Lancia Logo PNG
The emblem symbols put the company’s machines in the spotlight. The brand exemplifies style, quality, and balance. The emblem features the Lancia logo, ensuring smooth, coordinated operation of all parts and safe movement.
Lancia is an Italian automotive brand within the Stellantis group. It specializes in the Ypsilon premium passenger car series, a five-door supermini. Previously, the company produced rally sports cars. Moreover, it was founded twice: in 1906, when Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin founded it, and in 2007, when Fiat’s parent corporation reorganized its operations. The first was named Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili, and the second was Lancia Automobiles SpA. Its head office remains in Turin.
The company’s founders were two friends of the racer, Vincenzo Lancia and Claudio Fogolin. They produced their first car under the Lancia brand in 1907. It was the Tipo 51, later renamed Alfa. It had a 4-cylinder engine with 28 horsepower. In 1910, the company sent its parts to the United States, where they were assembled from scratch to produce the SGV car. The Italian company then built its first truck, the Jota (1915).
In 1937, Vincenzo Lancia died, and his wife and son took over the company’s management. A dele Miglietti Lancia and Gianni Lancia offered Vittorio Jano the position of engineer; he was already well known in professional circles for his projects, including Alfa Romeo and the successful sports cars of the 6C, P2, and P3 series. In 1955, Carlo Pesenti took over management, and in 1969, the company became a Fiat subsidiary.
After 1990, car sales plummeted, and the parent company changed Lancia’s range to buy Chrysler’s stake. So, it decided to combine and update products to increase demand in the European market. Lancia’s current legal entity was incorporated in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its business. But nothing helped: sales continued to decline, so in 2015, the company refused to sell Chrysler under the Lancia brand. It focused on the Ypsilon model, which found widespread demand in Italy. This car became the best-selling car in 2019.
Following the merger with the Stellantis group, the Italian brand Alfa Romeo and its subsidiary DS Automobiles are designing new premium cars. Their release is scheduled for 2024. They are expected to once again showcase the Lancia personal badge.
Meaning and History
The first Lancia car, created in 1907, had no name or logo. And to roll the car out of the workshop, I had to demolish the wall. The famous spear badge first appeared on the bonnet of the Gamma 20 HP in 1911. Since the word “lancia” means “spear” in Italian, the emblem’s ingenious creators chose this element as the flagpole for the flag bearing the brand name.
This visual pun has become an effective marketing tool, attracting car enthusiasts’ attention. A similar technique is used in the Shell logo, which features a stylized clam shell. But unlike the oil and gas company, the car manufacturer eventually abandoned its main symbol, replacing the spear with abstract elements.
What is Lancia?
This is one of Italy’s most refined car brands, where luxury craftsmanship and racing glory intertwine. From the innovative Lambda model to the legendary Stratos, which conquered rally stages, this iconic Turin-based brand has created some of the most emblematic cars in history. Known for advanced engineering and distinctive Italian design, it embodies luxury and high performance. People see vehicles from this brand more as works of art than as mere transportation.
1906 – 1911
As is already known, Lancia did not initially have an official logo. Various brass plates identified the cars, indicating their models and manufacturers. One option featured the brand’s name in a strict, bold font with triangular serifs. Even though all the letters were in capitals, the first “L” stood out prominently. It was enlarged and moved down slightly, so its horizontal line fell below the “A.” The inscription was set on a long black rectangle with a double border.
1907 – 1911
A laconic emblem in the form of an inscription belongs to this period. It was a copper or brass plate bearing the manufacturer’s name. It contained handwritten cursive text and was affixed to the radiator grille. The letters were ornate, with curls that blend harmoniously into the underline and the upper half-arc. The logo’s main color is yellow.
1911 – 1929
At Vincenzo Lancia’s request, Italian artist and designer Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia took over development of the logo. As a result, he presented six sketches to choose from. The brand’s founder liked the option with a round rim, or steering wheel, divided into four parts by a cross. Behind it was a flag with a pole shaped like a sharp spear and a golden inscription, “Lanci, a,” on a blue cloth. The company’s name literally means “spear” in translation. The figure also had a manual choke on its right side. The font consisted of elongated letters with thin serifs. The “L” was large and hooked. This emblem first appeared on the Gamma 20 HP.
