Logo DesignBrandingDesign Inspiration

Top 10 Best Car Logos for Design Inspiration

Stuart Crawford

Welcome
Let's look at our compiled list of the top 10 car logos on the go today and see what they tell us about the automobile brand they represent.

Top 10 Best Car Logos for Design Inspiration

The car is today's symbol of mobility. From their ability to get us safely from point A to point B to their status as luxurious transport, cars are one of the ultimate symbols of personal freedom.

With more than 400 models of cars and over 60 major automotive brands worldwide, there's quite a range in how they brand themselves to differentiate. With all those choices for car buyers, it's undeniable that they use their logos to stand out and represent their identity.

While many are household names, others need help to compete with the leading brands and either decide to push a different route or sell in secondary markets to gain new customers.

However, there is always room for improvement in branding, so we have decided to look at the best car logos today and see what can be learned from them.

There's no better way to express the individuality of a car owner than by their favoured car brand. As a status symbol, your car choice tells a lot about your preferences and lifestyle – think of a 20-year-old beat-up station wagon and compare it to a new Lamborghini – both function similarly, but choosing between the two depends on many factors.

Yet, beyond the car's function and prestige, the logo holds profound significance. It's not merely an emblem; it's a badge of honour that sits proudly on the steering wheel, creating an immediate connection between the driver and the brand. This visual symbol evokes pride and affection, reinforcing the car's identity and the owner's sense of belonging to a particular automotive community.

  • Visual Appeal: A logo's design often encapsulates the brand's values and heritage, making it a powerful identity marker.
  • Emotional Connection: Drivers often develop a sentimental attachment to their vehicles, with the logo constantly reminding them of their choices and values.

So, whether navigating the city streets in a compact hatchback or cruising down highways in a luxury sedan, the logo is crucial in defining your car's identity and amplifying your pride as its owner.

Look at our compiled list of the top 10 car logos on the go today and see what they tell us about the automobile brand they represent.

Top 10 Best Car Logos of All-Time

1 – Mercedes-Benz Logo Design

Mercedes Benz Logo Design

When the company's founder, Karl Benz, patented the first-ever internal combustion engine in 1886, he was surprised that investors were reluctant to buy into it.

Undeterred, he and his wife Bertha pushed to show its reliability, safety, and longevity, starting the brand with a focus on the luxury customers willing to pay top prices.

After several years of collaboration, Karl Benz's company merged with a competitor called Daimler-Motoren-Gesselschaft, forming the “Daimler-Benz” maker of Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

That same year, they started designing and prototyping cars with an exclusive and elegant aesthetic.

By 1909, two of Daimler's sons were tasked with designing a new logo for the Mercedes-Benz company.

They combined a laurel wreath (from the existing Benz & Cie company) with the now-famous three-pointed star and trademarked it by the summer of that year. The three-pointed star symbolises Mercedes-Benz's ambition of universal motorisation on land, sea, and air.

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Interestingly, they also registered a four-pointed star simultaneously but never used it. The idea to use a star in the first place came from Gottlieb Daimler, the technical director of the gas engine factory.

When he started the job, he had drawn a star above his house on a city postcard, telling his wife that one day, his factory would go down in history for its success.

Its simplicity and profound meaning make the Mercedes-Benz logo one of the most recognised in the world. The three-pointed star is not just an emblem of elegance but also represents the brand's dominance across different domains—land, sea, and air.

This ambition to lead in various transportation realms perfectly encapsulates the star's design, transcending its origins to become a global icon. As with many car logos, the simplicity of the star logo is its absolute beauty – it oozes elegance, which fits the brand mentality perfectly.

2 – Ferrari Logo Design

Scuderia Ferrari Logo Design

Arguably the most recognisable and iconic brand in luxury sports cars, the Ferrari logo design or ‘prancing horse' encapsulates everything they stand for.

Enzo Ferrari, the founder, told the story of Ferrari's horse logo just once:

The horse was painted on the fuselage of the fighter plane of Francesco Baracca — a heroic airman of the first world war. In 1923, I met count Enrico Baracca, the hero's father, and then his mother, countess Paulina, who said to me one day, ‘Ferrari, put my son's prancing horse on your cars – It will bring you good luck'. The horse was and still is, black, and I added the canary yellow background, which is the colour of Modena.

The famous Ferrari logo design symbolises a passion for excellence and a dedication to perfection in their work.

It has partnered with several slogans over the decades. Currently, it uses “we are the competition”, typically preceded with phrases such as “You're the fuel…” or “only those who dare, truly live…” in marketing campaigns.

Sitting atop the Ferrari badge is the Italian flag's green, white and red. This is an example of a design element that isn't technically required but is essential for the message it conveys for the car brand logo.

Their logo also represents their brand values, like the desire to excel in every aspect of their business. As a global luxury brand, they believe that no matter the challenges, there are always opportunities for growth and learning new things.

3 – Jaguar Logo Design

Jaguar Logo Design Car Brands

There's much more to the Jaguar logo than meets the eye; it's a symbol representing an incredible company.

