History of the Audi car brand
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History of the Audi car brand

Some of the most famous cars in the world are the models produced by Audi. The brand is included in concern VAGas a separate unit. How did the German car enthusiast manage to organize his small business to become one of the world's foremost automakers?

Founder

The history of Audi begins in 1899 with a small enterprise, which consisted of eleven employees. The head of this small production was August Horch. Prior to that, the young engineer worked at the plant of the leading automobile developer K. Benz. August started with the engine development department, and later he headed the production department, producing new cars.

History of the Audi car brand

The engineer used the experience gained to found his own company. She was named Horch & Cie. She was based in the city of Ehrenfeld. Five years later, the company became a joint stock company, headquartered in Zwickau.

1909 was an important milestone in the creation of the most famous automotive brand today. The company creates an engine that has brought many problems to both the head of the company and his partners. Since August could not come to terms with the disagreements in the team, he decided to leave him and found another company.

History of the Audi car brand

Horch tried to name the new firm by his own name, but his competitors challenged this right. This forced the engineer to come up with a new name. It didn't take long to think. He used the literal translation of his surname into Latin (the word "Listen"). This is how the future auto giant Audi was born in the history of the automotive industry.

Emblem

The four-ring logo appeared as a result of the global crisis. No automaker could create its own models in the usual way. Many companies needed loans from state banks. However, loans were very low and interest rates were too high. Because of this, many faced a choice: either to declare bankruptcy, or to conclude a cooperation agreement with competitors.

Something similar happened with Audi. Not wanting to give up, and also in an effort to stay afloat, Horch agreed to the terms of the Saxon Bank - to merge with some companies. The list includes contemporaries of the young company: DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Since four firms had equal rights to participate in the development of new models, this was the logo chosen - four intertwined rings of the same size.

History of the Audi car brand

So that no one companion interferes with the others, each of them was assigned a separate class of vehicles:

  • Horch was in charge of premium cars;
  • DKW was involved in motorcycle development;
  • Audi was responsible for the production of racing sports cars;
  • Wanderer produced mid-range models.

In fact, each brand continued to work individually, but all had the right to use the common logo of Auto Union AG.

In 1941, a war broke out that cut off oxygen to all automakers, with the exception of those who worked on the creation of military equipment. During this period, the company lost almost all of its warehouses and factories. This made the management decide to collect the surviving remnants of the production, and transport them to Bavaria.

Post-war reconstruction began with a car parts warehouse in Ingolstadt. In 1958, in order to preserve the company, the management decided to come under the control of the Daimler-Benz concern. Another milestone in the history of the automaker is 1964, when the transition is made under the leadership of Volkswagen, where the brand still exists as a separate division.

History of the Audi car brand

The main department decided to keep the name of the Audi brand, which saves it, because in the post-war period, no one needed sports cars. This was the reason why, until 1965, all vehicles were marked with NSU or DKW.

In the period from 69th to 85th, a badge with a black oval was fixed on the radiator grille of cars, inside which there was an inscription with the name of the brand.

Vehicle history in models

Here's a quick tour of the German automaker's history:

