Simply Astonishing
Aston Martin
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1913
Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom
www.astonmartin.com
Aston Martin Lagonda Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford.
The company has had a chequered financial history, including bankruptcy in the 1970s, but has also enjoyed long periods of success and stability, including under the ownership of David Brown, from 1947 to 1972 and of the Ford Motor Company from 1994 to 2007.
Pagani
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1992
San Cesario sul Panaro, MO, Italy
www.pagani.com
Pagani Automobili S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of Supercars and carbon fibre. The company was founded in 1992 by the Argentinian Horacio Pagani, and is based in San Cesario sul Panaro, near Modena, Italy.
Mercedes-Benz
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1926
Stuttgart, Germany
Mercedes-AMG; Mercedes-Maybach
www.mercedes-benz.com
In 1926, after the merging of Benz and Daimler, which resulted in the inception of a new german automobile brand – Mercedes-Benz, the actual trademark was finally developed. It is a star of three pikes embosomed with a bordering with laureate wreath and the brand name on it, which still designates Mercedes cars. Since then the logo has experienced insignificant amendments, the bordering of laurel wreath morphed into an unpretentious circle.
Maserati
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1913
Modena, Italy
www.maserati.com
Maserati is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian–American car giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and FCA's Italian predecessor Fiat S.p.A. since 1993.
BMW
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1916
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
www.bmw.com
BMW (Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile company founded in 1916, it also owns and produces Mini cars and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW is one of three best-selling luxury automakers in the world, along with Audi and Mercedes-Benz. The BMW logo contains a think black circle which is bordered by a smooth silver outline holding company’s name in a prominent position. The core of the circle is broke up into four quadrants with national colors of Bavaria – blue and white.
Spyker
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1898
Zeewolde, Netherlands
www.spykercars.com
In 1898 Spyker builds first motorcar, The Spijker brothers built their first Benz-engined motorcar with which they win immediate acclaim for the craftsmanship of its bodywork. The Spyker logo displays a vintage airplane propeller that refers the historic Spyker company which manufactured aircraft.
Audi AG
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1909
Ingolstadt, Germany
www.audi.com
Audi is among the best-selling luxury automobiles in the world. Audi has been a majority owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group since 1966.
The Audi symbol is four ceiling rings that reflect the four manufacturers of Auto Union. This Audi emblem signs the association of the brand Audi with others: Horch, DKW, Wanderer: the initial ring from at the left side represents Audi, the next represents DKW, the third is Horch, then the fourth ring is Wanderer.
Land Rover
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1948
Whitley, Coventry, United Kingdom
www.landrover.com
In 2008, Ford Motor Company sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors. Included in the deal were the rights to three other British brands: Jaguar's own Daimler marque, as well as two dormant brands Lanchester and Rover. BMW and Ford had previously retained ownership of the Rover brand to protect the integrity of the Land Rover brand, with which 'Rover' might be confused in the US 4x4 market; the Rover brand was originally used under licence by MG Rover until it collapsed in 2005, at which point it was re-acquired by the then Ford Motor Company owned Land Rover Limited. This sale also included the dormant Rover brand. As of August 2012, most Land Rovers in production are powered by Ford engines. Under the terms of the acquisition, Tata has the right to buy engines from Ford until 2019.
Porsche
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1931
Stuttgart, Baden-WĂ¼rttemberg, Germany
www.porsche.com
The central part of the logo depicts a black horse headlong, an expression of forward putting power and an origin of the city note. black and red stripes and antlers are symbols of the German region of Baden-WĂ¼rttemberg, the inscription «Porsche» and prancing stallion on the logo reminded that native Stuttgart brand was created as a horse farm in 950. The author was Franz Xaver Raymshpiss.
Gumpert
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2004
Altenburg, Thuringia, Germany
www.apollo-automobil.com
Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH was founded by former Audi Director Roland Gumpert in 2004. Its car manufacturing company is based in Altenburg, Germany.
