44 Famous Car Logos and Their Fascinating Evolution and History

In this article we’re going to showcase 45 of the most famous car logos in the automotive industry. We’ll look at the fascinating evolution of their visual style over the years and give you plenty of interesting facts, history and trivia. It’s incredible to think that some of these automotive brands are well over 100 years old and have survived recessions, depressions and multiple world wars!

Abarth

Abarth Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Abarth was established in 1949 by professional motorcycle racer Carlo Abarth when he was forced to quit his racing career after a horrific accident.

• The scorpion in the car logo is a reference to Carlo’s astrological sign of Scorpio.

• The shield is a symbol of victory and passion and the yellow and red colors are said to be a tribute to the Italian city of Merano, where Carlo’s father was born.

• Fiat purchased Abarth in 1971 and became its racing division. Since then the Abarth name has been used on all performance versions of Fiat’s cars.

• The 2007 logo makeover included a strong new font and the addition of the Italian tricolor to denote ‘made in Italy’.

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Alfa Romeo was founded in 1910 by Frenchman Alexandre Darracq.

• It was originally known as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili (ALFA) which translates in English to Anonymous Lombard Automobile Factory.

• The left side of the car logo features a red cross on a white field which represents the flag of Milan, the home town of Alfa Romeo. The right side of the logo shows the emblem of the house of Visconti, who ruled Milan in the 14th century.

• The Visconti emblem shows a crowned snake eating an very unfortunate human – said to be a Muslim Moor who Count Visconti fought during the crusades.

• Alfa Romeo has said that the human is actually coming out of the snake and is being purified or ‘reborn’. Considering the controversial alternative, it’s not surprising the Alfa PR department has tweaked the tale surrounding this very unusual car logo.

Alpine

History & Trivia

• Alpine is a French marque and was founded in 1954 by racing driver Jean Rédélé

• The full name of Alpine is Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS

• The Alpine name is a reference to Jean Rédélé’s success racing in the Coupe des Alpes.

• The first Alpine cars were based on heavily modified versions of the Renault 4CV and Alpine has enjoyed a close relationship with Renault ever since.

• Renault bought Alpine in 1973 but ceased production of the cars in 1995. In 2017, the brand was relaunched with the Alpine A110.

• In 1953, a year before Alpine was founded, Sunbeam launched a car called the Sunbeam Alpine. This naming conflict has caused Alpine many problems over the years.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Logo Evolution

Image source: Aston Martin

History & Trivia

• Aston Martin was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.

• The name is a reference to one of Lionel Martin’s Aston Hill Climb runs in Buckinghamshire, England.

• The famous logo with wings first appeared after a group of investors rescued the company from financial collapse in 1926.

• In 1947, industrialist David Brown bought the company and his name was added to the logo. The DB model designation is also a tribute to his name.

• Aston Martin cars use engines from Mercedes-AMG

• In 2017, a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 sold at auction for US $22.5 Million!

Audi

Audi Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• The Audi name is based on the Latin translation of the surname of founder, August Horch. “Horch”, means “listen” in German and becomes “audi” in Latin.

• In 1932, four separate car companies joined together to create Auto Union. The Audi logo was comprised of each of the four company logos connected by rings. One of the rings represented Audi, and the other three belonged to Horch, Wanderer and DKW.

• Audi barely survived WWII as German factories were converted for military use and limped along for almost 20 years before staging a comeback. Today it is one of the worlds most popular luxury brands.

• Audi’s slogan is Vorsprung durch Technik which means “Being Ahead through Technology”

Bentley

History & Trivia

• Bentley was founded by W.O. Bentley in 1914.

• The logo wings symbolize speed and independence.

• The number of feathers in the logo are different depending on the model of the car. The original hood ornament logo also had a different number of feathers on each side to fool forgers.

• Even though Bentley is known for producing luxury cars, early cars were designed for the track and Bentley achieved four consecutive Le Man victories between 1927 and 1930.

