Audi's Centenary

The Audi emblem with its four rings symbolises the amalgamation in 1932 of four previously independent car manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. These companies formed what is known today as Audi AG

AUDI AG is able to look back on an exciting and varied past - its tradition of automotive and engine manufacturing extends back into the 19th century. The Audi brand established a tradition of sporting accomplishments at the very outset. Thanks to his victorious involvement in the Austrian Alpine Run between 1911 and 1914, August Horch succeeded in making Audi a household name internationally within the space of just a few years. The notably successful Audi Type C 14/35 hp even acquired the nickname "Alpine Conqueror".

First left-hand drive vehicle in Germany
In 1921 Audiwerke AG took the motoring world by surprise by unveiling the new Audi 14/50 hp Type K, Germany's first left-hand drive car. In making this move, Audi spread its net beyond merely engine and suspension technology and began to channel more energy into the areas of driving safety and ease of operation. The Type M, with a six-cylinder engine, followed in 1923 and the first eight-cylinder Audi model, the Audi Imperator, appeared in 1927.

In August 1928 Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen, owner of Zschopauer Motorenwerke/DKW, acquired a majority interest in Audiwerke AG, the following year merging the Zwickau based company with his own business empire. When the global economy plunged into crisis in October 1929, sales of large car models with six and eight-cylinder engines collapsed. Rasmussen responded by commissioning Audi to develop a small DKW car with front-wheel drive, and this model was launched highly successfully in 1931. The Audi plant also assembled DKW Front models, in a measure designed to protect jobs.

Four rings - symbol of a merger
At the behest of the State Bank of Saxony, which realised that its investment in Saxony's car industry was in peril, Audiwerke, Horchwerke and Zschopauer Motorenwerke/ DKW merged to form Auto Union AG on June 29, 1932. The new entity simultaneously concluded an agreement with Wanderer Werke on the purchase and lease of Wanderer's automotive division. The new group chose Chemnitz for its registered office. The symbol of this merger was four rings, the design that serves as the Audi logo to this very day.

Following its creation, Auto Union AG was the second largest motor vehicle group in Germany. The brand names Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer were retained. Each of the four brands within the group was assigned a specific market segment: DKW for motorcycles and small cars, Wanderer for mid size cars, Audi for cars in the deluxe mid size segment, and Horch for luxury cars at the top end of the market. To raise its public profile, in 1934 the new company decided to get involved in motor racing at the very highest level - Grand Prix - and over the next few years saw its Auto Union "Silver Arrow" models clinch countless races, championships and world records on race tracks around the world.

The Audi brand - the first ring in the new alliance of companies
One of the keys to the success of the still young Auto Union was the allocation of a specific market segment to each of the individual brands in order to create a coordinated model range. Specifically for the Audi brand, this prompted the development of the Audi Front Type UW, a mid size car through which the new group was for the first time able to make use of synergy benefits.

The principal feature of the new Audi was its front-wheel drive. DKW's experience in the domain of front-wheel drive had simply been translated into a mid size vehicle. Its power unit was a Wanderer 2-litre, six-cylinder engine developed by Ferdinand Porsche, the body of the saloon version came from Horch's body shop, and the Cabriolets were built by the renowned Dresden coachbuilder Gläser.

The Audi Front Type UW - the designation means a Type U with Wanderer engine - finally went into production in the early part of 1933. One year later, Audi's production operations were transferred to the nearby Horch plant in order to free up capacity at the Audi plant for the rising production output of DKW Front models. With technically revised features and equipped with a tuned-up 2.3-litre Wanderer engine, the new Audi Front 225 was unveiled at the 1935 Berlin Motor Show and remained on the market until 1938. The successor model, the Audi 920, likewise exhibited the hallmark features of a modular system. The chassis, which had now reverted to conventional rear wheel drive, and the modern styled body were largely borrowed from the sixcylinder Wanderer W 23 model. This elegant car had a straight-six OHC engine developed by Horch, while the rear axle adopted the DKW floating axle principle. The first specimens of the new car left the production line at Auto Union's Horch plant in December 1938. The Audi 920 rapidly became a hit with customers. This success was brought to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of the Second World War. Production of civilian vehicles was slashed and the group's operations switched to the production of armaments. The last Audi of this era was completed in April 1940. There would not be another for a quarter of a century.

A new start in Ingolstadt
In 1945, after the war had ended, Auto Union AG's premises were located in the zone occupied by the Soviet forces, who dismantled the plant. Operations were re-launched in Ingolstadt, and led to the founding of a new company named Auto Union GmbH on September 3, 1949.