William Lyons founded Jaguar in 1922, originally named the “Swallow Sidecar Company”, as they focused on making sidecars for motorcycles. That developed into making car body parts and then extended into complete cars when partnered with Standard Motor Company.

During WW2, the Jaguar helped the war by building the M-1 Tank and the Sherman, but at the war's end, they returned to luxury cars again. Their first cars were the Mark II and the Mark III, but by 1953, they introduced the XK 150, their first Jaguar sports car.

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By the 1970s, Jaguar had sold more than 300,000 cars worldwide, and that was before their famous E-Type series, the first sports car to use a V12 engine.

The Jaguar car logo comprises a jumping Jaguar above the business's name, depicting the speed, power and brilliance of the cars produced by the company. It accurately represents the company's brand identity – producing one of the world's most stylish, graceful and fastest cars.

This version of the Jaguar symbol appeared for a decade, from 2002 until 2012 when they ‘updated' it with even more of a 3D feel.

The Jaguar logo design doesn't just look cool; it's a strong symbol of speed and performance, very fitting for a brand with such a reputation.

4 – Lamborghini Logo Design

Lamborghini Logo Design

The Lamborghini logo design represents an extreme expression of pure driving passion. Famous for its supercars and high-performance sports cars, Lamborghini was founded in 1963 to compete with rival Ferrari. They continue to deliver genuine, uncompromising performance to this day.

In 1949, Lamborghini's founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini, worked in agricultural manufacturing, primarily tractors, engines, and heaters. As a successful businessman, he wanted to work with Ferrari on engineering ‘solutions' for Enzo's supercars. Still, the Ferrari founder turned down the offer.

Disappointed, Ferruccio hired a team of young engineers and started work on cars to compete with the big Italian car brand. His passion for bullfighting became the inspiration for the company's iconic logo. The raging bull was chosen for its aggressive and potent symbolism and because Ferruccio was fascinated by the spectacle and culture of bullfighting.

We can draw a similarity between the charging bull in the Lamborghini logo and the prancing horse of the Ferrari badge. They both contain aggressive, powerful animals caught in a pose, presented in tones of yellow/gold on black. Is this a nod to the rivalry between the two owners? Or does it show that both appreciate the symbolism these animals bring, which can be associated with the brand's message?

This combination of personal passion and competitive spirit has helped position Lamborghini as one of the most revered names in the automotive world.

5 – Porsche Logo Design

Porsche Car Logo Design

One of the ‘busier' car logos in the market, the Porsche logo pulls on several themes representing the brand's core values of quality, performance and beauty.

At the centre of the Porsche emblem lies a horse from the Stuttgart coat of arms, alongside the city name to stay true to its roots. Surrounded by the red and black state colours, the antlers are taken from the crest of Württemberg-Hohenzollern.

The original creator of the Porsche logo design needs to be clarified – some believe it was Ferdinand Porsche's son, Ferry. Still, Germans claim that Franz Xaver Reimpiess, an engineer, designed the crest.

6 – Maserati Logo Design

Maserati Logo Design Evolution

Achille Castiglioni designed the Maserati logo in 1920, an elegant, simple mark representing their cars' luxury and refinement. They got the idea to use Neptune's trident from the Marquis Diego de Sterlich, a family friend, and a symbol of Bologna, where it was founded.

In the early 1920s, Italy was one of the major automobile manufacturers in the world, and Maserati vehicles were among the most exclusive and desirable cars at the time.

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Today, many products, from watches to glasses and clothing, bear the Maserati logo design as they expand across the luxury markets.

7 – Volkswagen Logo Design

Volkswagen Car Brand Logos

Volkswagen is the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and has three of the top ten best-selling cars of all time (the V.W. Golf, Beetle and Passat, if you're interested).

Their name means “people's car” in German, and its current slogan is “Das Auto” (“The Car”).

If you spend just a second looking at the Volkswagen logo, you will notice the prominent “V” and “W” placed atop each other. The beauty comes in how they follow the form, almost connecting to become two larger, interconnected “V's”.

If that dividing line splitting the two letters were not there, it would be an entirely different image, potentially confusing or abstract.

Strangely, their car logos weren't designed by a graphic designer. The Volkswagen emblem was created by Franz Reimspiess, who perfected the Beetle engine in the 1930s. It was an office competition, with the prize being 50 Deutschmarks – an early crowdsourcing contest that proved fruitful!

8 – Alfa Romeo Logo Design

Alfa Romeo Logo Design

It's one of the oldest car logos in the world and has been seen on cars for over a century.

It all began in 1865 when Giuseppe Brera founded “A.L.F.A.” or Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili in Milan. That same year, he brought a car over from France and commissioned the artist Alphonse Girardo to design a logo to put on it.

But it took until 1891 before they could start using the new logo on their vehicles, and by then, they had been using it on cars and bikes produced by the French company Panhard.

Since its creation, the Alfa Romeo logo has had several recurring themes:

  • The badge is split into two halves – the cross on the left represents the medieval Milanese soldiers during the Crusades, and the serpent on the right has been associated with the Visconti family of the 11th century.
  • The man is supposedly a victim of the serpent, likely to be a Saracen or Moor.
  • The crown appeared in 1925 when Alfa Romeo won the first Automobile World Championship.

