Barchetta (Italian pronunciation:[barˈketta]) is anItalian word commonly translated into English as "little boat". The term originally referred to a smallskiff used for recreational purposes. It is also applied to some items of clothing, as well as being used in automobile styling, where it describes a class of open-top, two-seatsports cars.
The root of barchetta isbarca, the Italian word for "boat". In Italian "small boat" would bepiccola barca.
The use of the diminutive suffix-etta, the feminine form of-etto, confers the sense of something small or tiny with a connotation of endearment or affection towards the object.
The plural form of barchetta isbarchette.
In French the equivalent term isbarquette. The root wordbarque, which in French refers to a boat with three or more masts, is combined with the diminutive suffix-ette. In common use, barquette may refer to a shallow container or tray. Its use when describing an automobile is similar to that of the Italian term.
Acappello a barchetta refers to a militaryside cap similar to a bustina. It may also refer to an outmoded three-cornered hat somewhat similar to atricorne with a less pronounced brim.
Atasca a barchetta or "barchetta pocket" refers to a breast pocket in a men's suit jacket or blazer cut and trimmed in the curved shape of a boat.[1]
When applied to an automobile,barchetta describes a small car that is open-topped, without provision of a removable or foldable top for weather protection.[2][3] Instead of a full windshield, the barchetta has a low-rise transparent wind deflector that may be a single full-width piece, be divided into two sections, or omitted entirely. With an emphasis on performance, unnecessary trim and equipment is kept to a minimum.
The barchetta has full-width enveloping bodywork, in contrast to an early spider corsa, which may have cycle or wing fenders.[2] Later (non-corsa) spiders added more heavily padded seats, interior carpeting and a full windshield, items not found in the more spartan barchette.[4] Some later cars still called barchette were more well appointed, following the trend of the later spiders andconvertibles.
The first car to be called a barchetta was aFerrari 166 MM shown at the 1948Turin Auto Show.[5][6] The car was designed by Federico Formenti atCarrozzeria Touring.[7] Giovanni Canestrini, editor of the Italian sporting newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport, applied the term to describe the new car's original bodystyle.[6] The name barchetta has been associated with the open 166 MM model ever since.[5]
Ferrari built other models also called barchetta, including versions of theFerrari 212 Inter[8] and theFerrari 250 MMVignale.[9]
Other manufacturers began to use the name as well, such as theMaserati brothers'O.S.C.A. MT4 barchetta of 1948,[10] the 1953Moretti 750 barchetta,[11] and the 1966Abarth 1000 SP racing barchetta.[12]
The label was also applied retroactively to cars that had been built before the launch of the Ferrari 166MM, such as the 1943StanguelliniAla d'Oro.[13]
More contemporary barchette have included the 1991 track-orientedMaserati Barchetta,[14] theFiat Barchetta of 1995–2005, Ferrari's 2001550 Barchetta Pininfarina built to markPininfarina's 70th anniversary,[15] the 2003Lamborghini Murciélago Barchetta Concept, that entered production under Roadster nameplate;[16] the 2001Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Barchetta recreation,[17] the 2007Bertone Barchetta Concept[18] the 2018Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta and the 2024Morgan Midsummer.
