A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed, long-distance driving with luxury specifications. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons or sedans. Some models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E-Type, and Aston Martin DB5, are considered classic examples of grand tourers.
The term is a near-calque from the Italian language phrase , which became popular in the English language in the 1950s, evolving from fast touring cars and streamlined closed sports cars during the 1930s.
Origin in Europe The grand touring car concept originated in Europe in the early 1950s, especially with the 1951 introduction of the Lancia Aurelia B20 GT, and features notable luminaries of Italian automotive history such as Vittorio Jano, Enzo Ferrari and Johnny Lurani. Motorsports became important in the evolution of the grand touring concept, and grand touring entries are important in endurance sports-car racing. The grand touring definition implies material differences in performance, speed, comfort, and amenities between elite cars and those of ordinary motorists.
In the post-war United States, manufacturers were less inclined to adopt the "ethos of the GT car", preferring to build cars "suited to their long, straight, smooth roads and labor-saving lifestyles" with wide availability of powerful straight-six and V8 engines in all price ranges like the 1955–1965 Chrysler 300. Despite this, the United States, enjoying early post-war economic expansion, became the largest market for European grand-touring cars, supplying transportation for movie stars, celebrities and the jet set; notably the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (imported by Max Hoffman), the Jaguar XK120, and the Ferrari berlinettas (imported by Luigi Chinetti). Classic grand-touring cars from the post-war era especially, have since become valuable cars among wealthy collectors. Within ten years, grand touring cars found success penetrating the new American personal luxury car market.
Characteristics The terms grand tourer, gran turismo, grande routière, and GT are among the most misused terms in motoring. The grand touring designation generally "means motoring at speed, in style, safety, and comfort". "Purists define gran turismo as the enjoyment, excitement and comfort of open-road touring."
According to Sam Dawson, news editor of Classic Cars, "the ideal is of a car with the ability to cross a continent at speed and in comfort yet provide driving thrills when demanded" and it should exhibit the following: The engines "should be able to cope with cruising comfortably at the upper limits on all continental roads without drawbacks or loss of usable power". "Ideally, the GT car should have been devised by its progenitors as a Grand Tourer, with all associated considerations in mind." "It should be able to transport at least two comfortably with their luggage and have room to spare — probably in the form of a two plus two seating arrangement." The design, both "inside and out, should be geared toward complete control by the driver". Its "chassis and suspension provide suitable handling and roadholding on all routes" during travels. Grand tourers emphasise comfort and handling over straight-out high performance or ascetic, spartan accommodations. In comparison, sports cars (also a "much abused and confused term") are typically more "crude" compared to "sophisticated Grand Touring machinery". However, the popularity of using GT for marketing purposes has meant that it has become a "much misused term, eventually signifying no more than a slightly tuned version of a family car with trendy wheels and a go-faster stripe on the side".
Historically, most GTs have been front-engined with rear-wheel drive, offering more cabin space than mid-mounted engine layouts. Softer suspensions, greater storage, and more luxurious appointments add to their appeal.
GT abbreviation in marketing The GT abbreviation—and variations thereof—are often used as model names. However, some cars with GT in the model name are not actually grand touring cars.
Among the many variations of GT are: GTA: Gran turismo alleggerita - the Italian word for 'lightweight'. GTAm indicates a modified version. GTA is also sometimes used for automatic transmission models. GTB: Gran turismo berlinetta GTC: Various uses including gran turismo compressore for supercharged engines, gran turismo cabriolet, gran turismo compact, gran turismo crossover and gran turismo corsa - the Italian word for 'racing'. GTD: "Gran turismo diesel" GT/E: "Gran turismo Einspritzung" - the German word for 'fuel injection' GTE: "Grand touring estate" GTi or GTI: "Grand touring injection", mostly used for hot hatches following the introduction of the Volkswagen Golf GTi GTO: "Gran turismo omologato" - the Italian word for 'homologation' GTR or GT-R: "Gran turismo and racing" GTS: sometimes "Gran turismo spider" for convertible models. However, GTS has also been used for saloons and other body styles. GT-T: "Gran turismo turbo" GTV: "Gran turismo veloce" - the Italian word for 'fast' GTX: "Grand tourisme extreme" HGT: "High gran turismo"
World Championships and other GT racing series Current World Championship FIA World Endurance Championship – In operation since 2012, the current auto racing World Championship for both Sports prototypes and Group GT3 cars organised by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship is considered a revival of the defunct World Sportscar Championship which ended in 1992. In 2012-2016 seasons the World Cup for GT Manufacturer was awarded to a winning manufacturer of GT cars, promoted to the World GT Manufacturers' Championship title since the 2017 season. This title awarded to a winning manufacturer of GT cars was discontinued after the 2022 season.