• The ‘Bentley Boys’ were a group of wealthy Bentley racers in the late 1920’s and were known as notorious party animals!

• In the James Bond novels, Bond drove a Bentley and not an Aston Martin.

BMW

BMW Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke in German which translates to Bavarian Motor Works. The German name is actually not grammatically correct, because motorenwerke is a single word in German.

• Until 1945, BMW made aircraft engines as well as cars and motorcycles. At the end of WWI, BMW also produced farm equipment and household items.

• There are two separate stories regarding the origin of the blue and white quartered BMW car logo. The first is that it represents a spinning propeller against a blue sky. The second is that it represents the colors of Bavaria (where BMW’s are manufactured). The propeller idea was first used in a 1929 BMW advertisement twelve years after the logo was created so the Bavarian origin story is much more likely to be correct.

Buick

Buick Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Buick is the oldest operating US car brand and was founded in 1903 by David Dunbar Buick. The Buick logo has changed many times over the years.

• In the 1930’s, the logo was changed to the Buick Scottish family coat of arms to give the brand a more upmarket feel. Over time, the coat of arms morphed into the three shields we see today.

Bugatti

History & Trivia

• Bugatti was founded in 1909 by Italian born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti.

• Only about 8000 cars were made up until the death of Bugatti in 1947 and the company closed soon after.

• Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti brand in 1987 and established Bugatti Automobili S.p.A. Today it is owned by the Volkswagen group.

• The Bugatti logo was designed by Bugatti’s father who was a notable Milanese designer and artist. He considered an oval shape to be a perfect representation of technology and elegance.

• The sixty red dots around the logo symbolize either pearls or safety wires.

Cadillac

Cadillac Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Cadillac was founded in 1902 in Detroit by Henry Leland who also founded the Lincoln marque.

• GM bought Cadillac in 1909 and by this time the company was already one of America’s premier luxury auto makers.

• The Cadillac logo has been redesigned more than 30 times over the years including a major change in 2000 when it was modernized.

• The Cadillac crest is inspired by the coat of arms of French adventurer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who founded the city of Detroit in 1701. He is also said to have been an ancestor of Henry Leland.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• The Chevrolet Motor Company was founded in 1911 by Swiss racing driver Louis Chevrolet along with William C. Durant.

• The bowtie emblem was first used in 1914 and there are conflicting stories on its origin. Some say it represents a Swiss cross in tribute to Chevrolet’s Swiss heritage and others argue it is a shape designed from wallpaper Durant once saw in a French hotel room.

• The yellow bowtie color was unified across all models in 2004 to better differentiate itself from the blue oval of Ford.

Chrysler

Chrysler Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Chrysler was founded in 1925 by Walter Chrysler.

• In 1928, Chrysler acquired Dodge (known as the Dodge Brothers at the time) and created the Plymouth and DeSoto brands.

• The original logo, designed by Oliver Clark, resembled a wax seal and spoke to the high quality of Chrysler products.

• Clark also designed the silver car logo with wings we see a variation of today. The wings are said to symbolize the speed of the Roman god Mercury.

• The blue Pentastar logo was the corporate symbol of the company but was also used as a hood decoration for several models.

• Fiat bought Chrysler in 2011 and the current logo was unveiled in 2014. The blue background is a reminder of the blue ribbon in the original wax seal logo.

Citroen

Citroen Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Citroen was founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën.

• The double chevron car logo represents the contact between two helical gears used in a milling process Citroen discovered on a trip to Poland. He bought the patent for the process.

• For most of its life the Citroen logo has been blue and yellow but was changed in the 1990’s to give the company a more dynamic brand image.

• Citroen has long been know as an innovator in the car industry and is responsible for the development of front-wheel drive, independent suspension, disc brakes, adaptive headlights and more.

Dodge

Dodge Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Dodge is one of the oldest US car companies and was originally known as The Dodge Brothers. It was founded in the early 1900’s by brothers Horace Elgin Dodge and John Francis Dodge.

