bit.

You were an abused child werent you!

[Jax]

On another thread,from Melbourne, another suggests I'm on acid. I've worked out both of your problems, - It's the weather - nobody can be expected to be reasonable living in a climate like that. Please don't worry about it anymore - you're not to blame. Perhaps U2 may consider getting married?

[Shrub32]

Are you saying Meditteranean climates are bad? i always considered it the best climate to live in actually btw never knew Melbourne had the same climate as Adelaide? Also on U2 be more specific... ie Bono, The Edge which one are you talking about getting married? big fan of their music..... great work!