German Car Zone

Audi FAQ

AUDI AG can look back on a very colourful and varied history. Its tradition in car and motorcycle manufacturing dates back to the 19th century. Both the brands once resident in Saxony - Audi and Horch in Zwickau, Wanderer in Chemnitz and DKW in Zschopau - which merged in 1932 under the sign of the Four Rings to form Auto Union, and the Swabian company NSU from Neckarsulm, which joined in 1969, enriched the German automotive industry and had a decisive influence above all on the technical development of the motor car. The technically innovative image of the two brands, Audi and NSU, led ultimately to the slogan coined in 1971 which still applies today: Vorsprung durch Technik.

Which companies were a part of Auto Union?

Audi
Audi cars, which had been built in Zwickau since 1910, were regarded from the start as technically avant-garde midsize models.
DKW
In 1907 Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen started a company in Zschopau to manufacture apparatus and fittings.
Horch
Horch cars had been built in Cologne since 1900, in Reichenbach since 1902 and in Zwickau since 1904.
Wanderer
The fourth ring referred to the Wanderer automobile division, which also joined the new Auto Union AG in 1932.
NSU
NSU started motorcycle production in 1901 and began to build cars five years later.

When was Horch found?

On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868 - 1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. Here he developed his first car, which was completed at the beginning of 1901. The company moved to Reichenbach in Saxony in March 1902 and converted to a share-issuing company two years later, which involved a further change in location. On 10 May 1904, A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG was established in Zwickau.

When was Audi found?

In 1909 August Horch was involved in a dispute with the supervisory board of A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG. Horch left the company he had set up. Shortly after, on 16 July 1909, he established a second company, Horch Automobil-Werke GmbH, in the same city. Horch lost the legal dispute over the company name. However, a solution to the problem was found: the Latin translation of his name (the German word for “hark!”). The new company name, Audi werke GmbH, became effective on 25 April 1910.

What are the main events in Audi's history?

1899: Engineer August Horch founds A. Horch & Cie. at age 32 in Cologne. Horch presents his first car two years later
1903 Horch 12-cylinder Sport Cabriolet with cardan-shaft drive. Magnificent technology combined with seductive elegance.
1909: Horch falls out with his board and starts another car company. Banned from using his own name again, he chooses Audi, the Latin translation for the word that means "hark!" in German
1932: The four Saxon motor-vehicle brands -- Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer -- merge, forming Auto Union AG, based in Chemnitz
1934: Auto Union's reputation soared on a successful racing car designed by Ferdinand Porsche. A 16-cylinder engine was installed behind the driver, boosting the vehicle's aerodynamics
1945: The Soviet military dismantles and expropriates Auto Union's plants in Saxony as war reparations
1949: Horch and his partners set up a new car company, Auto Union GmbH in Ingolstadt
1964: VW takes over Auto Union GmbH. The Audi brand is reintroduced a year later
1972: The Audi 80 becomes a smash hit, selling over a million cars within six years
1980: Audi Quattro, a sports coupe, becomes the first high-performance vehicle with four-wheel drive
1986-87: Audi is slammed in the U.S. by customer charges that unintended acceleration caused accidents
1988: The new premium Audi V8 (250 hp) throws down a gauntlet to Mercedes and BMW
1994: The launch of the first Audi A8 with an all-aluminium body, a first for a passenger car
1998: Audi TT coupe debuts
2002: Walter de Silva recruited to Audi as chief designer from Italy's Alfa Romeo
2002: Audi launches second-generation A8 luxury sedan, winning accolades as best car in class
2006: Audi re-writes motorsport history books when the R10 TDI became the first diesel-powered car to win the world's toughest race, the Le Mans 24-Hours.

Who are the major shareholders of Audi AG?

Volkswagen AG owns 100% of Audi.

Links
1- Official site: www.audi.de
2- Audi History:
http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en2/abo...g/history.html
http://www.seriouswheels.com/art-four-rings-1.htm
http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/audi.html#whyaudi
3- Audi museum mobile: http://www.museummobile.de
4- Horch Museum: http://www.horch-museum.de
5- Audi Films: http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en2/exp...ure_sound.html
6- Audi Wallpaper: http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en2/exp...e_gallery.html
7- Audi Books
Audi: A History of Progress
Audi quattro: The Evolution of Audi All-Wheel Drive
Driving Forces

Very Impressive I think there will be a FAQ war to see who has the best one

Great link additions

That's a good little history lesson on AUDI. Thanks Yannis.

I am not finished yet. This is only 50% of what you are going to see.

An interesting aside - One of the two existing Auto Union D-Types (driven by Nuvolari) will go on auction next year, and may fetch the highest price ever for a car at auction.

More Information Here

Fantastic job Yannis & Osnabrueck

I know Audi has some patents out there, I'd like to see them??? Any information about where I can learn more???

Audi has thousans of patents but i don't think that it's possible to find them online.

Here are some technical articles with some information about audi innovations:

Audi A8: http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/a06-02-15.pdf
2.7 V6 biturbo: http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/2.7...-SelfStudy.pdf
1.8T engine: http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/SAE1-1.8T-ULEV.pdf
Audi R8's (Race car) V8 biturbo FSI engine: http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/1_lemans.pdf

More here: http://www.ibiblio.org/tkan/audi/audi.html