• The Dodge Brothers originally made parts for other car companies and started building their own cars in 1914.

• Both the Dodge brothers died of pneumonia in 1920 and Chrysler bought the company in 1928.

• Many logos have been used on Dodge vehicles over the years with the first versions incorporating a double D to represent the bothers.

• The famous RAM logo was used on Dodge trucks for many years and was adopted as the company wide logo in the 1990’s

• When Fiat took over Dodge, the company was split into several sub brands and the RAM logo is now exclusively used on the RAM line of trucks.

• The Dodge logo was redesigned in 1990 using a custom font and the two red stripes denote speed and performance.

Ferrari

History & Trivia

• Ferrari was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939 but the first car to wear the Ferrari badge wasn’t produced until 1947.

• The famous prancing horse represents the coat of arms of Count Francesco Baracca, a legendary WWI fighter pilot.

• The S F stands for Scuderia Ferrari (the racing division of Ferrari) and the logo also features the Italian tricolor of red, white and green.

• The yellow background represents the city of Modena where Ferrari was founded.

• Less than 200,000 cars have been sold by Ferrari in the entire history of the company.

• A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO became the most valuable car in history when it sold for US $38 Million in 2012.

• Ferrari is recognized as the most powerful brand in the world.

Fiat

Fiat Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Fiat is one of oldest car manufacturers in the world and was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli. The first Fiat factory opened in 1900 and had 35 staff.

• For over 20 years in the in 1960’s and 1970’s, Fiat was the third largest car maker in the world after GM and Ford.

• The FIAT initials have been used in the logo almost from the beginning of the company.

• The red shield first appeared in the 1930’s and was originally surrounded by a wreath.

• In the 1960’s the shield was replaced with a blue rhomboid design but 2006 saw a return to a modern updated version of the original red shield design. The chrome trim around the shield subtly represents the original wreath design.

Ford

Ford Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Ford was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford with investment from The Dodge Brothers and Alexander Y. Malcomson.

• Henry Ford is often credited with inventing the assembly line production process, but this isn’t quite true. Ford’s innovation was to use assembly lines to build the first cars that regular families could afford.

• Henry Ford was originally an engineer who worked for Thomas Edison and was encouraged by Edison to experiment with car building.

• The introduction of the Model T Ford in 1908 profoundly changed transport, industry and the world as we know it.

• The Ford ‘blue oval’ car logo is one of the most recognized symbols in the world and hasn’t changed too much from its original design. The 1927 Model A was the first car to wear the blue oval on its grill.

Honda

History & Trivia

• Honda was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa.

• The company originally only built motorcycles and has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959. Their first car was the T360 mini pickup truck which launched in 1963.

• Honda was the first Japanese car company to launch a luxury brand (Acura, in 1986) and they’ve since been copied by Toyota and Nissan with the Lexus and Infiniti brands.

• All Honda brands use the same instantly recognizable font but with different logos to differentiate them.

Hyundai

History & Trivia

• Hyundai is a South Korean car company founded in 1967 by entrepreneur Chung Ju-yung.

• Chung Ju-yung was the son of a poor farmer and grew his business empire to become one of the richest men in the world.

• Building cars is notoriously hard and Hyundai is credited with matching the quality and sales of Japanese, European and American car makers in only 50 years.

• The Hyundai car logo is a simple H design and is said to represent a customer and the company uniting in a handshake. The tilted character gives a friendly and accessible feel.

• Originally the logo was often confused with that of Honda but consumers got used to it as the brand grew.

Infiniti

History & Trivia

• Infiniti is the luxury brand of Nissan and was launched in the US in 1989 to target upmarket brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

• The logo represents a road leading to the infinite horizon and is also said to resemble a figure 8 which was a holy number in ancient Japanese times.

