Today there are hundreds of car marques, which logos are widely known and instantly recognizable across the globe. Some just represent the brand’s name, others feature abstract shapes and hidden meanings, but there is one symbol, which is very often used by the automakers for their visual identity — the wings.
Wings have been a fairly popular symbol in the automotive industry since their inception. They mean speed and majesty, so they are often depicted on the emblems of car brands. Looking elegant and powerful, they brilliantly reflect the essence of any auto brand. In this article, we’ve gathered the most popular and least known automakers, which use wings for their visual identity. The interesting thing, impossible not to notice — most brands in the list come from Great Britain.
Let’s start with the least obvious winged emblem of this article. Mazda is a Japanese automobile manufacturer, which is significantly different from the other brands featured in our selection. The modern Mazda logo appeared in 1997. The peculiarity of this logo is that these are not just wings, but the wings, stylized as the letter “M”. If you look closely at the logo, it becomes clear. First of all, it seems that these are just the wings of a bird.
The second and the last Asian brand on our list. Genesis – luxury car manufacturer from South Korea. The brand belongs to the automobile giant Hyundai Motor Group. Genesis itself is quite a young marque — it was established only in 2015 as a division of Hyundai, which is engaged in the production of luxury cars. Despite its fairly young age, the brand is gaining popularity across the globe really fast. The emblem, like many on this list, is a plaque with the name against a background of wings, in this case, silver in color.
The first British brand in our selection in MINI. Established in 1969, MINI was acquired by the German BMW Group in 2000. The wings on this marque’s insignia are not that noticeable, but if you look closely, you can tell they are definitely there. The modern MINI logo appeared in 2001 and is inspired by earlier versions of the MINI emblems. In the modern version of the logo, the wordmark is written in capital letters on a black background in silver letters against silver wings. The emblem of the marque symbolizes speed, independence and special attitude to life.
Aston Martin is a British high-end brand of luxury and sports cars. The company was founded in 1913, and its first winged logo was introduced in 1927. The composition of the logo was the following: the company’s name was placed on a pair of white wings. The design was repeatedly revised but always kept the familiar look with the wings and the inscription. The white wings here symbolize speed, independence, and ambitions. Cars of this brand, though quite rare, are very much appreciated and the wings, in this case, are associated with a luxury brand.
Another brand from the United Kingdom that produces luxury cars and has wings on its emblem is Bentley. The brand is currently part of Volkswagen AG. The “Big B” emblem used by Bentley consists of two rising wings, which illustrate that Bentley is the car that can be the first to have wings. The emblem of the brand is definitely one of the most recognizable car badges ever created. A symbol of wealth and luxury.
USA
Not only British brands have iconic winged logos. The elegant logo of the American Chrysler is also very popular. The car brand is owned by Italian Fiat since 2014, forming FCA, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles company. The Chrysler logo depicts two long silver wings and the inscription in capital letters set in the middle. The old logo of the marque, which can still be seen on some cars, also had wings, but the word Chrysler was inscribed in a circle.
The historical automaking brand from the United States was established in 1911 and engaged in the production of luxury cars. Its bright and intense logo was based on the tricolor of the American flag and boasted a circular red emblem with a thick white outline, a stylized enlarged wordmark in white, and two small but visible blue wings. Stutz ceased all operations in 1935.
Another historic automaking brand from the United States is Duesenberg. The company was founded in 1913 and closed in 1937, but its iconic cars are still very popular among retro automobiles collectors. The logo of the brand featured a sleek horizontally stretched image of an eagle with its wings elongated to the sides. The golden badge was accompanied by a voluminous wordmark in the same color, placed over it.
To finish with the American brands, we list Rezvani Motors. The young and progressive company from California is engaged in the automotive design and production of high-performance supercars. The Rezvani insignia uses wings to emphasize that the brand’s roots come from aviation. And the racing stripes and steering wheel symbolize the automotive presence.
Coming back to the British brand, we introduce you to London EV Company Limited (LEVC). It is an automotive engineering company, based in the United Kingdom, but being a subsidiary of the Chinese car brand Geely. Brandy is known for producing iconic London cabs, and its first name was The London Taxi Corporation Limited. The LEVC logo features a glossy black circle in a silver outline with rounded silver wings on the sides.
Lagonda is another British car brand with a winged emblem. The marque has been producing luxury cars since 1906. Since 1947 Lagonda is owned by the famous Aston Martin. This is why the Lagonda insignia is similar to the iconic logo of the luxury brand: wings with the company’s name written in the middle.
