Audi guide
The 'Four Rings' formed 1899
Back in Zwickau 1909, August Horch came up with an idea, Audi. This name is still the original trading name since 1910.
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In German 'Horch' translates as Listen! To this day this remains Audi's policy and has always been paramount. There goal was to build and design for the luxury car market. This success was achieved in the International Austrian Alpine Rallies, 1912 was when the victories started and continued to 1914, this confirmed that high performance matched with luxury would give the German company a winning brand. |
1909 Horch & Cie
In 1909 there was in a dispute between August and the Supervisory board of A. Horch & Cie - Motorwagen-Werke AG. Shortly after Horch left what he had created.
However, on in 1909 on July 16th he fomed a second company Horch Automobil-Werke GmbH, in the same city as a direct competitor. August tried to fight for previous name but lost the legal battle. A solution presented itself: the Latin translation of Horch (German for “hark!”) Audiwerke GmbH, starting on April 25th 1910.
Left hand drive
This was the dawn of the left hand drive motor car, up until now Right-hand drive had been as common as horses and carriages. In 1921 September Germany's first ever car manufacturer, Audi. became pioneers of another commonly seen idea.
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The company became the first to release a left-hand drive production car, the Type K. This new position gave drivers a greater view of the road making it easier to see oncoming cars & hazards it also making it safer to overtake. |
By the turn of the 1920's this was the standard.
8 Sport Cabriolet
In 1927, The 8 Sport Cabriolet was released a two door car with two side windows with two Dickey seats in the rear.
1932, brought the Type 780 the equivalent to the 8, this car suceeded sucessor, inturn the 853 was released due to popular demand.
Wanderer W25 K
A performance sportscar with a relatively high top speed and extremely responsive acceleration. The W25 K was inspired and designed by Ferdinand Porsche, with its 2 litre 6 cylinder engine it was capable of 85 bhp, this was aminly due to its supercharger. This new, US influenced racing car, performance and styling were inspired by the W51. This car went onto create the backbone of Auto Union's range.
Audi 100 Coupé S
The Audi 100 Coupe was released after the saloon version. The new model featured flair and a contemporary Italian design, it was debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1969. The Coupe Scame came standard with wide tyres, adjustable steering wheel, vented front discs and a limited edition interior.
Audi Quattro
The Audi Quattro made its first appearance at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show. It was the first car to demonstrate four wheel drive as a permanent drive system.
The car as soon as it was released dominated Rallying with its 4 wheel drive system known as quattro, note the lower case q, the system it utilised was already used by off-roaders such as Land Rover. The combination of a sports saloon with 4 wheel drive uprated suspension and racing rims was a triumph. The basic principle was a hollow-shaft designed central differential, that allowed power to be fed between both the front & rear axles of the auto.
After the introduction of this new system, the German car manufacturer went from strength to strength, intrun releasing an array of performance all wheel drive cars these included the S8 and Audi RS 4 & RS 6.
The new millenium
The RS models released through out the last eight years have dominated their various car markets, with such cars as the RS4, but now the new series of R autos are with us, named after the Le Mans styles racing cars. Theses include the R8 the R4 even maybe an R10 and more recently the A1 and Q7 SUV.
The R8
This flagship Audi Supercar was released in 2007, a car like no other it comes with a mid mounted V8 Lamborghini Murcielago engine.
It costs around £85,000 and features dry sump lubrication, R Tronic, performace pack, ASF space frame design, FSI technologies and a monoposto interior, it demonstrates aerodynamics never seen before and makes the most awesome noise.. |
