There are many logos with hidden images inside of them. For example, the FedEx logo has a forward arrow hidden between the “e” and the “x.” And Amazon’s logo has an arrow that goes from the name’s A to its Z.
However, some logos have hidden images that the company would probably rather not be associated with. For example, one Biotech company’s logo went viral after internet users realized that it looked eerily similar to the Umbrella Corporation’s logo from Resident Evil.
Now, a user on TikTok is making a similar claim about Porsche’s iconic logo.
What’s wrong with Porsche’s logo?
In a video with over 15.8 million views, TikTok user @roppversioon shows a screen with a video of a vehicle from Porsche.
“I’m just casually watching video, filmed today, and I have so many questions to Porsche,” he says, pointing at the video.
The video then shows the car moving forward. As it does, the black and white Porsche logo begins to rotate faster—inadvertently creating what appears to be a Swastika, a symbol associated with the Nazi Party.
“Porsche kept this secret hidden for 80 years,” the text overlaying the video reads.
What is Porsche’s relationship with Nazi Germany?
The idea that a quickly-rotating Porsche wheel may produce a Swastika is not new. In fact, a video from 2019 “testing” the idea currently has over 1.8 million views on YouTube.
Porsche was founded in 1930, amid the height of the Great Depression and the growth of Nazi powers in Germany. Per Auto Week, Hitler commissioned founder Ferdinand Porsche to design a military “Volkswagen” called the Kübelwagen for use by the Nazi German military during World War II. Porsche himself joined both the Nazi party and the SS in 1937.
Porsche, his son Ferry, and son-in-law Anton Piëch were arrested by French authorities in December 1945 over war crimes, as there are reports the factory utilized slave labor. Ferry was released after six months, while Porsche and Piëch had to make bail before their release.
Is this intentional?
However, while early iterations of Porsche did operate in Germany under Nazi rule, there is no reason to believe that the results produced in this video were intentional.
As detailed on Porsche’s website, the history of the logo’s design is a result of the area where the brand was created. The horse on the logo comes from the city seal of Stuttgart, the German city where the company was founded. The red-and-black stripes (changed to white-and-black for monochromatic versions) are derived from the coat of arms of the Free People’s State of Württemberg of Weimar Germany.
@roppversioon ♬ original sound – RoppVersioon
Additionally, Porsche didn’t add the logo to their hubcaps until 1959, more than a decade after the end of World War II.
Furthermore, the Swastika is only apparent when the logo is filmed rotating at certain speeds with certain frame rates. To the naked eye, the appearance of the icon is invisible, making it even more difficult to believe that such a creation was intentional.
In the comments section, users shared their thoughts about this design, intentional or otherwise.
“To be fair the Porsche logo remained the same since 1931,” observed a commenter.
“This is why I have a Toyota,” stated another.
The Daily Dot reached out to Porsche via email and @roppversioon via Instagram and TikTok DM.
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