Audi

Audi have been making luxury cars and SUVs for more than a hundred years! Audi was started in Germany and has remained there to this day.

Audi’s history is one of the more interesting stories ever told in the history of the car industry. The Audi “four-ring” emblem symbolises the merging, in 1932, of four vehicle manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Wanderer and Horch.

1901 -- Early days

In 1899, August Horch (1868-1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in Cologne. Here he designed his first car, which was completed in 1901. The company moved to Reichenbach in 1902 and then to Zwickau two years later, establishing A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG .

The first Horch car eas released in 1901: it had a horizontal engine which developed about 4-5 bhp. An additional small piston in the engine was designed to absorb the vibrations of the crankshaft. Horch called this his “impact-free” engine. Another new feature was the alloy crankcase, a pioneering design.

1906 -- The Sulmobil is launched

1906 saw the launch of the “Sulmobil”, a three-wheeler with a 3.5 bhp motorbike engine! This was not a success! As a result, the first “Original Neckarsulm”, with a 1308 cc four-cylinder engine and 10 bhp, went into production.

1909 -- Dispute leads to the “Audi” name

In 1909 Horch got into a dispute with the supervisory board of A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG. Horch left the company he had set up. Then in 1909, he established, Horch Automobil-Werke GmbH, but Horch lost the legal dispute over the company name. A solution was found: the Latin translation of the name (the German word for “hark!”). The new company name, Audiwerke GmbH, became effective on 25th of April 1910.

1912 -- The “”Wanderer” is released

The first Wanderer car with a 5-12 bhp four-cylinder engine went into series production in 1913.

1921 -- Audi introduces left-hand drive

Right hand drive came from the horse and carriage, where the coachman sat on the right hand side! In 1921 Audi became the first German car manufacturer to create a car with left-hand drive seating, the “Audi Type K”.

1926 the first German eight-cylinder -- The “Horch”

In 1926 the “Horch” was released, this was the first German eight-cylinder car to go into volume production. The engine designed by Daimler was DOHC driven by a vertical shaft. With a displacement of 3132 cc. and output of 60 bhp

1931 -- The first mass produced car with front-wheel drive

In 1928 J. S. Rasmussen acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG. He had the DKW small car with front-wheel drive produced in large numbers at this company in Zwickau from 1931. This car also had a wooden body covered in imitation leather and the typical DKW two-stroke engine. This design formed the basis for one of the most successful German small cars of the 1930s, over 250,000 of which left the Zwickau plant up to 1942.

1932 -- Auto Union AG is established, front wheel drive launched!

On 29th June 1932, the four motor-vehicle brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer joined forces to create Auto Union AG, in Chemnitz. The new company group was able to serve all consumers, from light motorcycles to luxury saloon cars. At the Berlin Motor Show, Auto Union AG presented the new Audi, its first car with front-wheel drive.

1934 -- The Auto Union grand-prix cars

The new Auto Union had great success with a racing car design that was based on plans by Porsche. The sixteen-cylinder engine was installed behind the driver which had a very good effect on the car’s aerodynamics.

1937 -- Speed records!

The Auto Union racing cars were high-tech cars in their time. They stood for supreme achievements in motor-vehicle construction that concentrated above all on high-power engines, lightweight construction and aerodynamics. An Auto Union car with an output of 545 bhp, was the first to attain a speed of 400 kmh on a normal road!

1938 -- The First crash tests!

From 1938 Auto Union carried out crash tests, one of the first car manufacturers to do so.

1941 -- Armaments production

With the development and production of special vehicles for the military, Auto Union became an important supplier of vehicles to the army in the mid-1930s. Following the outbreak of war, civilian production was stopped in 1940.

1948 -- Dismantlement!

On the orders of the Soviet military administration in Germany, the plants of Auto Union were dismantled as reparations in 1945. Following this, the company’s entire assets were expropriated without compensation. On 17th August 1948 Auto Union AG of Chemnitz was deleted from the Commercial Register!

1949 -- A new start in Ingolstadt

Loans from the Bavarian state government helped a new car plant to be set up in Ingolstadt. Production of a small 125cc motorcycle and a delivery van started the same year.

1950 -- The first DKW passenger car after the war

In 1950 Auto Union produced its first post-war passenger car. This was the “Meisterklasse F89 P”, was available as a saloon and a four-seater “Karmann” convertible. Since the facilities in Ingolstadt were not adequate for the production of this car, Auto Union used the factory of Rhein-metall-Borsig AG in Düsseldorf. DKW vehicles were built there until the end of ’61.

1951 -- NSU motorcycle sets world record

As early as 1945, a modest number of motorcycles were built again. “NSU” motorcycles were state-of-the-art. In 1951 the motorcycle racer Wilhelm Herz set a new world record, reaching a speed of 290 kmh on a supercharged 500cc NSU motorcycle.

1953 -- DKW “Sonderklasse”

Auto Union launched a new three-cylinder model in time for the 1953 German Motor Show. This went by the name of “3=6 Sonderklasse”. The name 3=6 referred to the fact that a three-cylinder two-stroke engine had the power characteristic of a six-cylinder four-stroke engine thanks to twice the number of combustion cycles.