Former World Championships World Sportscar Championship – The first sports car racing world series run from 1953 to 1992. Originally contested only by Sports prototypes, the series expanded to GT cars in the 1954 season at the 1954 Mille Miglia, but from the 1985 season until its end it was again restricted to Sports prototypes only. In 1962-1984 seasons (except of the 1982 season) titles were awarded to manufacturers of GT cars alongside the manufacturers of Sports prototypes. FIA GT1 World Championship – A short-lived series for GT cars run from 2010 to 2012, created by Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) in an attempt to promote the FIA GT Championship to World Championship status.
Other GT racing series Several past and present motor racing series have used "GT" in their name. These include: GT World Challenge Europe 2014–present: A racing series for Group GT3 cars. The FIA GT Series replaced the FIA GT Championship (1997–2009) and the FIA GT1 World Championship (2010–2012). IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge 2005–present: A North American racing series for Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars. GT4 European Series 2007–present: A European amateur racing series with the least powerful class of GT cars. SRO GT2 2018–present: Despite the name, this class slots between GT4 and GT3 in terms of performance. The cars have more power than GT3 cars, with the most powerful entries at nearly 700 horsepower. However, they have much less downforce than a GT3 car. LM GTE 1999–2023: A set of regulations for modified road cars, which is used for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and several related racing series. LM GTE was originally called 'GT class' and was also known as GT2 class from 2005 to 2010. Also known as GTLM in the United States FIA GT3 European Championship 2006–2012: A European amateur racing series for Group GT3 cars. FIA R-GT: As part of its structure, the Group R regulations have a provision for GT cars, known as R-GT.
There have also been several classes of racing cars called GT. The Group GT3 regulations for modified road cars have been used for various racing series worldwide since 2006. The Group GT1 regulations were used for the fastest category of sports car racing from 1994 to 2001.
Examples of grand tourers
The inclusion of "grand tourer", "gran turismo", "GT" or similar in the model name does not necessarily mean that the car is a grand tourer since several manufacturers have used the terms for the marketing of cars that are not grand tourers.
Evolution of the gran turismo car Grand touring car design evolved from vintage and pre-World War II fast touring cars and streamlined closed sports cars.
Italy developed the first gran turismo cars. The small, light-weight, and aerodynamic coupés, named the "Berlinetta", originated in the 1930s. A contemporary French concept, known as "grande routière", emphasised style, elegance, luxury, and gentlemanly transcontinental touring; the grande routières were often larger cars than the Italian gran turismos.This emphasis found favor with post-war British commentators as an English definition of the grand tourer. For reference see: Les Grandes Routières: France's Classic Grand Tourers, Stobbs, William, 1990; and GT: The World's Best GT Cars 1953 to 1973, Dawson, Sam, 2007. For examplars see: Bugatti Type 57S Aérolithe/Aéro Coupé/Atlantic, 1935–1938; and Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport, 1948–1951. Italian designers saw that compared to traditional open two-seat sports car, the increase in weight and frontal area of an enclosed cabin for the driver and mechanic could be offset by the benefits of streamlining to reduce drag.Wood, p. 25. Independent carrozzeria (coachbuilders) provided light and flexible fabric coachwork for powerful short-wheelbase fast-touring chassis by manufacturers such as Alfa Romeo. Later, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan pioneered sophisticated superleggera (super light-weight) aluminum bodywork, allowing for even more aerodynamic forms. The additional comfort of an enclosed cabin was beneficial for the Mille Miglia road race held in Italy's often wintry north.
1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GT The first car to be named "gran turismo" was the 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Turismo, a sporting dual-purpose road/race chassis and engine specification that was available with a wide variety of body styles or carrozzeria. The influential Weymann fabric-bodied berlinetta version by Carrozzeria Touring, "an early example of what we generally perceive to be a GT car", was winner of the Vetture Chiuse category at the 1931 Mille Miglia. An improved and supercharged version, the 6C 1750 GTC Gran Turismo Compressore, won the Vetture a Guida Interna category of the 1932 Mille Miglia. The Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 was designed by Vittorio Jano, who would later be instrumental in the design of the 1951 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT.
1935 Fiat 508 Balilla S berlinetta From the basic Fiat 508 Balilla touring chassis came the SIATA and Fiat aerodynamic gran turismo-style Berlinetta Mille Miglias of 1933 and 1935. Siata was a Turin, Italy-based Fiat tuner, typical of a popular class of Italian artisan manufacturers of small gran turismo, sports and racing cars—usually Fiat based—that came to be known in the 1970s as Etceterini, such as Nardi, Abarth, Ermini and, in 1946, Cisitalia. The Fiat and SIATA berlinettas, influenced by the successful Alfa Romeo 6C GT/GTC coupés, competed in the Mille Miglia endurance race and were significant among Weymann and Superleggera enclosed sporting cars appearing in the 1930s. They featured tuned Fiat engine and chassis, and bespoke carrozzeria, in common with the landmark post-war Cisitalia 202 SC, and are among the first small-displacement gran turismos.
1947 Cisitalia 202 SC