Morgan is another family car company from Great Britain, founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. The refreshed logo of the brand is fully based on the wings, and symbolizes the evolution and progress of the brand. It is important, as the original insignia of the British automaker stayed untouched for more than a century.
JBA Motors is a company founded in Norwich, UK. The company was originally named JBA Engineering after the first letters of the last names of brand founders Jones, Barlow, and Ashley. Engaged in the production of retro cars, the company uses a logo that brilliantly reflects its essence — a horizontally oriented black oval with silver wings and silver lettering enclosed into a thin oval frame.
Suffolk Sportscars Ltd was founded by Roger William in the 1990s. For the first several years company was involved exclusively in the production of one model — SS100s. Then the C-type model was added to the Suffolk portfolio, and, finally, after a few more years the British brand started producing classic cars. The bright and sharp Suffolk Sportscars logo shows the red geometric crest with the silver “SS” lettering on it and two massive silver wings spread to the sides from it.
Hillman is the name of a historical automaking company, which was established in the United Kingdom in 1907 and ceased all operation in 1931. The logo of the automobile marque featured a sharp geometric wings image with triangular contours and a red hexagon placed in the middle of the badge and crossed by the wordmark.
The Hispano-Suiza is a Spanish historical automaking brand, which was engaged in the production of luxury cars from 1904 to 1936. Unfortunately, the company did not survive World War II, but its emblem remains one of the most beautiful representatives of the winged insignia designs. The red circle with the white Swiss cross on it and two delicate curved wings in gold.
Another automobile manufacturer, which doesn’t exist anymore is Alta. The Greek brand was famous for its reliable trucks and motorcycles and had a super stylish and sleek winged emblem in red and silver. The badge looked like a bat and had its wind contours sharp and distinct. The “Alta” inscription was set on the silver background with its red letters in a simple modern sans-serif typeface.
American LaFrance was the name of one of the Daimler brands, focused on the production of fire vehicles, which was established in 1893 and ceased all operations in 2014. The brand featured a fancy silver badge with an eagle sitting on the nameplate. The green image of the bird looked smooth and elegant.
American Austin in the name of the historical automaking label, which was established in 1929 and discontinued in 1956. The logo of the car brand featured a bright red and gold badge with a mythological creature outlined in a thick oval frame. The creature was facing left and had its smooth wing as the main element of the insignia.
Anteros is the name of the luxury American car brand, which is specialized in the production of sports are. The company was established in 2005 and adapted its winged logo in the same year. The bull with wings can be seen in a monochrome or silver palette or executed in a bright red combination.
Arash is the name of a relatively young British car brand, which was established in 1999 and specialized in the production of sports cars. The logo of the company features a yellow and black crest with a stylized frying bird, having its wings enlarged.
Arrinera is a relatively young Polish automaking brand, which was established in 2008 and specialized in the design and production of sports cars. The company uses a sharp and stylish winged logo with a silver stylized emblem placed above the white lettering on a black background. The wings are spread up, as a symbol of progress.
Avion Voisin is the name of a historical car manufacturing brand, which was established in France in 1905 and ceased all operations in 1946. The marque used a massive car emblem on the bonnets of its cars, as a symbol of speed and elegance.
Banding was the name of an Italian automobile manufacturer, which was established in 1946 and defunct in 1992. The logo of the company contained an image of the wings placed on a bright yellow background and complemented by a blue and white nameplate on its bottom part.
Bianchi is one of the oldest and most famous European bicycle manufacturers, which was established in Italy in 1885. The visual identity of the brand is based on a modern slanted logotype, but its secondary logo depicts an ornate heraldic eagle with massive wings.
Bignan was a French automaking brand, established in 1918. Even though the company lived for just a little more than a decade, and ceased all operations in 1932, its emblem is still recognizable. A flying stork on a rounded badge with the wordmark set in a small circle on the bottom of the composition.
Biddle is the name of the historical automaking brand, which was established in the United States in 1915 and closed just seven years after, in 1922. The company used a minimalist modern badge as its primary logo but had an ornate winged image as a secondary one.
Bizzarrini is the name of the Italian automotive brand, which was established in 1964 and had a pretty intense car portfolio. The company uses a modern and elegant badge for its visual identity — a burgundy circle with a stylized light bluebird in it. The triangular wings of the bird are spread to the sides, representing freedom and independence.
Another short-lived brand on our list, Cole was established in the United States in 1909 and closed in 1925. The visual identity of the brand was based on an elegant underlined logotype, but for their cars, Cole used a winged badge in silver.
