Fin-tastic: Our Five Favorite Fish-Named Cars (& A Bonus Catch)

June 18th is National “Go Fishing” Day. But if you can’t head out on the water to enjoy it, perhaps these five cars will appropriately wet…err…whet your appetite for some angling action later.

Did we miss any on our list? Are you a marine biologist and know some obscure vehicular aquatica that we should be aware of? Drop us a line in the comments below!

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5. Hyundai Tiburon

When Hyundai decided to dip its toe into the sports car waters, it did so with the Tiburon. Another car with a Spanish name, Tiburon translates to “shark” and was introduced to the U.S. in 1997. Though early Tiburons carried a range of relatively mundane four-bangers, Hyundai later gave the Tiburon a bit more bite with a 170+ hp V6.

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4. Opel Manta

As the second best ray on this list, the Opel Manta is a well-regarded sport coupe with an impressive race/rally pedigree. Though the Manta was primarily a European-market vehicle, a few swam over to the U.S. and you could finned…err…find them in Buick dealerships from 1971-75.

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3. AMC Marlin

There must’ve been something in the water near Detroit during the 1960s, as the final three cars on the list were all born around the same time. Initially a submodel of the Rambler, the Marlin soon spawned its own model designed for folks who wanted a sporty-looking, yet still family-friendly coupe.

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2. Chevy Corvette Sting Ray

Bill Mitchell, GM’s VP of Styling during the 1960s, got hooked on deep sea fishing, and worked with designers Peter Brock and Larry Shinoda to channel that inspiration into the Stingray Racer. That concept vehicle ultimately gave us the C2 Sting Ray. After the Stingray name vanished in 1976, it floated back into our lexicon with the Corvette C7 several decades later.

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1. Plymouth Barracuda

Hatched a few weeks before the Mustang, the Barracuda barely made a splash when compared to the waves Ford was making. Yet after a few years of refinement (and some help from a pachyderm), the Barracuda and its distinct ‘Cuda tank-mate are now keepers on every musclecar stringer.

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Bonus Catch! Lincoln Nautilus

Because it’s technically a mollusk and not a fish, the Nautilus doesn’t officially belong on this list. But we’re suckers (cephalopod pun!) for Jules Verne, so we’re obliged to mention Lincoln’s midsize SUV. While it doesn’t have an onboard pipe organ, we’d gladly take this thing on a 20,000-mile road trip.