In the motoring world, many car models are commonly referred to by their nicknames rather than their official names, and for whatever reason, a good proportion of these pet names are in some way related to animals. For World Animal Day, famed German illustrator Helge Jepsen has taken the opportunity to share some of the “animals” he has penned.

Shared on Instagram, Jepsen has shown each classic model accompanied by an animal or an insect. Some of these nicknames eventually became so well known – the Volkswagen Beetle, for example – that they became household names for the car. The series also includes the Ford Mustang “pony car” and the Jaguar E-Type as the “ultimate cat”. It’s also not just limited to car models, but to iconic body components too. Jepsen has chosen the Ferrari F156 and Mercedes-Benz SL300 Coupe to illustrate the terms “shark nose” and “gullwing”.

Check out Jepsen’s Instagram for more of these stunning and clever comparisons. Or better still, get a copy of the 99 Nicknamed Classic Cars so that you can appreciate the illustrations as well as text in English written by Michael Köckritz in full.