Ferrari's Prancing Horse voted most iconic badge [w/POLL]
The people have spoken. (Well, the British anyway. But they're people, too). And according to a public opinion survey, Ferrari has the most iconic badge among exotic automakers.
The poll in question was conducted by European telecom company Orange for the MPH Top Gear Live show, a sort of live-action performance car show held in car-crazed England. Ferrari was identified far and away as the most recognizable of car logos, garnering nearly half the votes. Aston Martin came in second with a quarter of the votes, edging out Lamborghini, Bugatti and Porsche, while Maserati, Spyker, Lotus, Koenigsegg and Pagani rounding out the rest of the top ten with small shares of the votes.
The numbers go to show that while the Prancing Horse is still king, England's own Aston Martin has grown to eclipse some of the biggest power houses in terms of brand recognition. We wonder how long it will take McLaren's Nike-like tick logo, which appears as a motif repeatedly in the design of the new MP4-12C supercar unveiled today, to rise up the ranks, too. We also wonder how American car fans would vote differently from our former colonial masters, and we're wondering if the survey takers were given a limited number of choices, or if the poll specifically targeted performance marques. After all, aren't workaday emblems like Ford's Blue Oval or Chevrolet's Bowtie more recognizable, or even Blighty's own Rolls-Royce's Double R logo?
In any case, we've started a performance badge poll of our own and thrown in the Chevrolet Corvette and Dodge Viper sub-brands (together with McLaren) for good measure. Follow the jump to cast your vote and read the press release with full figures after the jump.
[Source: MPH]
Gallery: Ferrari 458 Italia
PRESS RELEASE:
Ferrari voted most iconic car badge in the world
Aston Martin spoils Italian party
Ferrari's prancing horse has been voted the most iconic car badge in the world in a poll commissioned by MPH featuring Top Gear Live and run by orange.co.uk/cars.
The raging bull of Lamborghini took third place but it was luxury British sports car manufacturer, Aston Martin, that spoiled an Italian 1-2-3 by scooping second place and forcing Bugatti into fourth position.
Perhaps in part to Ferrari's unbroken presence in Formula One since 1950 and testament to a long history of producing the most aspirational supercars of all time, nearly half (48%) of all the 5,235 participants declared Ferrari's prancing horse (Cavallino Rampante) the most iconic performance car badge in the world.
Evidence of Italian engineering and style, Ferrari wasn't the only Italian manufacturer in the top three. Lamborghini's famous bull – a nod to the star sign of founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini - also captured the imagination of the voters securing 8% of the poll.
But it was James Bond's favourite, Aston Martin, that upset an Italian red, green and white-wash with its winged badge winning 25% of the vote to take second place.
Fourth, fifth and sixth place were taken by Bugatti, Porsche and Maseratti respectively.
The poll was devised by MPH The Prestige and Performance Motor Show to highlight the vast array of high performance machinery on display at the annual automotive show at London's Earls Court and Birmingham's NEC in November.
This year, star cars at the MPH show will include the breathtakingly beautiful Ferrari California, the awesome Ferrari Enzo and the gorgeous Aston Martin DBS Roadster along with the Lamborghini LP560/4 Spider plus 300 equally remarkable supercars from around the world.
Of course, the added attraction of watching Jeremy Clarkson host Top Gear Live on stage has seen a rush on tickets for the shows at London's Earls Court (5–8 November) and Birmingham's NEC (12-15 November).
Silver tickets are priced at £42 each while Gold and Platinum tickets are priced at £65 and £99 respectively. Tickets can be purchased online at www.mphshow.co.uk or by calling the ticket hotline on 0871 230 5588.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Farris 7:40PM (9/10/2009)
I voted Porsche. Ferrari is good, but the Porsche crest is great.
Reply
Santosh Tiwari 7:45PM (9/10/2009)
I prefer Cadillac Crest over the Porsche
Redline 8:48PM (9/10/2009)
Which is weird, I've had people identify the Cavallino Rampante on my shirt as the Porsche logo before...
outphase84 12:26AM (9/11/2009)
Agreed. Regardless of opinions on the cars(i happen to love a certain ass-engined vehicle whose shape hasn't changed in 40 years), Porsche is easily *the* most recognizable supercar mark. My list would go Porsche, tie between pracing horse and raging bull, roundel, leaper.
cool_ozzyfromkalush 9:55PM (9/10/2009)
Puff... Shelby Cobra all the way.
Richard 10:27PM (9/10/2009)
I call BS.
Why?
Ferrari and Porsche are often confused.
Jaguar, Rolls Royce and Bentley are - easily - the three most iconic badges in the automotive world. Easily.
Shaguar wasn't even on the list.
catchmyshadow 10:49PM (9/10/2009)
as a car it is Porsche (911=Porsche imho). there is no bigger sports icon in motoring than the 911 imho. as a badge it is probably ferrari cause they kept their cars classy and exclusive back in the days. nowadays i would pick a lambo over a ferrari any day tho.
iijohn88ii 12:35AM (9/11/2009)
I like Fords logo. I dunno, I just always have.
sparrk 7:50AM (9/11/2009)
i'm a Porsche guy , but everyone and his grandmother knows about Ferrari. you can't walk 10 minutes through any European town without seeing a Ferrari flag , Ferrari t-shirt, or a Ferrari logo somewhere.
Santosh Tiwari 7:44PM (9/10/2009)
The most iconic badge in my opinion is of the Rolls Royce (the flying lady - aka the spirit of ecstasy).
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Tony 7:50PM (9/10/2009)
Or the leaping cat of Jaguar.
Mike7 7:52PM (9/10/2009)
I think you and Tony have a good point. How could a British survey miss the Leaper and Spirit of Ecstasy?
Mike7 7:53PM (9/10/2009)
And what about Bentley's Flying B?
Venom 10:33PM (9/10/2009)
The Spirit of Ecstasy is not a badge, it is an emblem.
Ditto for The Leaper.
CDN Crockett 10:42PM (9/10/2009)
And what about Volkswagen? VW's Golf is the third best-selling car in the world, selling over 25 million through 2006.
sparrk 7:54AM (9/11/2009)
it's a vote about high performance sportscars, not luxury or mainstream cars.
Red 7:47PM (9/10/2009)
I didn't vote up there yet, but here in the states, I would think either Ford or BMW has the most iconic badge. They're easily recognizable from a distance and Ford has such a long running history. That's not to say GM and Chrylser haven't because they have. But, even as someone who prefers imports to domestics, I just don't think anyone can top Ford's constant innovation (when they even have an inkling of ambition to try) and genuinely rooted American history.
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SamBlob 4:51PM (9/12/2009)
Yes, I must agree with you on Ford's constant innovation. Everything from the electric starter of 1912, synchromesh manual transmission and automatic transmission in the '30s, aluminium V-8s , fully independent suspension, and rear transaxles in the '60s, their brave but doomed experiment with modular displacement in 1981...
...wait a minute... all that was GM. Never mind.
Jung 7:46PM (9/10/2009)
I've had a soft spot for Porsche... but then they started bastardizing their lineup with a SUV and 4-door AMC Pacer...
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CDN Crockett 8:51PM (9/10/2009)
Ya what's with this era? High performance sport cars companies doing family sedans.