The first products with the four-ring badge built in this era were well established DKW models with two-stroke engines. These basic but robust and reliable cars and motorcycles were just right for the austere circumstances of the post-war years. The DKW F 89 L rapid delivery van and the DKW RT 125 W motorcycle were unveiled at the Hanover Export Fair in early 1949. These models established automotive manufacturing in Ingolstadt. In parallel, the company was working on a DKW car, which went into production at a new plant in Dusseldorf in summer 1950.

From 1954 onwards, Friedrich Flick gradually acquired a large stake in the equity of Auto Union GmbH. His strategy was to find a strong partner for Auto Union in the medium term. In April 1958, Daimler-Benz AG acquired 88 percent of Auto Union's shares and in the following year the Ingolstadt company became a fully owned subsidiary.

The rebirth of the Audi brand
In persisting with two-stroke engines, the company saw sales of DKW models gradually dwindle throughout the early 1960s. Daimler-Benz responded to the situation by adapting Daimler's own four-cylinder, fourstroke engine for use in the new DKW F 102 model. This new Auto Union model appeared on the market in 1965, the brand's first post-war car with a four-stroke engine.

Along with this dawning of a new era, it was felt that the time was ripe for a new product designation. It thus came about that the traditional name Audi was resurrected. This car line remained in production until 1972, undergoing a few technical and optical modifications along the way.

But a new era had dawned in Ingolstadt in another sense, too, because the company had become part of the Volkswagen Group in 1965. The new bosses forbade Ingolstadt's engineers from developing models of their own. Their grand plan was to use Ingolstadt's production capacity for building the VW Beetle. But they had reckoned without Ludwig Kraus, at that time Head of Development and member of the Board of Management, who decided to proceed with the development of a new Audi model on the quiet. The resulting model, which the group management in Wolfsburg ultimately sanctioned, was first presented to the international press in Ingolstadt in November 1968. Its name, Audi 100. The Audi 100 was the first vehicle to have shaken off all genetic links with the former DKW models. The huge success of this new Audi proved its creators right. The Audi 100 also helped Auto Union to preserve its separate identity.

The first generation Audi 80 (B1 series) was launched in 1972, with a glittering array of new technical features such as an OHC engine series and self-stabilising steering roll radius. By the time production of this first generation ceased, over one million units had been built. 1974 saw the gradual rising of the Audi brand's positioning. The five-cylinder engine (1976), turbocharger technology (1979) and quattro four-wheel drive (1980) all followed in this successful period.

The last NSU Ro 80 left the assembly line in March 1977, which signalled the disappearance of the NSU Brand, which dated back more than 100 years.  Audi created a sensation in 1980 with the launch of the Audi quattro, the first volume production car with permanent four-wheel drive. Audi’s rally sport activities served to underline the revolutionary nature, and superiority of its quattro concept. The company underwent a change of name from Audi NSU Auto Union AG to AUDI AG in 1985. The company's headquarters were moved back to Ingolstadt.

In 1986, the new Audi 80 with fully galvanised body was launched. 1988 saw the appearance of the V8, Audi’s first luxury class car, with a 3.6-litre V8 and four-valve technology. Audi heralded in a new era in the nineties with the presentation of the first aluminium Audi in March 1994, as the successor to the Audi V8. The new model designation A8 signalled a radical shift in Audi’s model naming policy. The A6 followed, with the new A4 being launched in November 1994. In Autumn 1995, Audi produced its next trump in unveiling the sports car studies TT Coupe and TT Roadster: these concepts blending distinctive automotive design based on nostalgic throwbacks with modern styling features and technology. 1996 saw the A3 launched and a year later the new A6. The Audi TT Coupe and Audi TT Roadster production models were launched in 1998 and 1999. June 2000 and the futuristic Audi A2 was launched. At the Paris Motor Show of the same year, Audi revealed the 12-cylinder A8. In 2002 the Audi Cabriolet and the second generation Audi A8 reflected the brand's sporty nature, which was further rounded off by the Audi RS6.

The highlight of 2003 came at the Frankfurt Motor Show, with the unveiling of the LeMans Quattro, with a 610 bhp mid-engined sports car. The new generation Audi A3 likewise made its production debut in 2003. A completely new concept was added to the model line in summer 2004: the five-door A3 Sportback. And a new generation of cars made their debut in a further two model lines as well, with the A6  and the new generation of A4, A4 Avant and S4 models launched in September 2004. 2005 was the year that celebrated 25 years of quattro. With the Audi RS 4 sports car and the high performance Audi Q7 SUV,  presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Another product highlight was the new Audi A6 Avant, which many consider to be one of the most attractive Audi cars ever built.
No less than three new S models celebrated their debuts in 2006: the S6 and S8 driven by two new 10-cylinder units with FSI petrol direct injection, and the S3 a 265-bhp 2.0 TFSI engine. The Audi Q7 was launched in 2007. 2007 also saw the new R8 mid-engined  sports car, and the debut of the Audi A5 Coupe.