Jaguar

Jaguar Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Jaguar was founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley and was originally known as the Swallow Sidecar Company and later as S.S. Cars.

• The name was changed to Jaguar in 1945 to avoid any awkward association with another infamous German SS ‘brand’.

• The leaping Jaguar car logo represents power, performance and grace. Although it has been modernized, the basic form has changed very little over the years.

• Originally the leaping Jaguar was a cast hood emblem but these have now been banned due to pedestrian safely concerns.

• Jaguar has had great success over the years in the Le Mans 24 Hours with victories in 1951, 1953 and 1955 to 1957.

• Ford bought Jaguar in 1989 and never made a profit under its ownership. Since 2008 it has been owned by Indian company Tata Motors as part of Jaguar Land Rover Limited.

Jeep

History & Trivia

• The Jeep was born in 1943 when the U.S. realized it would be involved in WWII and needed an off-road reconnaissance car. Of the 135 companies asked to tender for the job, only the American Bantam Car Company and Willys-Overland responded.

• An average of 145 Jeeps were supplied to every Army infantry regiment in the war.

• There are multiple explanations regarding how the name Jeep originated. One common theory suggests that the military designation of GP (which stands for General Purpose) was slurred into the word ‘Jeep’, but this has been disputed.

• Because Jeeps have traditionally been very simple and stripped down vehicles a popular joke among fans is to say that Jeep stands for “Just Enough Essential Parts”.

Lamborghini

Lamborghini Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Automobili Lamborghini was founded in 1963 by Italian industrialist Ferruccio Lamborghini who was known for manufacturing farm tractors.

• His goal was to build high end sports cars to compete with Ferrari.

• Ferrari and Lamborghini have had a long and celebrated rivalry and it’s no accident that the Lamborghini logo shares similarities with the Ferrari prancing horse design.

• The bull on the Lamborghini logo represents the Zodiac sign of Ferruccio Lamborghini as well as his fascination with bull fighting.

• Lamborghini first achieved real success in 1966 with the launch of the Miura, which is often described as one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. The name was chosen in tribute to Eduardo Miura who bred famously brutal fighting bulls.

Land Rover

Land Rover Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Land Rover was established in 1948 by the Rover Company and was likely inspired by the design and post war success of the iconic Jeep.

• In 1978 Land Rover was spun off into a separate brand and the iconic green logo was introduced. It has changed very little to this day.

• Land Rover Defenders have been used by police, military forces and governments all over the world.

• In 2006, Ford bought the Rover brand from BMW and sold it again (along with Jaguar) to Tata Motors in 2008.

Lexus

History & Trivia

• Lexus was founded in 1989 as the luxury car division of Toyota and their vehicles are now sold in more than 70 countries worldwide.

• The Lexus logo was designed by a marketing agency and the stylized ‘L’ is said to have been rendered using a mathematical formula to making it pleasing to the eye.

• The origin of the name Lexus may come from a contraction of the words luxury and elegance, but this can’t be confirmed.

Lotus

Lotus Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Lotus was founded in 1952 by Colin Chapman and the four letters in the logo represent his initials (Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman).

• There is some controversy surrounding the logo because Colin Chapman’s original business partners Michael and Nigel Allen were told that the four letters stood for Colin Chapman and the Allen Brothers.

• Prior to his death in 1982, Colin Chapman was involved in developing a stainless steel sports car (the famous DeLorean DMC-12) with John DeLorean. The British government helped fund the development and a scandal erupted when DeLorean collapsed and 28 Million pounds of taxpayer money went missing.

• In 1983 Lotus only sold 383 cars in total.

• Lotus Esprit sports cars appeared in two James Bond movies, The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only.

Maserati

Maserati Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Maserati was founded in 1914 by Alfieri Maserati along with his five brothers.

• Five of the brothers were talented engineers and the sixth brother was an artist who is credited with designing the famous trident logo.

• The Maserati trident logo is based on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore, where the company is based.

