It is a challenging business to name a vehicle, as Aston Martin and many others have learned the hard way over the years. Porsche has taken a legal stand against Aston Martin due to the name of their recent offering, the Aston Martin GT3. Porsche is arguing that the GT3 label belongs to them and that Aston Martin has no rights to tack it onto their Vantage. The confusion continues because the FIA GT3 racing category has existed for years.

Porsche took a legal stand against Aston Martin for using the GT3 nameplate. 

So does Porsche own the rights to the GT3 badge? The Aston Martin GT3 was created to challenge Porsche, Maserati and other high-performance cars, but I assume that challenge was intended to occur on a street or track rather than a courtroom. Initially, Aston Martin responded to the legal complaint from Porsche with a resounding “deal with it”, but without the endless resources of the Volkswagen empire to back it, Aston Martin was eventually forced to face the fact that its efforts would prove futile. The new name of the car will be the Aston Martin GT12, and will likely not be confused with a Porsche anytime soon.

Should automakers be forced to stick with their own naming and numbering systems when releasing new models, or should certain nameplates like GT3 be shared among brands to communicate certain capabilities? The gray area is so vast that this could continue to be an issue for the foreseeable future. Remember the hot flash between Ford and Ferrari over the use of the F150 name?

Ford F150 Vs. Ferrari: The legal battle was short-lived, though heated on both ends of the spectrum.

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