1955- NSU is the world’s biggest cycle manufacturer

In 1955, NSU announced a total production of more than 342,000 two-wheeled vehicles. This made NSU the world’s leading manufacturer of two-wheelers.

1957 -- NSU returns to car manufacturing

Following an absence of nearly thirty years, NSU returned to car manufacture in 1957. The company opted for a small car, designed for average earners. The “NSU Prinz” was SHOWN at the 1957 German Motor Show.

1958 -- Daimler-Benz takes over Auto Union

Daimler-Benz AG acquired the majority of and, subsequently, the remaining shares in Auto Union GmbH in 1958. From this date until 1965, Auto Union was a fully owned subsidiary of the Daimler Group.

1959 -- The start of the new plant in Ingolstadt

With Auto Union having stopped all motorcycle production activities in 1958, the new car plant in Ingolstadt went into operation in 1959, and in 1962 the Auto Union plant in Düsseldorf was sold to Daimler-Benz.

1963 -- The “NSU Prinz”

Known as the Wankel Spider, this amazing small open top, two-seater had a single-rotor rotary piston engine at the rear. NSU had been working together with Felix Wankel on a new engine concept since the beginning of the 1950s: instead of a reciprocating piston, a rotor compressed the fuel/air mixture.

1964 -- VW takes over Auto Union GmbH

Volkswagenwerk AG acquired the majority of shares in Auto Union GmbH in 1964. The Ingolstadt-based company became a fully owned VW subsidiary from the end of 1966.

1965 The name Audi is reborn -- The VW buyout

All work on the two-stroke engine ended when Auto Union became part of the VW Group. A four-cylinder four-stroke engine developed previously under Daimler-Benz -- known as the ‘medium-pressure’ engine -- was installed in the last “DKW model F 102″ and presented as an Audi in 1965.

1967 -- NSU presents the Ro 80

In 1967, NSU presented the “NSU Ro 80″. Featuring a 115bhp twin-rotor rotary piston engine. Its modern body was ahead of its time. The NSU caused a sensation, but was unable to help the Wankel principle make the hoped for breakthrough.

1968 -- The “Audi 100″

In 1968, this model, took Audi into the competitive upper mid-size class area. The Audi 100 quickly became a best-seller and formed the foundation for a new Audi series that ensured the future independence of Audi.

1972 -- The “Audi 80″ is launched

In 1972, Audi presented the Audi 80. This car used a four-cylinder OHC engine which was later also adopted by the VW Group. The Audi 80 was a hit. Over a million were built and sold within six years.

1974 -- “Audi 50″

1974 saw the launch of the Audi 50, the smallest car in the Audi model range and Audi’s answer to the energy crisis of the early 1970′s. Six months after the appearance of the Audi 50, this model was also launched as the “VW Polo”.

1980 -- “Audi quattro” a four-wheel drive sensation

In 1980, a four-wheel-drive sports coupé caused a sensation at the Geneva Motor Show. The Audi quattro was the first high-performance car with four-wheel drive. The permanent four-wheel-drive system in the Audi quattro enjoyed worldwide success in motor sport and found its way into the entire Audi model range!

1982 -- Audi 100

The third-generation Audi 100 outclasses the rest of the automotive world in the area of aerodynamics.

1986- Fully galvanised

The third generation of the Audi 80 was now also given a fully galvanised body with a ten year warranty.

1988 -- “Audi V8″

This new model was fitted with a 250 bhp 3.6-litre eight-cylinder alloy engine. Technical details included permanent four-wheel drive, four valves per cylinder and a four-speed, electronically controlled auto transmission. Audi’s first true luxury car

1989 -- Audi turbodiesel with direct injection

After over 13 years in design, Audi succeeded in making diesel direct injection, which had previously only been used on trucks. In conjunction with a turbo-charger, it was also possible to achieve an extremely low-loss combustion process which resulted in very economical fuel consumption. In 1989, the Audi 100 was presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show with a 2.5-litre five-cylinder TDi engine.

1991 -- Audi Quattro Spyder & Audi Avus Quattro

Audi presented two sports car studies in 1991: the Audi quattro Spyder, and the Audi Avus quattro. The consistent use of aluminium for the bodies of these two model studies made reference to the future use of lightweight construction at Audi.

1993- The AUDI Space Frame

For some years Audi had been working on the development of a lightweight aluminium production car. The aluminium study known as the Audi Space Frame. The body used new design principles: extruded aluminium sections connected together by die-cast nodes form a frame structure into which aluminium panels are integrated, where they have a load-bearing function.

1994 -- “Audi A8″

In 1994, Audi presented its new model in the premium segment, the Audi A8, at the Geneva Motor Show. This was the first production model with all-aluminium body. At the same time a new naming process was introduced for the Audi models. From then on the Audi 80 was known as the A4, the Audi 100 was called the A6. They were followed in 1996 by the Audi A3, the first representative of the compact class. Production of the Audi A2, the first volume-built aluminium car, commenced in June 2000.

Audi TV -- (50 videos!)

This article was written on Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
It's filed under: "Car guides"

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