• Maserati has suffered ups and downs over the years and been sold several times.

• In 1997, Fiat sold 50% of Maserati to its long time rival Ferrari who took full control and successfully revived the brand.

Mazda

Mazda Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Mazda was founded in 1920 by Jujiro Matsuda and the word Mazda represents the founders name.

• The 1936 car logo represents the mountains of Hiroshima, where the company was founded.

• Between 1975 and 1991, Mazda didn’t have a logo at all and just used a stylized font which is still part of the branding today.

• The 1991 car logo represented a flame, but it was seen as too similar to the Renault logo. The lines were smoothed out in 1997 and came to represent the famous Mazda rotary engines.

• The current logo represents the ‘M’ in Mazda, as well as the wings of a bird which symbolize freedom and looking to the future.

McLaren

History & Trivia

• McLaren is fairly new in the automotive world and was founded in 1985 by Ron Dennis.

• The company’s most famous car is the McLaren F1 of which only 106 were made. The F1 is still one of the fastest production cars ever made.

• The chevron on the McLaren logo represents the shape of wind vortices created by a McLaren racing car.

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Mercedes-Benz was founded in 1926 by  Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler.

• Karl Benz is credited with building the first petrol powered car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, in 1885. In the same year, Daimler also converted a stage coach to a ‘car’ by adding his own petrol engine. In 1926 the two inventors joined forces and the rest is history.

• The 3 pointed star logo was designed by Daimler and represents Mercedes-Benz’s dominance over land, air and water.

• Mercedes-Benz has always been associated with German quality and engineering, but the company suffered significant damage to its reputation in the late 1990’s when new owners reported many problems with their cars. These days, Mercedes-Benz has earned back their reputation for quality and reliability.

Mini

History & Trivia

• The original Mini was produced by the British Motor Corporation, British Leyland and Rover successively between the years 1959 and 2000.

• It’s big innovation was the fact that the engine design allowed for 80% of the floor space to be used by passengers allowing for the tiny form factor.

• The Mini name was used on many different variants by different manufacturers who all used different logos.

• BMW acquired the Mini name when it bought Rover in 1994.

• F1 and rally car builder John Cooper saw the potential of the tiny Mini to win races and collaborated with BMC in 1961 to create the Mini Cooper. It was around this time that the winged logo started appearing on Mini cars.

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Mitsubishi was founded in 1970 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

• The 3 diamond logo is the same as the parent company and was chosen by its founder, Iwasaki Yatarō, to suggest his family emblem which consisted of three rhombuses stacked on top of each other.

• The name Mitsubishi is a contraction of ‘mitsu’, meaning ‘three’ and ‘bishi’, the word for water chestnut. The Japanese water chestnut is also shaped like a rhombus.

Mustang

History & Trivia

• The iconic Mustang has been manufactured by Ford since 1964.

• Ford created the Pony car segment to offer an affordable, compact muscle car. The success of the Mustang had rival manufacturers like Chevrolet and Dodge rushing to compete.

• There are several conflicting stories around why the logo horse is shown running from right to left when it seems more natural for it to run from left to right. One story claims that the designer who drew the logo was left handed and the direction seemed natural to him. Another story suggests that the horse was shown running in the opposite direction to horses on a racetrack to symbolize the free spirit of the car. Yet another story suggests that the horse was drawn correctly but got accidentally reversed when the molding die was created.

Pagani

History & Trivia

• Pagani was founded in 1992 by Argentinian born Horacio Pagani.

• The engineering genius of Pagani was first noticed when he was hired by Renault and made incredible performance improvements to one of their racing cars. He was then hired by Lamborghini and worked his way up to the rank of chief engineer.

• In 1991, Pagani tried to convinced Lamborghini to invest in an autoclave to produce more carbon fiber components but they weren’t interested, saying that if Ferrari didn’t need one then neither did they. As a result Pagani left the company and borrowed money to buy his own autoclave. Pagani was founded a year later.

