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Dive In and Find Out Why Car Brands with Wings in Their Designs Use Them
Consumers today around the world have a number of different options to choose from for their preferred automotive manufacturer. These brands, in order to stand out from the crowd, use different symbols like animals in their design. Another common style of brand symbols nowadays, is car logos with wings.
Now, you might be asking – what does a car, something that is supposed to stay on land, has to do with wings, or flight in general? Ideally, when you are in a car, you want the car to stay planted on the road rather than fly through the air, right?
Well, there must be some sense to that madness, because many different automotive car logos, both in the present and the past, have used this. Moreover, it isn’t just vehicles from one corner of the Earth that are using this symbol – but rather the list includes companies from all over the world.
So what is it about this design that attracts consumers and businesses alike? Let’s dive in and discover the mysteries of car brands with wings in their logos for some of the top automotive brands.
1- The Meaning behind a Winged Car Logo
First off, let’s start with the meaning behind the winged car brand logo. What does it mean when a professional logo design agency adds that to a logo for an automotive manufacturer?
Well, for starters, the symbology behind wings often relate to the concept of swiftness. That means that if a car company wants to portray that their automotive philosophy is based on creating fast and agile cars, then wings are a great choice of symbol for that design.
The second reason brands might want to add wings to their car logos, is that the winged design makes the logo look elegant. Take a look at the logo for Chrysler or Bentley, or even Aston Martin. Their logos, when featured on the front or backs of their cars, highlight the sleek lines and aerodynamic shape of the automobiles, emphasizing their luxury element for everyone to see.
Then there are those who use the winged design for personal reasons. This is especially true for old brands, like Duesenberg or Honda Motorcycles. In the case of Honda, Soichiro Honda, the founder of the company, was quote enamored with the Greek goddess Nike, whose symbol is a pair of wings. And when creating a logo for Honda’s motorcycle division, the company decided to use this symbology in their design.
So what about the other brand with wings in their design? What reason do they have for incorporating wings into their logo.
2- American Car Company Logos with Wings
When we talk about American car brands, for the most part these symbols are designed to highlight the wordmark or the logo design itself. And with USA considered a hub for automotive manufacturing, and other companies like Toyota starting to come around to this style of logos, American manufacturers needed something to stand out. Let’s find out why they decided to use the symbol of wings in their design and successful was the endeavor. .
2.1- Chrysler
First up on this list of American logos with wings, is Chrysler. Owned by automotive company Stellantis, Chrysler released cars with a sleek and stylish design. The thin and vertical profile of the logo was perfect, mimicking the aerodynamic spread of a bird’s wings in flight.
Considering that the Chrysler logo is one that usually represents the high end, luxury vehicles for the marquee, it was the perfect design for the car company.
2.2- Rezvani
Rezvani Motors is the brainchild of Iranian-American automotive designer Ferris Rezvani. As a company, Rezvani focuses on creating high-performance sports cars and vehicles, the company can be considered an avant-garde automotive company.
The spread wings on their logo are designed to signal a bird rising into the air silhouetted against the sun, which symbolically means that they would be doing something unexpected by their consumers. And that philosophy is apparent in the Rezvani Beast, as well as the Tank, Hercules, and Vengeance options.
3- British Automotive Emblems with Wings
For the most part, Britain and Europe have enjoyed a long time as the makers of sleek and elegant automobiles. However, that also meant that there were intense rivalries there, and companies needed ways to stand out from the competition without anything drastic.
With such intense fine-tuning of the business logo a general requirement, it is no wonder that British automotive companies have some of the most elegant logos of all time.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options for a British vehicle logo with wings.
3.1- Aston Martin
Aston Martin is as quintessentially British as Chevrolet trucks are to the US. From its association with the royal family, to the car for the suave Bond that spanned across multiple iterations of 007 from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, Aston Martin is one of the best British luxury marquees. And the logo is one of the most beautiful too, with the British racing green with white wordmark and black outline making for one of the most eye-catching color combinations.
Started by a Lionel Martin, the first Aston Martin was a car that Martin developed for the Aston Hill run, a steep and winding climb up the Aston Hill in Buckinghamshire, England. Thus, their success led to the company being born. The name of the company with a pair of wings is designed to highlight the powerful vehicles they produce, as the wings signify the ease with which a bird rises up in the air being the same as an Aston Martin racing uphill.
3.2- MINI
Continuing on the same theme, MINI is another popular automotive brand from Britain, which is known for its small yet superbly powerful and agile MINI car. The car of choice for the eponymous Mr. Bean and his teddy, as well as featuring in movies like The Italian Job, both original and the remake, it can be said that the fame of this company exceeds far beyond the British soil.
Like some of the logos above, the wings are an abstract design on either ends of the wordmark, and signify the speed, agility, and freedom that comes with small wings, just like the car itself.
3.3- Bentley
Bentley is another British marquee that is known for its luxury automobiles. As a theme, you might now understand that associating speed and luxury with a pair of wings was quite a common affair for the British, due to many of the early automobile brands developing engines for airplanes for World War I.
Bentley’s logo is more similar to the aviator wings often worn by pilots, and is a symbol of the celestial. That is because before the company ever got into the automotive industry, they were predominantly an engine manufacturer for many of Britain’s earliest planes in World War I. The color scheme is also quite easy to recognize, with colors featuring highly contrasting white on black lettermark flanked by chrome wings on both sides, a great visual choice according to color theory.
