When it comes to beautifully designed cars, Vauxhall probably isn’t the first brand to spring to mind. Unlike the Rolls-Royces of the world, the sister brand of Opel is best known for its practical, budget-friendly vehicles including the famous Corsa. But it turns out the brand’s designs are slightly more interesting than we thought.
If you own a Vauxhall, you may (or, more likely, may not) have noticed that there’s a shark hiding inside it. Yes, you read that right – every Vauxhall since 2004 has featured a secret shark, and people are still only just discovering them. (Looking for design inspiration? Check out the best logos of all time.)
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The ultimate real life Easter egg has been doing the rounds on social media for a while now, and every time, the comments are filled with Vauxhall owners who had no idea the shark was hiding inside their car. And there’s no shortage of frustrated drivers who can’t find theirs. “Looked all over in my 2011 Insignia, cant find no shark anywhere,” one TikToker comments, while another adds, “Great, it’s half-12 at night and now I want get out of bed and search my car.”
Did you know… since 2004 we’ve hidden a shark somewhere in every #Vauxhall car. #ShareYourShark below👇 just don’t say where it is #VauxhallMokka #Vauxhall #EV pic.twitter.com/94lQ5dVonqOctober 7, 2021
So what’s the story behind the shark? The story can be found on the Opel website (opens in new tab). “One Sunday in 2004, Opel designer Dietmar Finger was at home drawing a design for the new Corsa. More precisely, the unspectacular outer wall of the glove box, which is covered most of the time by the closed passenger door. When the box is opened, this wall must provide stability, which is achieved with transverse ribs in the plastic surface. The designer now had to design these ribs. As he was in the middle of his design, his son walked by, took a look at the sketch and asked: “Dad, why don’t you draw a shark?” Why not? Finger thought to himself and gave the ribs the shape of a shark. An idea and a new tradition was born.”
Indeed, this is by no means the first design Easter egg that’s been hiding in plain sight over the years. From Nintendo’s secret message to Switch users to the Bluetooth logo’s hidden meaning, we’ve seen all sorts of weird and wonderful design mysteries come to light in recent months.
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