The American auto giant filed a lawsuit against the Fiat-controlled luxury sportscar maker, saying Ferrari's use of the F150 name was a trademark violation. In a statement Ferrari has said it would refer to the Formula 1 car by its full name-the Ferrari F150th Italia. The name is recognition of unified Italy's 150th anniversary marked this year.

Ferrari maintained that the name did not cause confusion. "Ferrari retains that there can be no way to confuse the one-seater...or even think that there would be a link with another brand," it said.

"It seems really difficult to understand what has been expressed by Ford," it added.

The suit asked a judge to block Ferrari from using the trademark in the US and sought unspecified damages from Ferrari. Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari said her company was worried about brand dilution, according to the Wall Street Journal.