Chevrolet 'bow-tie' world's biggest

... using a paddock as its shirt to announce Chevrolet's centenary and refreshed entrance into the European market.

The 600sq.m bow-tie logo is in a field near the Frankfurt airport and points to the city's motor show - the world's biggest - which starts next week. Visible from the windows of aircraft on approach to the airport, the logo is the size of a house and is in a ploughed field within the airfield grounds.

It has been created to celebrate the centenary of Chevrolet. The American brand was established in 1911 by Swiss racing driver Louis Chevrolet and American engineer Billy Durant, and marks its 100th birthday on November 3, the day the company was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan  the traditional home of the American car industry.

The famous Chevrolet gold bow-tie was first used in 1913, and there are various rumours as to how it came into being.

The most common is that it was originally taken from a wallpaper design in a French hotel by Billy Durant, though members of the Durant family also claim he first drew the logo on a napkin after finishing a bowl of soup.

Other suggestions to its origin are that it represents the cross on the flag of Switzerland, Louis Chevrolet's birthplace, or was taken from an advertisement for coal products seen by Chevrolet in a newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia.

Whatever its origin, the bow-tie is one of the best known symbols in industrial and motoring history and has served Chevrolet in many different forms for 98 years.

Chevrolet is now the fastest growing car brand in Europe. In 2011 it had global first half-year sales of 2.35 million vehicles - its best ever six months.