3.4- Lagonda
Lagonda is another British brand, owned and operated by Aston Martin since 1947. Today, it features rebadged and new trims of existing Aston Martin cars, with the company serving as an entrant to new markets. As such, its small wonder that the logo also features a pair of spread wings flanking the wordmark.
Unlike Aston Martin’s logo, this one is more akin to logo symbols that represent aviators and other personnel related to the field of aviation.
3.5- Arash
Arash is an ultra low-volume British supercar and hypercar manufacturer that started in 1999. Today, the company has two different options in production, however, the speed of production is limited to around 3-4 cars a year. Thus they cater only to the very rich and discerning, who will happily pay a premium to get a car that is truly exclusive.
Unlike the other logos where the wings were an integral part of the logo’s primary design, the Arash logo is a bit different. A prime example of automotive emblem logos, it features an entire bird flapping its wings within its design, signifying the power and freedom of flight, one of life’s true luxuries.
4- Defunct Automotive Brand Logos with Wings
Now that we have looked at some of the top winged car logos from US and Britain, let’s take a look at some of the best car logos with wings that represent companies that are now defunct.
4.1- Duesenberg
Duesenberg was an American car company in the early 1900s, which was known for its powerful straight-eight engines and hydraulic brakes on all four wheels, a first for cars at that time. the brainchild of Fred and August Duesenberg, German-born American brothers who were automotive engineers, and their logo featured the golden German eagle, a sign of old Bavarian aristocracy.
4.3 Wanderer
Wanderer was a German vehicle manufacturer who created everything from bicycles, to motorcycles, cars, vans, and other machinery. Starting out in the late 1800s, the company failed around the end of World War II, as it was part of the German war machine manufacturing vehicles for the Third Reich.
The logo features an abstract winged design, which combines the initials of the company with the design of the spread eagle wings, and the hint of tire treads in the gaps of the wings.
5- Popular 2-Wheeler & Automotive Winged Logos from Across the Globe
Some of the most popular winged logos are those that stood out of the crowd due to them being so unique to their respective region and industry. From Mazda’s curving winged logo, to Honda Motorcycle’s iconic design, here are some of the most popular car logos with wings.
5.1- Mazda
Mazda’s winged logo is one that we are all familiar with, due to its popularity as a reliable automotive brand around the world. The design of the logo is quite simple, yet extremely beautiful due to being able to capture the essence of the brand in such simplicity.
One of the best minimalist logos in the automotive world, Mazda’s logo features a flying bird with wings spread upwards and touching the edges of the design. this represents the luxurious feeling of driving a Mazda vehicle, while also subtly forming the letter M for Mazda in the design.
5.2- Genesis
Genesis is a South Korean automotive brand owned by Hyundai. Its winged logo is quite straightforward, and done in the style of classic American and British marquees like Chrysler and Mini. Abstract and tapered wings on both sides, making for an elegant car logo design with wings, flank the shield in the middle. This was a highly successful project for the creation of an automotive winged logo for Hyundai’s sister company, which led to its establishment as a luxury marquee.
5.3- Honda Motorcycles
Although not technically an automobile logo, seeing as it is a part of Honda, we will consider it. Unlike the automotive Honda logo, the logo design for two-wheelers is quite different. The design features an unfurling wing of a bird which is ready to take flight, which represented Honda’s philosophy in motorbike manufacturing.
Also, being inspired by the Greek goddess of success Nike, Soichiro Honda decided to use her symbol for the design, with its bright color scheme making it one of the best red logos as well.
6- Why Would an Automobile Company Use a Winged Automotive Symbol?
As can be evidenced by the logos above, the use of wings in automotive logo design speaks to a desire of achieving the freedom and speed of flying while still bound to the road and tarmac. As land-bound creatures, humans yearn to fly and experience the freedom that comes with it.
And it is this feeling that car manufacturers want to embody within their designs. Let’s take the example of the Ford logo. Although Ford has long established that it will use its wordmark in a blue oval, in 1912, there was an attempt by the company to replace the traditional logo with a winged car logo for Ford. However, it didn’t catch with the fans, and it was soon changed back.
Similarly, the mid 1900s also saw the creation of automotive car logos with wings for Toyota, a company we know today for its simple logomark.
Conclusion
In short, the significance of car logos with wings can only be understood if you understand the allure of flight that many humans have intrinsically. It is this drive for freedom, both physical and spiritual, that leads designers to add wings to their creations, in order to let them truly fly and achieve their potential.
People Also Ask (FAQs)
| 1- What luxury car has a winged logo? Bentley and Chrysler are luxury car brands that have winged logos. |
| 2- What Japanese car has a logo with wings? Mazda is a Japanese car manufacturer with a logo that sports wings. |
| 3- Which car has an eagle logo? The Eagle Motor Company was a company owned by the Chrysler Corporation. However, it was shut down in 1998. |
| 4- What car brand has a lady with wings? Rolls-Royce has the symbol of a lady with wings, which is known as the Spirit of Ecstasy. However, it is no the logo for this ultra-luxury car marquee. |
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