Time and time again we have discussed how the emblem stands as a symbolic representation of the history of the car company. Porsche’s iconic crest is no different, and traces back to 1951.
The idea of a coat or coat of arms to represent Porsche was born in 1951. In March of that year, Porsche and Ottomar Domnick, a Stuttgart doctor and original Porsche customer, facilitated a design competition between German art schools. It cost 1,000 Deutsche marks (about $550 in today’s money) but unfortunately, neither design won and the idea was briefly parked.
It was only when Porsche Ferry visited New York at the end of the year that the idea was pushed through with the help of Austrian-born importer Max Hoffman.
3 Photo
Hoffman is the owner of the Hoffman Motor Company, a special importer of European cars to the US. At a business dinner with Porsche, Hoffman discussed the importance of developing quality, visually appealing seals to create more identity in Porsche cars. Until the logo was born, only the Porsche inscription adorned the hood of the 356.
Those discussions were important to Ferry Porsche and ultimately set the wheels in motion. On December 27, 1951, Ferry Porsche wrote the following: “Steering wheel hub featuring ‘Porsche’ and Stuttgart emblem or similar.”
Returning to Germany in 1952, Porsche designer Franz Xaver Reimspieß was commissioned to design a trademark. The sequence was to have something that symbolically reflected the company’s roots, as well as “product quality and dynamism”.
The result is the emblem we see on Porsche sports cars today, inspired by the Stuttgart city seal. The coat of arms features a rearing horse in the center, framed by the contours of a gold shield. The city name above is flanked by the red and black state colors and stylized horn, which comes from the coat of arms of Württemberg-Hohenzollern. The Porsche letters act as a protective roof over everything.
Since 1952, the crest has undergone five evolutions, although the changes have always been minor and only meant to keep the design contemporary.
