The Porsche crest is as iconic as the sports cars that define the company. The black horse rearing on a gold background is distinctive and filled with significance. Yet the crest was never preordained. Several other designs were considered before Porsche chose the logo we associate with the company today.
In 1948 the company’s founders thought the only thing needed was to spell out ‘Porsche’ in clear, simple letters. However, its patrons saw it differently. Dr. Ottomar Domnick, one of Porsche’s original customers, launched the Porsche Prize to find a logo for the new brand. Max Hoffman, who first imported the cars to America, spoke with Ferry Porsche as early as 1951 about designing a logo. Yet none of the designs submitted caught on.
Early on, Ferry Porsche had an idea to decorate the steering wheel with the Stuttgart crest, but it wasn’t until 1952 that a logo was created. Franz Reimspiess, a designer and engineer who created the VW logo, is credited with the original design. Based on the Stuttgart coat of arms, it featured the rearing horse within the contours of a golden shield. The surrounding red and black state colors and the stylized antlers are from the traditional crest of Württemberg-Hohenzollern.
The design represents Porsche’s commitment to producing cars in Zuffenhausen and unifies Porsche’s origins. With the logo, the company had something distinctive to make an impression on the cars as well as advertisements and publications. However, the logo also caused issues and attracted controversy.
To begin with, color printing in the 1950s was expensive and complicated. Not every printer had machines that could produce color images, let alone sharp enough graphics. The Porsche crest also lost most of its visual appeal when printed in black and white. Additionally, some people considered the Porsche logo too busy and thought it did not provide a “compact, coherent visual effect.”
Around the same time that the new Porsche 911 was in development, there was a movement to create a new logo. However, according to Ghislain Kaes, a chronicler at Porsche, the company’s internal correspondence suggests that the company believed a change was not a good idea and decided to stick to the original logo.
As Porsche celebrates its 75th anniversary with exhibits and art cars, it’s hard to imagine its cars wearing anything but the original crest. Even when other automakers are updating their logos, Porsche’s crest remains unchanged as a reminder of its origins.