Prince Motor Company was a Japanese automobile manufacturer that operated from 1952 until its merger into Nissan in 1966. The company’s visual identity centered on a stylized letter “P” emblem, derived from the first letter of the Prince name.
Design and History
The Prince Motor Company’s emblem was based on the letter “P” from the Prince name. Japanese automotive sources describe the mark as a stylized interpretation of the “P” character, used on the company’s vehicles throughout its production years.[1]
The “P” emblem appeared on Prince vehicles from the early 1960s onward. The second-generation Skyline, introduced in 1963, carried a simple stylized “P” emblem.[2] The mark was also applied to engine components, with the “P” appearing throughout the G7 engine used in the Skyline 2000GT.[3]
During the mid-1960s, the “P” emblem was refined. The S54B Skyline, produced from 1964, introduced a new design of the “P” mark that replaced the earlier version partway through the second-generation Skyline’s production run.[4]
After the 1966 merger with Nissan, a combined Nissan/Prince emblem was introduced. This monogram combined stylized “N” and “P” letters into a single cypher, derived from the earlier single-letter “P” Prince logo. The combined mark was intended to pay respect to the Prince marque’s history as it came under Nissan’s ownership.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The “P” emblem directly referenced the Prince brand name. The company adopted the Prince name in 1952 to honor the formal investiture of Crown Prince Akihito, and the letter “P” served as the brand’s identifying monogram.[6]
An unusual episode in the emblem’s history occurred at the 1960 Turin Auto Show. The Prince Skyline Sport Coupé, designed by Giovanni Michelotti, was displayed with a “T” emblem in place of the “P” because of a complaint from NSU, which argued that the Prince “P” was too similar to its own NSU Prinz branding. The front emblem was hastily swapped to a “T” for the Turin show.[7]
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