THE ICONIC PORSCHE CREST WAS JUST MODERNISED AFTER A 3-YEAR PROJECT. CAN YOU SPOT THE DIFFERENCE?
It wasn’t too long back that we told you all about the origins of the iconic Porsche crest, a bade that’s instantly recognisable the world over, and has been for close on 100 years even though it was only actually seen on Porsche models from 1952. Ferdinand Porsche and Ottomar Domnick, a Stuttgart doctor and original Porsche customer came up with the idea of a design competition and they didn’t like any of the submissions until a business dinner late in 1951 in New York when the idea was planted that a good logo will help sell the cars, so Mr Porsche scribbled down “Steering wheel hub featuring ‘Porsche’ and the Stuttgart coat of arms or something similar.” Back in Germany Porsche designer Franz Xaver Reimspieß was instructed to “design a trademark that symbolically reflects the company’s roots as well as the quality and dynamism of the products” and the result is quite similar to today’s badge. The final design took inspiration from the Stuttgart city seal where the coat of arms features a central rearing horse framed by the contours of a golden shield. The city name is above and has the state colours on either side, and those stylized antlers are taken from the Württemberg-Hohenzollern coat of arms while the Porsche lettering acts as a protective covering. Little did we know at the time but while we were deep into the Porsche crest history, back in Zuffenhausen the same sort of process was going on. “The ‘75 years of Porsche sports cars’ anniversary was the occasion for us to rework this trademark,” says Michael Mauer, Vice President Style Porsche. “With its cleaner and more state-of-the-art execution, the refined crest communicates the character of Porsche. We have reinterpreted historical characteristics and combined them with innovative design elements such as a honeycomb structure and brushed metal. The result is an aesthetically ambitious arc that bridges the history and the future of the brand.” With great attention to detail and in a three-year process, the designers at Style Porsche have modernised the iconic logo and it will be introduced to Porsche cars at the end of 2023.
“The time factor is very important in a maturing process such as this,” says Joachim Paetzel, Specialist for Colour and Trim at Style Porsche. “A trademark is not designed ‘off the cuff’ within a few days. You have to go back to it again and again, sometimes at longer intervals. The second or third look can reveal to you things that you want to optimise, until it finally achieves a harmonious, natural effect. Only then can you say with satisfaction: ‘This is exactly how it has to be!’” It was also important to precisely match the 2D and 3D versions of the crest. “The Porsche crest is an unmistakable symbol and simultaneously a central element of our brand identity,” says Robert Ader, Chief Marketing Officer at Porsche AG. “For this reason, the modernised crest became the occasion for us to rework our brand design. We will be using the crest in a more targeted way to underline emotional highlights. At the same time, the Porsche lettering will take on even greater significance." Since its inception in 1952, the iconic crest was updated in 1954, 1963, 1973, 1994 and 2008. This 7th-generation crest still has all the same elements. The rising horse in the middle of the Porsche crest is from the seal of the city of Stuttgart, the name of which has its origin in horse breeding (‘stud garden’) in combination with the city’s name above it and so Porsche identifies with its home in Swabia. The black and red colours and the stylised deer antlers were taken from the traditional crest of Württemberg-Hohenzollern. That’s pretty much it. One interesting thing is that even though what you see here is merely a badge placed on the car, it also gets subjected to rigorous testing that includes a climatic cycle test at the Porsche Development Centre in Weissach. You can’t have that Porsche badge fading after 10 years of ownership, after all.
Take a look at the YouTube video that helps to explain the Porsche crest's history and what all the different elements in it mean, and where the German automaker drew its inspiration from. The crest has been used since the early 50s even though the company is much older, and the evolution over the years has been a slow and steady one with things never straying too far from the original concept. Even now with the latest incarnation, you need to take a close look to see the changes, and quite honestly if you weren't told the badge is changing, you'd likely not even notice it: Porsche Crest Revised And Coming To Cars Late 2023 | DPCcars
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