• Pagani cars use engines made by Mercedes-AMG.

Peugeot

Peugeot Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Peugeot was originally founded by the Peugeot family more than 200 years ago in 1810.

• Originally the company made pretty much everything except cars, including saw blades, knives, wire wheels and umbrella frames.

• Peugeot built their first cars around 1889 and by 1899 they were building 300 per year and using their own engines.

• The first logos pictured a lion walking on a steel arrow that emphasized the strength and flexibility of Peugeot saw blades. The Lion logo was officially trademarked in 1858.

• The logo has undergone many iterations over the years but the lion motif has always remained.

Porsche

History & Trivia

• Porsche was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche in Stuttgart, Germany.

• Ferdinand Porsche originally worked for Daimler as chief designer and eventually left to start his own design consulting firm.

• In 1934, Porsche won a contract from Adolf Hitler to design the Volkswagen – the ‘people’s car’.

• Ferdinand Porsche often visited the Ford factory in Detroit where he learned a lot about manufacturing efficiency from Henry Ford.

• The Porsche logo is based on the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg, which had Stuttgart as its capital.

RAM

RAM Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Ram trucks was founded in 2010 when the Dodge truck division was split from the main company.

• The Ram head logo was formally used by Dodge but now only appears on Ram trucks.

Renault

Renault Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Renault was founded in 1899 by the three Renault brothers.

• Renault’s first logo was designed in 1900 and consisted of the brothers’ intertwined initials.

• The Renault diamond logo first appeared in 1925 and has seen many revisions since then. The 1972 version was designed by Victor Vasarely, who is known as the father of the op art movement.

Rolls Royce

History & Trivia

• Rolls-Royce was founded in 1904 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce.

• In 1998, BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand from Vickers and this new incarnation has no direct relationship with the original company.

• The Volkswagen group separately owned the rights to the Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament and BMW was forced to pay $40 Million to use it on their new cars.

• Rolls-Royce relied on custom coach builders for their body work until after WWII.

Skoda

Skoda Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Skoda is a Czech car company founded in 1895 by Václav Laurin and Václav Klement and was originally known as Laurin & Klement.

• After WWI, the company was taken over by Skoda Works and the current logo design first appeared. It features an arrow with a feathered wing symbolizing speed, forward movement and the future. The circle represents unity and harmony.

Subaru

History & Trivia

• Subaru was founded in 1953 as a subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries.

• The Subaru logo is based on the Pleiades star cluster, commonly known as the ‘Seven Sisters’.

• In Japan, the Pleiades are known as ‘Subaru’ which means ‘to unite’.

• The single large star and five smaller stars represent five companies joining together to form one.

Tesla

History & Trivia

• Telsa is an electric car company founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Elon Musk and J. B. Straubel.

• Elon Musk confirmed in a tweet that the Tesla logo represents the cross section of an electric motor.

• The company name is a tribute to Nikola Tesla who was instrumental in designing the AC electricity supply system.

Toyota

Toyota Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Toyota was founded in 1937 by Japanese entrepreneur Kiichiro Toyoda.

• The company was originally known as Toyoda but was later changed to Toyota because it was easier to write in Japanese and the ‘T’ is a voiced consonant that sounds clearer when it rolls of the tongue.

• The modern logo first appeared in 1989 and represents a ‘T’ for Toyota. The overlapping circles represent trust between the company and its valuable customers.

• Toyota developed the concept of Lean Manufacturing which many businesses around the world have adopted to reduce waste and increase quality and efficiency.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen Logo Evolution

History & Trivia

• Volkswagen was founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under Adolf Hitler.

• Volkswagen translates to “folk’s wagon” in German and the company was named after the goal of building a “people’s car” that regular Germans could afford.

• The original 1937 logo shows the VW initials surrounded by Nazi swastika wings.

• The logo was changed after the end of the war and has only had minor updates since then to give it a more modern look.