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PORSCHE emblems, logos and badges - Origin, Meaning, History

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The PORSCHE emblem logo is inspired by two designs of the coat of arms. The outside design is derived from the coat of arms of the state of Württemberg, former West Germany. The jumping horse in the center is derived from the coat of arms of the city of Stuttgart, where the headquarters of PORSCHE is located. Stuttgart was once the capital of Württemberg, but is now the capital of the merged state of Baden-Württemberg. "Stutt" of Stuttgart is derived from the German word "Stuten" which means a mare in English, and "gart" is derived from the German word "garten" which means a garden in English. So Stuttgart means "mare's garden" in English.

Porsche (official company name: Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH) was founded in 1931 by Czech engineer Ferdinand Porsche, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting, but did not build any cars under its own name. During World War II, the company produced several designs for heavy tanks.
There are three different theories of the emblem logo's origin. In 1951, Americans side believe that Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry, drew the sketch on a napkin during a meal with Max Hoffman, the American PORSCHE distributor at a New York restaurant. After bringing the design back to Germany, Ferry had it polished up and adopted as the own corporate logo. On the other hand, Germans side believe that the PORSCHE emblem logo was designed by Franz Xaver Reimpiess, who had already designed the Volkswagen corporate logo in 1937. There is also the possibility that both claims are correct, the 3rd theory is that Franz Xaver Reimpiess polished up the design which Ferry brought back from America. Either way, the first PORSCHE emblem logo was adopted on the horn button of PORSCHE 356 Speedster at the end of 1952, then it was also adopted on the bonnet handle in November 1954.