Screenshot image of Porsche logo from brand's YouTube video

What animal is on the Porsche logo?

Porsche Logo Animal, Meaning and History

Porsche models have many standout elements that never leave one’s brain. One of the most iconic, however, remains its logo. The Porsche logo is delightfully intricate and seemingly rife with symbolism, especially when compared to those of other automakers.

At the center of this design is the silhouette of some kind of creature. What animal is on the Porsche logo?


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A horse twists its head up to look goofily into the camera

The animal on the Porsche logo is a horse. Stuttgart, the German city in which the Porsche world headquarters are located, was originally built atop a horse-breeding farm. The city thus used horses in its seal, and Porsche, in homage to its hometown, tossed a horse into the center of its own logo. In addition to paying tribute to Stuttgart, the horse was meant to represent power (“horsepower,” anyone?).

The Porsche logo was introduced to the U.S. market in 1952. It didn’t take long for the emblem to be recognized as a symbol of luxury.

Why are there red and black stripes on the Porsche logo?

The careful observer may also notice that the horse on the logo is flanked (diagonally) by red and black stripes. This element was influenced by the seal of the Kingdom of Württemberg, a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918 (and of which Stuttgart was previously a part). The seal of Württemberg consisted of two stripes: one red and one black. 

Who designed the Porsche logo?

The story behind the creation of the Porsche logo is not completely agreed upon. Americans tend to believe that Ferdinand Porsche’s son, Ferry, drew the logo on a napkin during a meal with Max Hoffman, an American Porsche distributor. Germans, for their part, like to claim that the logo was designed by Franz Xaver Reimspiess, an engineer. Luckily, this disagreement has not yet sparked a third World War.