Established in 1962 in China, Changan can be easily called one of the oldest automaking brands in the world. The company’s logo depicts a minimalist stylized image of the wings — a bold V-like symbol enclosed into a circular frame and executed in a bright blue color.
The sports car manufacturer for the Netherlands, Donkervoort, was established in 1978 and adopted its visual identity design in the same year. The badge of the brand is a stylized red image of wings with white accents and a horizontally stretched oval banner with the wordmark placed over it.
Durant is the name of the former automobile manufacturer, which was established in the United States in 1921 and lived for only ten years. The badge of the automaker was built around a classy vertically stretched crest in red, white and blue, and had a small silver image of a winged mythological creature placed in its upper blue part.
Faw is a Chinese manufacturer of commercial vehicles, which was established in 1859. The visual identity of the brand is based on the stylized image of the wings placed around the white number “1” on a smooth blue background of an oval badge.
Gumpert is the former name of the sports cars manufacturer, which today is known as Apollo: the German brand was established in 2004 and boasted a bright red and yellow logo with a white-winged mythological creature facing right. It was an elegant and modern crest, which elevated traditional elements to a new level.
Haima is a Chinese automaker, established in 1992, which is involved in the production of vehicles for other companies. The visual identity of the Asian brand is built around a stylized image of the spear wings placed over a delicate silver circle. The lettering in two languages is set in dark blue capitals under the graphical emblem.
Hawk Cars are the name of a not very popular British automaking brand, which was established in 1986 with the idea of the production of sports cars. The visual identity of the brand is fully based on its name, and depicts a flying Hawk enclosed into a circular frame. The bird has its wings spread and drawn in smooth rounded lines.
Heinkel is the name of the historical automobile manufacturer, which was established in Germany in 1922 and for some time was involved in the production of aircraft engines. The brand closed in 1965, has a fancy and very recognizable badge with an italicized uppercase wordmark placed under a stylized letter “H” with a black wing coming out of its horizontal bar to the left.
The not very well-known British automaker Invicta was established in 1925 and had several revivals. Though the thing that never changed was its visual identity — based on an emblem with two massive and wide wings and a vertical banner with the wordmark, coming through the middle of the composition.
ISO Rivolta is the name of a small Italian automaking company, which existed from 1953 to 1978, and specialized in the production of passenger cars and motorcycles. The visual identity of the brand was very elegant and bold, composed of a white crest with thin Italian flag lines and a golden Griffin with a wing executed in clean distinct lines. The wordmark was set on the bottom part of the crest, executed in narrowed black sans-serif capitals.
The high-performance car manufacturer, Isdera, was established in Germany in 1982 and introduced its original visual identity design in the same year. It is a vertically oriented rectangle with a sky-blue background and black framing, depicting a black flying bird with wings spread upright, and a bold custom wordmark in the lowercase placed under it.
Jensen Motors is the name of a former British automaking brand, which was established in 1922 and existed for almost 90 years, ceasing all the operations in 2011. The company boasted a sharp and cool visual identity, which was based on a stylized winged emblem with straight lines and sharp angles. The circular badge with a fancy custom lettering was usually placed in the middle of the winged image.
Laraki is the name of a luxury automaking brand, which was established in Morocco in 1999, and is focused on the production of high-performance cars. The company has a chic and elegant visual identity concept, which consists of a black circular emblem with a silver wing and framing of the same shade. The logotype, executed in a custom extra-bold sans-serif with open contours of the letters, is usually placed on the right from the badge.
Packard is the name of the historical car manufacturing company, which was established in 1899 and stayed one of the most famous American automakers until 1956. The Packard visual identity featured an ornate traditional crest in gold and red with lots of details and vignettes, and a delicate image of the bird with its wings spread upright, placed on the crest, like the crown.
Panther is a British automaking company, which was established in 1972 and for a pretty long period of its history owned by the Korean SsangYong Group. The company featured a light and fine logo, composed of a pretty detailed image of two wings and a banner with the wordmark placed in the middle.
Peerless is the name of a historical car manufacturing company, which was established in the United States in 1900 and stopped all operations in 1932. The primary badge of the brand featured a diagonally placed script lettering, but when placed on the bonnets of the cars, the Peerless emblem turned into a winged sign.
Qvale is the name of a small Italian automaking company, which was established in 2000, and only existed for a few years. The company was specialized in the production of sedans with a pretty unusual design, and the QVALE style was complemented by the sharp modern logo, composed of a vertical rectangle with rounded corners and a white dragon image with wings in it. The yellow lettering in a white outline was set under the winged dragon drawing.