1929 – 1950
In 1929, the seal with the flag, spear, and choket was enclosed within a shield, a geometric figure called the “Reuleaux triangle.” This version was also one of the six sketches Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia proposed. In this form, the icon has become much more solid and presentable. The shield, like the flag, was painted blue. He also received a frame of thin double lines. Although this emblem first appeared in 1929 on the Dikappa, it wasn’t used permanently until 1936 on Aprilia cars.
1950 – 1957
To make the Lancia logo more visible, the designers added color. The blue became lighter, richer, and more saturated. They replaced the pale gold with a brown tint with a sunny yellow. At the same time, they used it only for the steering wheel and some spear fragments. They repainted the central part of the image, the brand name, the flag’s border, and the thin line along the edge of the triangular shield white. This made them easier to distinguish from the emblem’s colorful background.
1957 – 1974
Since 1957, Lancia has been equipping its cars with a full-width horizontal grille. As a result, the transformed look required an improved logo. It was replaced with a three-dimensional openwork version in chromed metal and moved further onto the grille. The designers painted the steering wheel and shield silver, adding shadows and highlights. They also modernized the wheel by removing the cruciform division into four parts. The only recognizable detail was the flag on the spear, bearing the trademark name, which, as before, was blue. For the first time, such a logo shone on Flaminia models.
1972 – 1981
1974 – 1981
1981 – 2001
At Agnelli’s request, the developers changed the emblem to silver-white-blue and the 1929 uniform. But there were also differences. For example, the designers unified the flag and spear, making it look like a straight pole. They also removed the right-side throttle and the wide bezel, and changed the color to a blue gradient. The lettering also changed: instead of an elongated type with sharp serifs, it used a typeface with tightly spaced letters. The shield frame remains chrome-plated. In this form, the emblem debuted on the Delta car.
2001 – 2007
After a cosmetic redesign, the gradient’s shape has changed. It continued to be used only for the shield, and the flagpole, flag, and steering wheel outlines became two-dimensional. The light blue highlights have moved down, making the side corners more evenly colored. In addition, the designers have made some lines thinner to make the logo look sleeker. But this did not affect the upward arrow: it remained as wide as before.
2007 – today
The Geneva Motor Show debuted the new logo. The Robilant Associati studio created it. The designers replaced the old steering wheel with a modern, chrome-styled wheel with two sharp spikes at the top and bottom that point toward the center. Another change affected the flag and spear: the developers removed them. From past versions, only the traditional blue shield and chrome edging remained.
2022 – today
Car enthusiasts first saw the new Lancia logo on November 29, 2022. It was unveiled at the Lancia Design Day event alongside the Pu+Ra Zero concept car, marking the brand’s debut in the electric-vehicle sector. Jean Pierre Ploue designed the emblem, inspired by the 1957 Flaminia badge.
The French car designer, who previously rehabilitated the Citroën brand, successfully emphasized Lancia’s modern style. Now, the logo symbolizes premium, innovation, and Italian sophistication. In the modernized version, many gradients diverge from the center in uneven stripes resembling rays.
The shield’s triangular shape and silver-gray chrome frame remained. A ring replaces the stylized steering wheel, and a long line serves as a flagpole, widening in the middle and not resembling a traditional spear at all. The quadrangular figure with the brand name also resembles a flag only slightly, as its sides are rounded.
The inscription font changed for the first time in many years. Jean Pierre Ploue felt that the new emblem needed futuristic letters of an unusual shape. He shortened the serifs and made them multi-directional to create internal dynamics. The slightly flattened “C” resembles a horseshoe. But the most original are the two capital “A,” s, which lack the central horizontal strokes.
Font and Colors
The idea of decorating the logo with a flag on a spear came immediately to mind because the founder’s surname, Vincenzo Lancia, literally translates to “spear.” It is not only in the modern version; across the rest, it appears in various forms.
Early versions featured a retro typeface with elongated letters and sharp serifs. The commercial font News 706 Roman is now used; it is modern, printed, and has classic serifs. Its free counterpart is Bienetresocial Bold.
The corporate palette includes metallic colors, ranging from silver to gold, usually complemented by blue and white. The debut logo used a golden gradient.