Barchetta means approximately "little boat" in Italian and usually references a car that is open top.

On May 17, 2008 FM2 was renamed Barchetta due to this open top nature of the design.

The Barchetta is a developement vehicle. It is developing two completely different elements.

1) Rivited monocoque two seater sports car similar in idea to the "locost" focusing on simplicity of design and ease of construction with minimal costs.

2) Flexible Fuel or Alternative Fuel: The Barchetta will either be 100% hydrogen powered or will be gasoline and hydrogen powered. It will develop an onboard electrolyzer compressor system and will be able to refuel from almost any renewable source.