A distinctive horse with sweeping tail: the wheel centres and the bonnet of the 911 Sport Classic are adorned with a historic Porsche crest, almost identical to that on the original model. It can also be found inside the car on the steering wheel and headrests.
The vibrant red-orange colour is characteristic of this crest, which dates from the time of the original 911 (1963 – 1973). Wide, gold lettering spells out ‘Porsche’, while ‘Stuttgart’ is embossed on a recessed background. The horse is particularly powerful-looking, with a prominent shoulder joint and a sweeping tail.
The Porsche Heritage badge: a tribute to an earlier design marking reliability
A Porsche Heritage badge is fitted to the grille of the rear engine cover. Its design and lettering are reminiscent of the legendary 100,000-kilometre badge from the Porsche 356 era, which was presented by Porsche in the mid-1950s to every driver whose car covered the distance on its original engine.
The history of the Porsche crest: focus on horsepower
While the Porsche logo had already been used on the brand’s first vehicle in 1948, the Porsche crest was not created until 1952.
In March 1951, Porsche launched a competition for German art academies, offering the generous sum of DM 1,000 for the creation of a company logo. However, none of the designs achieved quite what the management were looking for. When, later that year, Ferry Porsche visited New York and was asked for a logo by the American importer Max Hoffman, work on a design began internally, within the company.
In early 1952, Franz Xaver Reimspieß, a hugely talented designer who had previously created the Volkswagen logo in 1936, dreamed up the design for a crest. It symbolised the company’s roots while at the same time illustrated the quality and dynamics of its products, with a prancing horse taken from the seal of the city of Stuttgart depicted within the contours of a golden shield. With the city name above it, a clear commitment was made to the home of the company, while the surrounding red and black state colours and the stylised antlers were taken from the traditional crest of Württemberg-Hohenzollern. The Porsche logo then formed a protective arch over the entire design.
After it was registered with the German Patent Office, the Porsche Crest was first seen on the horn button at the end of 1952, before being incorporated into the characteristic bonnet handle of the Porsche 356 Speedster in November 1954. As of 1959, it also appeared on the hubcaps of the Zuffenhausen sports cars and, since then, every Porsche vehicle has featured this seal of quality on its bonnet.
In the meantime, the copyright-protected Porsche crest has become one of the most famous trademarks in the world and can only be used commercially with the express permission of Porsche AG.
The Porsche Classic crests: true to the original design and with proven quality
The original Porsche crest is available from Porsche Classic for a wide range of historic models and is manufactured with special tools according to original drawings. As in the past, it is gold-plated and the application of its colours and enamelling are performed by hand. Unlike today's crest, the Porsche logo at that time was only embossed and not also finished in black. The shade of red used was also more towards orange on the colour scale, as per the state colours of Württemberg-Hohenzollern.
In order to meet high quality standards, the new release of the classic Porsche crest was subjected to extensive testing, including a climatic cycle test carried out at the Porsche Research and Development Centre in Weissach.
Over the years, the Porsche crest has undergone careful design changes. The crests available through Porsche Classic are differentiated as follows:
- from 1954 for the Porsche 356 and in a different size on the 911 from 1963. For design details, please see Page One.
- From 1974, the Porsche logo shines in gold; Stuttgart is embossed on a recessed background and the colour in the Porsche crest radiates a red-transparent glow.
- From 1994: the Porsche logo is characterised by slim black letters. The word Stuttgart is recessed; the Porsche Crest is red-transparent and an elegant horse is depicted.
Gold-coloured logos: a distinguishing feature of all Heritage Design models
With the gold-coloured logos on the rear, Porsche is recalling another historic design feature. While the first Porsche models still carried silver-coloured logos, they were gold-coloured on the rear from the mid-1950s onwards, creating an exclusive appearance.
These gold-coloured logos are now making a return as a distinguishing feature that will embellish all future Heritage Design models.
