Facts About the Porsche Crest

1. The History of the Crest

The Porsche company was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, but it wasn't until the 1950s that he decided to create an emblem. With the help of his son, Ferdinand "Ferry" Porsche, and other trusted individuals, the crest was created and used in 1952. As you will soon read, the Porsche logo was created with the company's birthplace in mind, but I don't want to spoil it all. Continue reading for more information on this iconic symbol. 

2. Horse Breeders

Before Stuttgart became the home of Porsche's motor company, it was a horse farm way back in 950. Ever since Stuttgart became a city and the capital of Wurttemberg in the 13th century, it featured horses in its coat of arms. It first featured two running horses in its seal, but the design continued to go through a transformation. The rampant horse, shown in the Porsche logo, didn't get established until 1642.

You are probably wondering why this turned into a history lesson. Well, it will all be revealed in the last slideshow. What you should take from this now is Stuttgart's coat of arms was the inspiration for the horse on the Porsche crest.  

3. The Inspiration for the Design

You have already learned where the horse came from. Now, what about the rest of the features in the logo? From the beginning of its development in the 50s, the symbol for Porsche had to be an homage to its birthplace, while still representing an identity of power. Stuttgart's horse is shown in the center, so where did the antlers and the colors come from? The answer is the coat of arms of Wurttemberg-Hohenzollern, which was a simplified version of the Kingdom of Wurttemberg's (later known as Free People's State of Wurttemberg) coat of arms.   

The first draft of the design was drawn by Ferry Porsche on a serviette in New York with Max Hoffman sat beside him. Hoffman was Porsche's United State's importer and also had helped in the creation of the logo. Although, the final sketch and the one used was created by Franz Xaver Reimspress, a Porsche engineer. 

4. Incorporating the Crest in Porsche Cars

Like I mentioned at the beginning of the slideshow, the company was founded in 1931 but the crest was created in 1952. This was also the time that the crest was added to the cars. It first appeared on the steering wheel, two years later on the front bonnet handle, and four years later it was available on the wheel hub caps as on option. 

5. Porsche or Ferrari, Who Had It First?

Both Ferrari's and Porsche's crest feature a rampant horse and were meant to represent their birthplace, but while one was meant to represent power, the other was meant as good luck. The Ferrari horse was meant to bring Enzo Ferrari luck as it did with Francesco Baracca, a fighter pilot during WWI. The Ferrari horse wasn't used on the cars until 1932 during the SPA 24 Hours race.

So things are getting a little complicated at trying to figure out who had it first. Ferrari started adding the horse to his cars in 1932, while Porsche started in 1952. In hindsight, it does sound like Ferrari had it first, but let's go back to their history once more. In the second slideshow, I stated that Stuttgart has been using horses in its coat of arms since the 13th century (17th century if you want to get technical about the rampant horse), but Baracca didn't start using it until the early 20th century. In reality, it was Stuttgart that had the horse first that was later used by Porsche. 

Who do you think had it first? 

For information on DIY maintenance, repairs, and modifications, visit our how-to section here in Rennlist.com.