Gumpert’s successful creation the Apollo sport was features in UK’s Top Gear show on July 2008. It also proved its fantastic speed after it broke the record of Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda on Top Gear’s Power Lap Board with a lap time of time of 1.17.1. The Ferrari FXX later broke the record, but it was not recognized because Ferrari did not meet standards for legal street cars.
Ferrari
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1929
Maranello, Italy
www.ferrari.com
The famous symbol of Ferrari is a black prancing horse on yellow background, usually with the letters S F for Scuderia Ferrari. The symbol is crowned with white, green and red strips that symbolize Italian national colors.
Koenigsegg
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1994
Ängelholm, Scania, Sweden
www.koenigsegg.com
The company was founded in 1994 in Sweden by Christian von Koenigsegg, with the intention of producing a "world-class" supercar. In March 2009 the Koenigsegg CCXR was chosen by Forbes to be one of the most beautiful cars in history.
On June 12, 2009 the media reported that Koenigsegg Group, consisting of Koenigsegg Automotive AB, Christian von Koenigsegg, BĂ¥rd Eker and a group of investors led by Mark Bishop had signed a letter of intent with Saab to take over the brand from General Motors. General Motors confirmed on June 16 that they had chosen Koenigsegg Group as the buyer of Saab Automobile.
Jaguar
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1922
Whitley, Coventry, United Kingdom
www.jaguar.com
The latest Jaguar logo, updated in 2012, is designed in silver, metallic grey and black colors. As long as it is a tridimensional figure, gradient colors are used to highlight the shades that make the jaguar posture look rich and animate. The most frequent colors used in the Jaguar logo are black, golden and metallic grey. While the black color embodies elegance, integrity and high performance, the metallic grey and silver colors are a perfect illustration of sophistication, modernity and perfection. However, the emblem that can be seen on radiator grills and wheels has the red font on several models to stress on performance and passion.
Bentley
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1919
Crewe, England, United Kingdom
www.bentleymotors.com
entley Motors Limited is a British company that designs, develops, and manufactures luxury motorcars which are largely hand-built. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG. Now based in Crewe, England, Bentley Motors Limited was founded by W. O. Bentley on 18 January 1919 in Cricklewood, North London.
In 1998, Vickers sold it to Volkswagen AG. The sale included the vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks, but not the rights to the Rolls-Royce name or logo which are owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings plc and were licensed to BMW AG.
Alfa Romeo
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1910
Turin, Italy
www.alfaromeo.com
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian car manufacturer. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911. It was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale between 1932 and 1986, when it became a part of the Fiat group. In February 2007, the Alfa Romeo brand was transformed into the current Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., a subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy.
Bugatti
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1909
Molsheim, Alsace, France
www.bugatti.com
Bugatti logo is a three-colored oval-shaped figure. Sixty red dots that symbolize either pearls or safety wires are embedded into the narrow white bordering. The word ‘Bugatti’, carved of white letters with black shades, lies on the red font in the middle of the logo. The emblem is completed with a stylish EB trademark above the word, the initials of the great Ettore Bugatti, founder of the company.
Ram
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2009
Auburn Hills, Michigan, U.S.
www.ramtrucks.com
Ram Trucks referred to and stylized as RAM (formally known as the Ram Truck Division) is a United States-based brand of light to mid-weight commercial vehicles established in 2009 as a division of FCA US LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Lamborghini
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1963
Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy
www.lamborghini.com
The Lamborghini logo is widely regarded as one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable car logos in history. While the gold color in the Lamborghini logo depicts excellence and rich tradition of the automaker, the black color depicts its power, prestige, integrity and elegance.
McLaren
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1963
Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom
www.mclaren.com
According to McLaren, “The revamped logo that first appeared in 1997 featured a streamlined speedmark which bares similarities to the vortices created by our rear wing. It appeared on the top of our cars’ side-pods. They evoke the aggressive markings found on predatory animals and insects.
Rolls-Royce
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1906
Goodwood, England, United Kingdom
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW established in 1998 after BMW was licensed the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand name and logo from Rolls-Royce PLC and acquired the rights to the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grill shape trademarks from Volkswagen AG.