Rossion is the progressive American automaking brand, which is specialized in the production of sports cars with super modern design and top-notch technical characteristics. The visual identity of the brand featured a monochrome crest with arched sides and a white image of an eagle with its wings spread up and left, and stylized lettering in white written along the upper border of the badge.
Russo-Balt is the name of a Russian historical car brand, established in 1909 and closed in 1923. The visual identity of the brand was based on the heraldic symbol of the Russian Empire — an eagle with two heads, with smooth lines and sharp angles of its wings and a crown above the two heads.
Simca is the name of the French automaking brand, which was established in 1934 and defunct in 1970. The visual identity of the European car brand was very bright and lively, consisting of a bright blue and pink crest with a white lettering and a white stylized image of a swallow with its wings elongated and their ends sharpened.
One of the most famous Korean automaking brands, SsangYong, was established in 1954 and today takes the leading position in the Asian automotive market. The logo of the brand was designed decades ago and features a stylized wreath of two wings placed on the left from the strict and stable lettering.
Stoewer is the historical German brand, which was established in 1899 and started the production of cars in the same year. The visual identity of the automaker was based on the massive yet elegant emblem of the griffin’s head with straight thin wings. The mythological creature was placed on the bonnet of each Stoewer car.
Trojan is the name of a former automaker, which was established in the UK in 1914 and ceased all operations in 1965. The company specialized in the production of passenger and commercial vehicles and had its visual identity designed at the very beginning of the brand’s history. The Trojan badge depicted a horizontal banner with lettering, enclosed into a circular frame and decorated by two geometric wings, coming out of both sides of the banner.
UAZ is the name of a Russian automobile manufacturer, established in 1941 and for the first years of its history specialized exclusively on the production of military vehicles. Today the company keeps manufacturing military and cars, but the portfolio got extended to buses and trucks. The visual identity of UAZ is based on a stylized V-like wings emblem placed over a small circular outline.
Vauxhall is the name of one of the oldest British car manufacturers, which was established in 1857. The company’s new logo looks progressive and stylish, having a sleek silver image of a Griffin with one wing, enclosed into a circular frame. The wing of the creature is executed in smooth clean lines and demonstrates power and determination along with speed and independence.
Virago is the name of one of the most legendary models of Yamaha, which was first released in 1981. The motorcycle has its logo, which is accompanied by the corporate Yamaha wordmark. The Virago emblem featured a smooth custom lettering placed on a stylized triangular wing with its left part sharp and elongated. The badge looks powerful and modern and brilliantly represents the Charles yet of the iconic bike.
Venturi is the name of a luxury automaking brand, which was established in Monaco in 1984. The company produces vehicles with spectacular design and pays a lot of attention to the look of not only their cars but the brand itself, this is why the Venturi logo looks super professional and modern. It is composed of a lightweight white sans-serif inscription placed on black background above the bold red emblem, which looks like a letter “V” with its bars slightly emboldened on the ends and resembling two wings.
Wanderer is the name of the historical car and motorcycle manufacturer, which was established in Germany in 1896 and ceased all operations in 1946. The company’s logo was executed in an unusual for its times green and white color palette and had its main symbol composed of the letter “W” stylized as a winged emblem. Clean straight lines and sharp angles of the insignia made the brand look powerful and confident.
Wuling is a relatively young Chinese automaking brand, which was established in 2007, and today is specialized in the production of electric vehicles. The logo of the Chinese car manufacturer is composed of an abstract geometric winged badge executed in red parallelograms and a dark gray wordmark in the uppercase placed on its right.
What car brand has a logo with wings?
Wings are one of the most popular symbols to be used by car manufacturers from all over the globe. Different marques adopt different options of wings — from tender detailed images to brutal geometric emblems. The most famous car brands with wings on the logos are Bentley, MINI, Mazda, and Chrysler.
What car has angel wings?
It’s hard to determine the angel wings on the auto badges, although, the most elegant and sophisticated wings to our mind are the ones from the logo of Bentley, or Aston Martin, two luxury brands.
What is the brand with the wings?
There are many automobile brands, which use wings in their badges. Among them are Mini, Latinos, Aston Martin, Bentley, Chrysler, Mazda, and many more.
What car emblem has black wings?
Almost all the winged badges, used by the car brands, are set in the silver color palette, or monochrome, with a white shade prevailing. However, you can also meet the black wings badge. For example, take a look at the logo of the British LEVC brand, with two black wings placed on the sides from the black roundel with a white contour of a horse.