Ferrari said Thursday it has slightly altered the name of its new Formula 1 race car after being accused by Ford Motor Co. of copying the name of one of its pickup trucks.
Ford filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Wednesday against Ferrari for naming the racer the F150, which resembles the name of the US manufacturer's best-selling F-150 truck.
Ferrari said it would rename the racer the Ferrari F150th Italia. The name refers to the country's 150th anniversary that is being celebrated this year.
But Ferrari insisted that the name was always F150th Italia, and "F150" had become a shorter way to refer to the new racecar.
Ford's lawsuit, filed in federal court in Detroit, also accused Ferrari of cybersquatting for creating www.ferrarif150.com to market the new vehicle, according to the Detroit News.
Ford demanded that Ferrari pay $100,000 for violating the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, which was created to prevent companies from trying to confuse the public with misleading internet domain names.
Ford has used the F-150 name for its pickup trucks since the 1975 model year. The automaker obtained a trademark on the F-150 name in 1995, and since 1997 Ford's gross revenues on the F-150 model have soared to more than $180 billion.