This intricate design celebrates its historical roots and manages to stay contemporary. The blend of medieval symbolism with a sleek, modern aesthetic creates an emblem that stands out in today's automotive world. The visual of a human being eaten by the snake dragon adds an element of mystique, ensuring the logo's design remains classic in its storytelling and modern in its artistic execution.

The Alfa Romeo logo is a testament to enduring design, skillfully merging the past and present. This duality makes it one of the industry's most compelling and timeless logos.

9 – Ford Logo Design

Ford Brand Logo Design

The Ford logo has existed for over 100 years, first appearing on the Model T, introduced in 1908. Since then, the Ford logo has been updated and refined to maintain its iconic look.

In 1912, Henry Ford's signature influenced the writing of “Ford”, surrounded by an oval blue crest. Admittedly, this timelessness plays a large part in why I like the Ford car logo – its ability to stay consistent over generations.

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1927, the chevron design was modified and replaced by the current Ford logo. The new design represented the carmaker's promise to build cars that would last and be driven confidently.

The current version is the same logo design as in the 1960s, albeit with a subtle fresh coat of paint. Easily and instantly recognisable, the Ford badge marks the vehicle as a reliable and all-American mentality.

As a brand, Ford has done a great job of maintaining its visual identity through the years. The logo represents the values and strengths of the company, such as reliability, durability, and innovation.

10 – Bentley Logo Design

Bentley Logo Design

Bentley, another British classic car manufacturer, has become synonymous with opulence, celebrity lifestyles and ultimate luxury. Based in England, the Bentley Motors car name and logo were founded in 1919 by W. O. Bentley but acquired by Rolls-Royce in the 1930s.

Conceptually, the Bentley car logo design is relatively straightforward, the wings and tail feathers of a bird with a capital ‘B' in the middle. As such, it's remained unchanged over the decades, bar a few visual updates to the shape and layout.

The idea of wings in the logo design can be seen to suggest speed and grace, the way a bird flies smoothly at speed throughout the air. Keeping the logo in a limited colour palette of black, white and silver shows sophistication in monotone, with elegance in silver.

Other Notable Car Logos

Volvo

Volvo Trucks Logos

Volvo's reputation as a leader in safety and strength is intricately captured in its logo. Designed by the eminent Swedish calligrapher and typographer Karl-Erik Forsberg, the logo echoes the brand's core values.

Symbol of Robustness

The emblem is carefully crafted to reflect sturdiness—a direct nod to the brand's history of manufacturing robust and reliable vehicles. Its design elements encapsulate the essence of durability, synonymous with the company's long-standing commitment to safety and strength on the road.

Heritage and Expertise

The logo's design combines tradition and modernity from rich Swedish craftsmanship. By aligning itself with high-quality typographic expertise, the brand signals attention to detail and a dedication to excellence, reinforcing its role in offering secure and dependable vehicles.

Essentially, the logo serves as a visual identifier and an emblematic representation of Volvo's steadfast dedication to quality and safety.

BMW

New Bmw Logo Design

The colours used in the BMW logo are steeped in history and symbolism. The iconic emblem combines blue and white, which are deeply significant for several reasons.

Firstly, these colours represent the Bavarian flag, paying homage to the company's roots in the German state of Bavaria. This connection to their place of origin underscores BMW's pride in its heritage and craftsmanship.

Secondly, there's an intriguing interpretation tied to their aviation past. The blue and white sections are often believed to symbolize spinning propeller blades against the sky, a nod to BMW's early days as an aircraft engine manufacturer.

In essence, the choice of colours in the BMW logo captures a geographical identity and a historical narrative, making it more than just a stylish design—it's a piece of the brand's rich story.

Abarth

Abarth Logo Design Scorpion

The Abarth logo is rich with symbolism and cleverly designed to convey heritage and ambition. At its core, the logo prominently features a scorpion. This isn't by chance; the scorpion symbolises the astrological sign of Paolo Abarth, adding a personal touch to the brand's identity.

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Accompanying the scorpion is a shield. This element exudes a sense of protection and valour, reinforcing the brand's commitment to excellence and resilience on the racetrack.

Additionally, the logo incorporates two symbols that highlight victory and strength. These elements are strategically integrated to reflect the brand's storied racing legacy, ensuring you immediately think of winning and power when you see the Abarth emblem.

Each logo component stands out visually and tells a story of determination and legacy in the automotive world.

Wrapping Up

The best car logos can be an excellent source of inspiration in any branding exercise, as they are typically diverse in their execution. You will notice common trends among them, naturally keeping core symbolism simple, often literal.

Colour plays a decisive role when designing logos for cars, too – consider the silver of Mercedes and the red of Ferrari, luxury and performance (energy).

What are some of the best car logos we have missed in this list? Let us know in the comments below!

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Written By
Stuart Crawford
Stuart Crawford is an award-winning creative director and brand strategist with over 15 years of experience building memorable and influential brands. As Creative Director at Inkbot Design, a leading branding agency, Stuart oversees all creative projects and ensures each client receives a customised brand strategy and visual identity.

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