What makes a real grand tourer, and why GT badges often lie
A true grand tourer should be able to cross a continent quickly and comfortably, then thrill its driver when asked. That is the ideal, anyway. Few motoring terms have been stretched further, and plenty of cars wearing GT on the boot are little more than family hatchbacks with sportier wheels.
The phrase is a near-copy of the Italian gran turismo, which caught on in English in the 1950s; its roots lie in the quick tourers and sleek enclosed sporting machines of the 1930s. The concept took shape in Europe in the early 1950s, notably with the 1951 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, and figures such as Vittorio Jano and Enzo Ferrari shaped it. Endurance racing mattered too, and GT classes remain central to sports-car competition. Classic examples include the Ferrari 250 GT, the Jaguar E-Type and the Aston Martin DB5.
Sam Dawson, news editor of Classic Cars, sets out the ideal. The engine should cruise at the top legal speeds on any continental road without strain. The car should carry at least two people and their luggage with room to spare, probably in a two-plus-two layout. Handling and roadholding should suit every route, and the whole design should put the driver in full control. Ideally it was conceived as a grand tourer from the outset.
Typically that has meant an engine in front driving the rear wheels, which frees more cabin space than a mid-engined layout, along with softer suspension, more storage and plusher interiors. Many are coupé versions of luxury saloons. Next to them, sports cars are often described as cruder, favouring raw performance or spartan cabins over sophistication.
Post-war American makers mostly ignored the idea, building big straight-six and V8 cars for long, straight roads, yet the United States became the largest market for European GTs. Meanwhile the letters spawned a whole alphabet of badges: GTO for homologation, GTV for fast, GTA for lightweight, and GTI, meaning grand touring injection, borrowed for hot hatches after the Volkswagen Golf GTi, a reminder that GT in a name does not guarantee a grand tourer.
Source: Grand tourer