The Audi A4 Avant premiered in 2008, and under its guise, Audi brought out its most powerful model to date - the Audi RS6 and the twin turbo V10 engine. Audi also expanded its SUV range with the Q5 at the end of 2008. While Audi has often been referred to as the third  luxury German brand, it has undergone a metamorphesis incorporating many technical innovations, excellent petrol and turbo diesel engines, and stunning design in the manufacture of luxury  cars with eight and twelve-cylinder engines. These are just some of the milestones posts that document the emergence of the Audi brand as a manufacturer of genuine premium and performance cars.

AUDI TIMELINE
1899: August Horch left his job at Mercedes-Benz to found August Horch and Co in Cologne, Germany.
1900: Horch builds his first car.
1908: His company was building more than 100 cars a year.
1909: Horch left his own company to found another - Audi Automobilwerke GmbH
1919: The Audi Type K incorporated left hand steering and a centrally located gear shift.
1926: The eight cylinder Horch 303 was revealed at the Berlin Auto Show
1931: Horch revealed a 12 cylinder V engine, yellow lacquered Cabriolet at the Berlkin Salon de Paris.
1932: Horch, DKW, Wanderer and Audi linked forces to create Auto Union AG. The union was symbolised by four rings. It was Germany’s second largest automobile manufacturer. Horch held over 50 percent of the premium market.
1935: One of the co-founders of the Auto Union was Baron von Oertzen. He emigrated to South Africa in 1935, and was the first to market German cars on three continents - Asia, Africa and Australia.
1939: Every fourth car registered in Germany was made by Auto Union.
1945: Following the Second World War the Auto Union plants in Soviet-controlled areas were dismantled by the military.
1949: Directors of Auto Union reacted by building a new company - Auto Union GmbH, based in Ingolstadt. The new Auto Union concentrated on DKW delivery vans and motorcycles. Car production commenced again in 1950.
1956: A plastic bodied DKW set new long distance records on the Monza race track in Italy, completing over 4,000 miles in 48 hours and 5,000 miles in 72 hours. The first DKW Junior was built.
1964: Auto Union was absorbed by Volkswagen. From 1965 to 1969 VW Beetles were produced at the Audi Ingolstadt plant.
1965: Audi launched its first post war four-stroke engine. Over the next 3 years the medium sized Audi 75, the Audi Super 90 and the Audi 60 compact were launched.
1968: The first Audi 100 was unveiled.
1969: Auto Union GmbH and NSU_Motor Works formed a joint company - Audi NSU Auto Union AG.
1976: First five cylinder petrol engine was introduced in second generation Audi 100.
1977: The one millionth Audi 100 was produced. Production of the NSU R080 stopped after a production run of 10 years.
1980: Introduction of high performance Audi quattro Coupe.
1985: Audi NSU Auto Union was renamed Audi AG.
1986: Audi introduced full galvanised, rust resistant bodies.
1988: Audi Turbo introduced
1989: First direct injection diesel engine with a turbo-charger introduced by Audi.
1989: Audi duo hybrid system previewed.
1990: Seven millionth Audi produced at Ingolstadt. Fourth generation Audi 100 introduced.
1994: Premiere of the aluminium Audi - the A8.
1995: TT_Coupe and TT_Roadster concepts revealed.
1997: New Audi A6
1998: Audi TT Coupe launched
1999: Audi TT_Roadster launched.
2000: Audi A2 launched. Audi A8 V12 launched.
2003: Pikes Peak quattro all-terrain concept
2003: LeMans quattro unveiled. New A3 launched.
2004: A6 introduced, and new generation A4, A4 Avant and S4 models.
2005: 25th anniversary of quattro. RS_sports car and Q7 SUV presented at Frankfurt Motor Show.
2006: Audi Q7 launched. Three new S models (S6, S8 and S3) introduced. RS 4 Series Avant and Cabriolet also introduced. Next generation TT and A6 allroad quattro premiered. Two door A5 Coupe debuted, as did next generation Audi A4.
2008: A4 Avant debuted. RS6 twin turbo V10 introduced, and  the large Q7 SUV was joined by the smaller Q5 SUV. A3 Cabriolet introduced.
2009: A5 Sportback introduced at Audi 100th anniversary celebrations.

Source: JUST CARS, October 2009,  Collectors Issue #164