Five famous car logos have origin stories that their manufacturers document in detail, and several of the popular versions do not match those records. Audi’s four rings stand for four predecessor companies that merged in 1932. Mercedes-Benz’s star and laurel wreath were designed in 1925 and registered as a unified trademark in 1926. BMW’s blue-and-white roundel dates to 1917, and the propeller reading came later, through advertising. Lamborghini’s charging bull was unveiled in 1964, the year after the company’s founding. Porsche’s crest arrived in 1952, four years after its logo first appeared on a car.
The original title promised ten logos. This guide covers five, because these are the marques whose origin histories we could source from the companies themselves. Filling the list with stories that have no manufacturer record would repeat the very myths this article is meant to correct.
The five logos at a glance
The table below sets out the key documented date, the category of origin, and the design form of each mark. Each date is the one the manufacturer itself gives, and the sections that follow explain what each date does and does not establish.
| Marque | Key documented date | Origin category | Design form | Documented origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMW | Logo introduced 1917 | Corporate identity, Bavarian colours | Roundel | Blue-and-white emblem; the rotating-propeller reading was popularised in advertising from the late 1920s |
| Mercedes-Benz | Star created 1925; trademark registered 21 August 1926 | Company merger | Three-pointed star in a laurel wreath | Star from DMG; laurel wreath from the Benz & Cie. side of the merger |
| Audi | Merger of the four companies into Auto Union, 29 June 1932 | Company merger | Four interlocking rings | The four founding companies: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer’s automotive division |
| Lamborghini | Company founded 1963; emblem unveiled 1964 | Founder symbolism | Figurative badge: a gold bull on a dark background | Linked by the company to founder Ferruccio Lamborghini’s zodiac sign and his phrase “tamugno come un toro” |
| Porsche | Logo on first Porsche vehicle 1948; crest created 1952 | Place heraldry | Heraldic crest with a golden shield | Stuttgart horse and city name, with antlers and red-and-black fields drawn from regional heraldry |
The histories, one logo at a time
BMW: a 1917 roundel and a later propeller reading
BMW’s corporate history dates the logo to 1917 and says its products have carried the blue-and-white emblem since then (BMW Group history). The blue-and-white colours are the emblem’s Bavarian colours, and they are the element the company ties to the original design.
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The propeller interpretation is a different claim. BMW says the stylised rotating-propeller reading first appeared in advertising materials in the late 1920s and then endured. The company’s account treats it as a later popularisation after the 1917 introduction, not as the design intent. If you have seen the propeller presented as the logo’s founding meaning, that version goes beyond what BMW’s own history supports.
Mercedes-Benz: a star from DMG and a wreath from Benz
The three-pointed star in a laurel wreath was created in 1925, ahead of the merger of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) and Benz & Cie. Mercedes-Benz’s official history credits the star to the DMG side and the laurel wreath to the Benz & Cie. side (Mercedes-Benz Group brand history). The two elements therefore arrived from different predecessors and were combined into one emblem.
The legal milestone came next. Daimler-Benz AG was founded in June 1926, and the unified Mercedes-Benz trademark was registered on 21 August 1926. So the design date (1925), the company founding (June 1926) and the trademark registration (21 August 1926) are three separate dates, and readers who see one of them quoted as “the year the logo was created” are seeing a shortened version. According to the same history, the emblem continues to appear on the company’s vehicles.
Audi: four rings for four founding companies
Audi’s current corporate history explains the four rings as the unity of four founding companies (Audi company history). Audi’s 2022 press release, marking the 90th anniversary of the merger, names the companies as Audi, DKW, Horch, and the automotive division of Wanderer. It gives the merger date as 29 June 1932, when they came together as Auto Union AG (Audi 2022 release).
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The common explanation that the rings stand for four letters or four modern Audi models does not appear in the corporate source. The rings are tied to the historic companies, not to the current line-up.
Lamborghini: a charging bull and a founder’s words
Lamborghini dates its emblem to the company’s founding in 1963. Its history describes early badge experiments, including a short-lived prototype with a red background and a more complex four-colour production design. It presents the gold bull on a dark background as the emblem unveiled in 1964 (Lamborghini logo history).
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The company says founder Ferruccio Lamborghini commissioned local typographer Paolo Rambaldi to produce the badge. It links the bull to the founder’s zodiac sign and to his expression “tamugno come un toro” (“strong as a bull”). The bull’s meaning, as Lamborghini presents it, is the founder’s own association, and the company’s account does not go further into rivalries or other symbolism, so this article does not either.
Porsche: a logo first, then a crest
Porsche separates two items that are often merged. Its logo appeared on the first Porsche vehicle in 1948, but the Porsche Crest was created in 1952. The company credits designer Franz Xaver Reimspieß with the crest (Porsche Newsroom history).
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The crest is a heraldic composition. Porsche describes the Stuttgart horse and the city name, a golden shield, and heraldic elements taken from the region’s historic arms. The surrounding antlers and the red-and-black fields evoke regional heraldry, and the central horse refers to Stuttgart (Porsche Classic crest history). The 1948 logo and the 1952 crest should be dated separately, since they are different marks.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Continuity and change across the five
The manufacturer sources establish a few kinds of change, and they do not all point the same way:
- Assembled from predecessors: Audi’s rings and Mercedes-Benz’s star-and-wreath were built from the elements of earlier companies, so the emblems record a merger rather than a single later redesign.
- Trial before adoption: Lamborghini’s history describes experimental badges before the 1964 production emblem.
- Logo to crest: Porsche’s 1948 logo was followed by a separately created crest in 1952.
- Meaning added later: BMW’s propeller reading arrived through advertising after the 1917 roundel, while the roundel itself was the original mark.
- Continued use: BMW and Mercedes-Benz both state that their emblems remain on current products.
The sources cited here do not describe later stylistic redesigns of these marks in enough detail to chart them, so this article does not offer a year-by-year visual history beyond the dated milestones above.
Quick Recap
How to check a logo origin claim
- Start with the manufacturer’s own history page. Most of the dates in this article come from pages maintained by BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche.
- Separate the design date from the trademark or company date. Mercedes-Benz’s 1925 design, June 1926 company founding and 21 August 1926 registration are three different events.
- Check whether the origin is a first use or a later interpretation. BMW’s propeller reading is a clear case of a meaning that followed the original emblem.
- Be cautious with symbolism that the company itself does not state. Lamborghini links its bull to the founder’s zodiac sign and phrase; any further reading is interpretation.
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