Vauxhall Logo PNG
“Behind the wheel of our electric vehicles, you will leave all road users behind,” the Vauxhall logo promises. The company’s products are the vehicles of the winners. From the sign comes the energy of excitement and vivid emotions.
Meaning and History
Before becoming a legendary luxury car manufacturer, the company had come a long way from being a pump-and-ship engine plant. In 1863, it was bought by Andrew Betts Brown, who changed the business’s direction and name (to Vauxhall Iron Works) but not the logo. The new owner first started assembling bridge cranes and making cars in 1903.
Many years later (in 1925), the American concern General Motors acquired the company. In 1930, he created a subsidiary department of Bedford Vehicles focused on producing commercial vehicles, including vans and buses. But in the early 80s of the last century, all equipment of this brand was taken off the market everywhere. The only exception was Great Britain. Under this brand, the company even produced cars for rallying and motorsport. But in 2017, Vauxhall was acquired by Groupe PSA.
Vauxhall’s iconic retro models include the Cavalier, Chevette, Viva, and Victor series. Modern versions include the Astra, Corsa, Insignia, Crossland X, Mokka, and Grandland X. Vauxhall sells several high-performance cars under the GSi sub-brand. They all bear a sign with a mythical creature, a red griffin. The emblem was approved when the company was founded. In total, the emblem has undergone seven modifications.
What is Vauxhall?
This is one of the most enduring automotive brands in the United Kingdom, which began as the British division of General Motors and later joined the Stellantis group. The brand has retained its unique British identity, producing models known nationwide. It has secured a special place in British automotive culture by offering vehicles that meet British drivers’ preferences and needs, from the sporty Corsa and family-friendly Astra to the practical Insignia.
1857 – 1983
For a very long time, the company has used a griffin from the old coat of arms of Sir Falkes de Breaute. He was a military man who lived in the 13th century. His house was called Vauxhall, which later spread to part of the surrounding area. By the way, it was in that building that the manufacturer of ship motors and pumps, and then cars, was founded. This is how extraneous heraldry laid the foundation for the legendary automotive industry.
The mythological creature consisted of an eagle’s head and a lion’s body. It sat with its two front paws on a flagpole that resembled a spear. On it was a miniature flag with a single letter – “V.” Since the family was military, it could mean the name of the Vauxhall house and the symbol of victory (Victoria). The griffin’s head looked to the right. The gaze was formidable and intimidating, and the tip of the tail and wing were slightly raised.
1983 – 1989
The emblem was placed on a red background, with white and gray edging. The upper part of the wing and spears were cut off, making the mark even more geometric. All interior elements were painted white. Under the mythical creature, the designers placed the “Vauxhall” inscription, executed in an uppercase serif typeface.
1989 – 2003
Building on the previous logo, the developers introduced a new symbol. It was round. To emphasize the disc’s shape, the authors returned the missing wing part to the griffin and bent the flag into a half-arc. A single “V” appeared on his banner again, but this time in red. It was smooth, flat, and sans serif. The designers separated the trademark name and placed it below the icon, highlighting it in black. All letters were capital and grotesque.
2003 – 2008
The emblem of this period was based on the previous version of the logo. The difference between them was only in three dimensions. To make the sign three-dimensional, the developers enhanced the shadows along the contours of the mythical creature and the flag he held in two paws. Light highlights on the logo added a chrome effect. The red circle got a gradient from scarlet to burgundy.
2008 – 2009
After a period of bright colors, it was time for monochrome restraint. The logo changes required placing it on different advertising media to make it look clear, distinct, and modern. To do this, the designers made the disc black and cut an oblique cut along the edge, which created a metallic sheen.
They also enlarged the griffin using only its head, neck, right leg, upper wing, flagpole, and V. The authors painted each element in two colors: dark gray on the one hand, and white with a silvery hue on the other. In the lower right corner, the developers added a single bright glare, reminiscent of a reflection, and in the upper part, the brand name with wide letter spacing.
2009 – 2011
The designers replaced black with red, leaving the rest unchanged. The only major change concerned the lettering, which has shifted downward, as in the 1989-2003 logo. The font was also kept the same, large, bold, sans serif.
2011 – 2020
Starting from 2011, the brand cars were decorated with a slightly corrected emblem. The authors used the logo from the previous period as a basis, but deepened the shadows. Black and graphite colors have been added to the bird’s neck and wing. Identical shades appeared at the edges of the “metalized” sign: on the right and left, they were wide, at the bottom, narrow, and looked like an inverted arch with sharp ends. The designers have added a lot of white to add even more contrast. They left the V on the flag red. At first, the icon was accompanied by the Vauxhall brand inscription, but after General Motors sold the Groupe PSA brand, the inscription was no longer used (since 2017).
2020 – today
The updated logo comes from rebranding the entire Opel / Vauxhall group. It became flat (two-dimensional) and simple. The developers removed shadows and gray and black colors. They also shifted the image’s focus by adding a portion of the griffin’s back (right) and hiding the flagpole (left). Moreover, the designers redrew the inscription, making it smoother, thinner, and straighter.
Font and Colors
Since the foundation’s first year, the company has used the original identity associated with the enterprise’s place of origin. Firstly, the very name Vauxhall was borne by the house where the company was formed and spread to the surrounding area. Secondly, the old heraldry of the military dynasty Falkes de Breaute, who lived in that building in the 13th century, was taken.
The logo’s typeface is hand-drawn, similar to the bold version of Helvetica Sans Serif. It resembles the Radiate Sans Bold Expanded and LCT Picon Extended Black fonts. Since 1989, the inscription has had no serifs; all the letters are even and smooth.
The signature palette consists of red and white. At times, black and gray in several shades from graphite to light chrome were also used.