  • 1900 - the first Horch car - a two-cylinder engine was installed under the hood of the car, the power of which was up to five horsepower. The maximum transport speed was only 60 km / h. Rear-wheel drive.
  • 1902 - modification of the previous car. This time it was a transport equipped with cardan transmission. Behind it comes the 4-cylinder model with 20 hp.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1903 is the fourth model to appear in Zwickau. The car received a 2,6-liter engine, as well as a three-position transmission.
  • 1910 - Official appearance of the Audi brand. In that year, the first model appeared, which was named A. Over the next twenty years, the company updated its models, the brand gained popularity due to the creation of efficient and fast cars, which often took part in races.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1927 - the sporty Type R is released. The car accelerated to 100 kilometers per hour. The power of the power unit had an identical figure - one hundred horses.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1928 - DKW takes over, but the logo remains.
  • 1950 - the first post-war car of the Auto Union AG brand - the DKW F89P car.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1958-1964 the company goes under the leadership of various automakers who did not care much about preserving the original brand. So, initially, the management of the VW concern was not interested in the development of the acquired brand, so the company's production facilities were engaged in the release of the popular at that time "Zhukov". The head of the design bureau does not want to put up with the current situation, and secretly develops his own model.History of the Audi car brand It was a front-engined car, the unit of which was equipped with water-cooling (at that time all cars were rear-engined with air cooling). Thanks to the development, VW switched from boring humpbacked small cars to exclusive and comfortable cars. Audi-100 received a sedan body (2 and 4 doors) and a coupe. In the engine compartment (this was already the front section of the body, and not the rear-engine modification, as before) an internal combustion engine was installed, the volume of which was 1,8 liters.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1970 - The increasingly popular cars were also equipped with automatic transmissions.
  • 1970 - conquest of the American market. The Super90 and Audi80 models are imported to the USA.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1973 - the famous 100 received a restyled modification (how restyling differs from the new generation, told separately).History of the Audi car brand
  • 1974 - The style of the company changes with the arrival of Ferdinand Piëch as chief designer of the department.
  • 1976 - development of an innovative 5-cylinder internal combustion engine.
  • 1979 - Development of a new 2,2-liter turbocharged power unit completed. He developed a power of two hundred horses.
  • 1980 - Geneva Motor Show presented a novelty - Audi with a “quattro” key on the trunk lid. It was a regular 80-piece car that could be equipped with a special transmission. The system had four-wheel drive. They have been developing for four years. The model made a splash, because it was the first light vehicle with all-wheel drive (before that the system was used exclusively in trucks).History of the Audi car brand
  • 1980-1987 The logo of four rings is gaining popularity due to a series of victories in the WRC class rally (for more details about this type of competition, see in a separate article).History of the Audi car brand Due to its popularity in the automotive world, Audi began to be perceived as a separate automaker. The first victory, despite the skeptical opinion of critics (the fact is that the four-wheel drive car was much heavier than its opponents), was brought by the crew, consisting of Fabrice Pons and Michelle Mouton.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1982 - start of production of four-wheel drive road models. Prior to this, only rally cars were equipped with the Quattro system.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1985 - the independent company Audi AG was registered. The headquarters was located in Ingolstadt. The division was initiated by the head of the department, F. Piëch.
  • 1986 - Audi80 in the back of B3. The "barrel" model immediately attracted motorists for its original design and lightweight body. The car already had its own platform (earlier the car was assembled on an identical chassis as the Passat).History of the Audi car brand
  • 1993 - the new group began to include British (Cosworth), Hungarian, Brazilian, Italian (Lamborghini) and Spanish (Seat) small companies.
  • Until 1997, the company was engaged in facelift of finished models 80 and 100, expansion of the range of motors, and also creates two new models - A4History of the Audi car brand and A8.History of the Audi car brand In the same period, the creation of the A3 was completedHistory of the Audi car brand in the back of a hatchback, as well as an executive sedan A6History of the Audi car brand with a diesel unit.
  • 1998 - the only car that was equipped with an internal combustion engine powered by diesel fuel appears on the market - the Audi A8. In the same year, the TT sports car in a coupe body was demonstrated at the Geneva Motor Show, which the following year received a roadster body (the features of this body type are described here), turbocharged engine and automatic transmission. Buyers were offered two options - front or all-wheel drive.History of the Audi car brand
  • 1999 - The brand debuts at the XNUMX-hour race at Le Mans.
  • The 2000s were marked by the brand's entry into a leading position among automakers. The concept of "German quality" has come to be associated with machines of this brand.
  • 2005 - The world receives the first SUV from a German manufacturer - the Q7. The car had permanent four-wheel drive, 6-position automatic and electronic assistants (for example, when changing lanes).History of the Audi car brand
  • 2006 - The R10 TDI diesel wins the XNUMX-hour Le Mans competition.History of the Audi car brand
  • 2008 - The circulation of the brand's cars exceeded one million in a year.
  • 2012 - The European 24 hour race is won by Audi's hybrid R18 e-tron equipped with the Quattro system.History of the Audi car brand

Recently, the company has been the main partner of the Volkswagen concern, and has provided significant financial support to the well-known auto holding. Today, the brand is engaged in the improvement of existing models, as well as the development of electric vehicles.

History of the Audi car brand

At the end of the review, we propose to get acquainted with the rarest models from Audi:

TOP 5 MOST RARE AUDI!

Questions and answers:

Which country produces Audi? The brand is operated by the German parent company Volkswagen Group. The headquarters is located in Ingolstadt (Germany).

In which city is the Audi factory located? Seven factories where Audi cars are assembled are located in different countries of the world. In addition to factories in Germany, assembly takes place at factories in Belgium, Russia, Slovakia and South Africa.

How did the Audi brand appear? After an unsuccessful cooperation in the automotive industry, August Horch founds his own company (1909) and calls it Audi (a synonym for Horch - "listen").

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