The Evolution Of The Chevrolet Corvette Logo, Up To The Corvette C8
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We’re still going gaga over the debut of the new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8, and why shouldn’t we? After all, with the next Vette’s departure from the tried-and-true front-engine platform, a layout that’s been in use for seven full generations, this is a true watershed moment for the legendary American sports car. Indeed, a new day is dawning on planet Corvette, with the sports car evolving, changing even down to even the smallest of details – including the Corvette logo. As such, we’re taking a moment to look at how the Corvette logo has evolved over the decades.
Corvette C1 Logo
While the Corvette logo has contained many of the same elements over the years, the way these elements have been presented has changed quite dramatically in the run up to the Corvette C8. Interestingly, the original Corvette logo was supposed to incorporate an American flag crossed with the black-and-white checkered flag used in motorsports. Unfortunately, restrictions on using the U.S. flag for commercial purposes prevented the red-white-and-blue from being used, so a red flag sporting a Chevrolet badge alongside a fleur-de-lis was used.
A fleur-de-lis is a stylized lily that includes three petals bound together near their bases. The symbol was particularly known as the former royal arms of France. But in the case of Chevrolet, the flew-de-lis was an acknowledgment of the ancestry of Louis Chevrolet – the founder of Chevrolet.
Corvette C2 Logo
The second-generation Corvette (C2) logo ditched the “Chevrolet Corvette” wording and moved the crossed flags into a more upright position.
Corvette C3 Logo
For the third-generation Corvette logo, the flags moved back down to their original position, angling out towards the sides, while new half-moon circles connected them on the top and bottom.
Corvette C4 Logo
The fourth-generation Corvette repositioned the flags to be side-by-side, with the checkered flag now taking up the spot on the left, and the colored flag placed on the right. The fleur-de-lis got the boot, while the Chevy bow tie took up the rest of the available real estate. The circular border also returned, while the logo became flatter and straighter than before.
Corvette C5 Logo
The fifth-generation Corvette logo was a return to form, with the two flags making a comeback. They are, once again, crossed at a sharp angle. The fleur-de-lis, meanwhile, returns near the Chevy logo, albeit in a slightly different representation.
Corvette C6 Logo
The sixth-generation Corvette logo switched the shape to a V-shaped design, retaining all the elements of the fifth-gen logo, but without the circular border. The fleur-de-lis is also present, but with a slightly different design over the C5’s logo.
Corvette C7 Logo
For the seventh-generation Corvette, the logo became much more angular, with the crossed flags unfurled at a 60-degree angle and the edges sharpened to points. The Chevrolet logo was angled and features a white/silver border around it, while the fleur-de-lis gets another modification to its design.
Meanwhile, the 2020 Corvette C8 logo merges the two flags along the same Y axis, with the Chevy logo and fleur-de-lis (which gets yet another revision) on the right. Like the C7 logo, the C8 logo is available in either a bright regular version or a Carbon Flash variant with blacked-out accents.
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I’m loovin this logo as much as I luv the C8…………
Love the new c8. How many c8 logos are on the 2020 inside and outside with car turned off?
Thanks.
Is it possible to buy the smal C8 Steeringwheel Emblem anywhere ??? regards
My question: Why do Chevy designers & marketers think the logo needs to be “updated” with every generation of car? The logos since the C4 debuted took the original design elements in a very abstract direction, to the point that the elements have seemed to have lost their meaning. Why? I look to three venerable builders of great sports cars and their logotypes and, behold, they haven’t changes over the decades:
– The Porsche badge is the same today as it was when created in the early 1950s; the Porsche script has changed only once when Butzi Porsche designed a new typeface for the company in the early 1960s. The badge elements include the shield of the city of Stuttgart and the symbols of the State of Wurtemburg, where the cars are built
– Enzo Ferrari used the black prancing horse on the yellow background (symbol of Stuttgart, Germany the home of a German WWI flying ace shot down by Italian Count Barraca, who then painted it on his air plane) back when he ran the Alfa Romeo racing team called Scuderia Ferrari (Ferrari Stables). The script developed for Ferrari’s own cars in the 1940s has not changed
– The Maserati Trident badge (copied from the Neptune statue in Bolonga, Italy where the Maserati brothers had their shop) has been the same, as has the badge script) since the 1930s. The Maserati script on the backs of their cars has been the same since they started building road cars in the 1940s.
I think Chevy looses some of the Corvette’s heritage when they keep changing the logo. The original had meaning, especially after the class wins at Sebring and other venues in 1956. That’s when the Europeans finally acknowledged that the Corvette was a serious competitor to anything made over there.
The Vette is a serious sports car. It doesn’t need iconographic hype to underscore its prowess. So, why keep changing the log? Go back to the original.