Deconstructing the Porsche Emblem

Posted on 19. May, 2010 by PB in 911, Boxster, Cayenne, Cayman, Panamera

The Porsche name is recognized for superb styling on top of innovative engineering, but until 1952 the Stuttgart-based automotive manufacturer portrayed itself to the world as only that: a name. For 31 years, the Porsche brand consisted of seven sleek letters but had no face attached to its name. No mark, emblem, nor ideogram to distinguish its cars from the masses and therefore no burning scar in the minds of consumers embodying the Porsche experience and history. By the start of the 1950s, however, importers and agents who sold these high-performance sports cars made it clear to Porsche that their customers wanted something more. They wanted an emblem to identify their vehicles. Ferdinand Porsche, his son Ferry, and their trusted circle went about designing a logo that would represent Porsche to the world.

The mark they came up with takes more than a few pen strokes to reproduce, but nonetheless creates a bond of trust and space for thought among drivers and admirers alike. More than anything else, the Porsche logo takes its design cues from the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg, a former Weimar Republic province. Ferdinand Porsche moved to Württemberg from Austria-Hungary after the turmoil of World War I and the Porsche headquarters is still located in the province (now called Baden-Württemberg) today. The red and black stripes come from the former province’s flag and the 6 antlers represent the heavy deer population in the thickly-wooded forests of the region. The province is the most prosperous and innovative of modern Germany and many other German multinationals are located there such as Daimler, Bosch, Carl Zeiss, and SAP. Through his company’s emblem, Porsche shows a firm commitment to his adopted land.

The horse in the middle is from the coat of arms of Stuttgart, the capital of Württemberg. Stute in German means female horse and gart in the city name is short for garten, or garden. The now bustling German metropolis was originally a horse pasture in the 10^th century. The city’s coat of arms pays homage to these roots with a black prancing stallion on a yellow shield. Interestingly enough, the Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari uses the same heraldry in its logo. The image of the black stallion made its way to Italy during World War I via Francesco Baracca, Italy’s top fighter ace during the war. Legend has it that Baracca copied the horse design from a shot down German pilot who happened to have painted the Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane. The Italian used the symbol on his own plane, but he too was killed in combat. In 1923, the symbol made its way to Enzo Ferrari after Ferrari’s victory in the Circuito del Savio. Ferrari had made acquaintance with Baracca’s father and after he won the race, his wife, the Countess Paolina Baracca, presented a piece of her son’s Stuttgart coat of arms-emblazoned plane shrapnel to him. The Countess asked that he use the horse on his cars and suggested it would bring him good luck. The Porsche family asked the Stuttgart city government for permission to use their coat of arms in their logo, which they were granted, but it’s unknown whether Ferrari ever had to go through the same process. Austrian petrol station company Avanti also uses the same prancing black stallion with yellow background in their logo.

Count Francesco Baracca used the same Stuttgart coat of arms on his plane as Porsche and inspired Ferrari’s logo

With the Porsche name added at the top of the shield, the emblem was complete. From 1953-1957 the new logo first appeared only on the interior of Porsche’s vehicles. The 1957 Porsche 356 coupe was the first to have the emblem gleam resplendent on its bonnet. A 2008 Luxury Institute survey among wealthy Americans found the Porsche brand best luxury car brand today. Respondents of the survey associated Porsche with "power, style and excitement", "value," "elegance," and "trust and respect". Without its intricate yet meaningful logo, it is doubtful Porsche would have ever been able to sear itself into the minds of consumers, built such value, and commanded such respect.

Thanks to the team at vintage racing video website RaceFansTV for guest writing this post. RaceFansTV is an international initiative led by motorsports enthusiasts that aims to bring back much of the great historical racing footage that has been captured since the video camera was invented.

Well worth checking them out!