Audi: Truth in Engineering

The distinctive four rings of the Audi logo tell a story about the automaker’s past that brought four different companies together to make one unified luxury automaker that is still going strong today. Audi is a member of Germany’s “big three” luxury automakers that also includes Mercedes Benz and BMW, which together are the three best selling luxury automakers in the world.

Audi vehicles are produced in nine different factories located throughout the world. The automaker has roots that go back further, but the company and brand were established in Chemnitz, Germany in 1932. Audi has been part of the Volkswagen Group since 1966 and its brand gained prominence in the mid-1990′s with the introduction of the A4 and A6 models, which helped lead to major sales gains.

Audi has a long history of producing passenger cars, but its most significant racing car was the four-wheel drive Audi Quattro that was introduced in 1980. It quickly became one of the most successful rally cars of its time and Audi’s all-wheel drive quattro system has been an option on most Audi models since the 1990′s.

History of Audi

Audi has roots that go back to 1885 when the Wanderer automobile company was established. The evolving company ran into a problem when the CFO at the time, August Horch, was not allowed to use his last name as the company’s name because it was already taken. During a meeting with two friends, one of his friend’s sons came up with the name “Audi” which was a Latin translation for the German name, Horch. The name stuck and the first Audi automobile, the Audi Type A 10/22 hp Sport-Phaeton was produced in 1910.

Audi produced many in-line 4-cylinder engine cars during the earlier years with a standard 2,612 cc model Type A going up to a large 5,720 cc engine. Audi produced its first in-line 6-cylinder engine in 1924 (a 4,655 cc engine).

In 1932, Wanderer, the original Horch automaker, DKW and Audi all merged to become Auto Union AG. The company introduced the 6-cylinder front-wheel drive Audi Front that same year. This merger led to the development of the logo with four rings that Audi still uses today. Audi Union AG concentrated on producing smaller cars leading up to the dismantling of the factory at the end of World War II.

Daimer-Benz took control of Audi Union AG in 1958-1959, but Volkswagen eventually gained control of the company in 1964-1966 and production of the first modern day Audi cars began. The four-stroke Audi F103 eventually led to the production of the Audi 60, 75, 80 and Super 90 models. It was not easy for Volkswagen to go along with the production of a competing brand, but Audi Union AG engineers designed the Audi 100 in secret, which led to the resurrection of the brand in the late 1960′s and early 1970′s.

The Audi V8 was introduced in 1990 in an effort to go after the BMW and Mercedes Benz customer base, marking a dramatic shift in the company. This helped propel the company into the position of a luxury automaker with performance characteristics.

Innovations

1) In 1921 Audi became the first German automaker to introduce a car with left-handed drive, the Audi Type K. Left-handed drive spread in the 1920′s and was thought to give the driver a better view of oncoming traffic.

2) The Audi Front became the first 6-cylinder front-wheel drive car when it was released in 1932.

3) The Audi Quattro was the first all-wheel drive turbocharged rally car that gave Audi a reputation for innovation and technological advancements in rally car racing. It was developed in 1980 and eventually went into production as the first German car to offer all-wheel drive through a center-differential.

The Audi 5000

The Audi 100 C3 model was imported to the United States as the Audi 5000. The car was was at first well received, but a 60-Minutes TV spot falsely accused the Audi 5000 of having an issue with unintended acceleration. A series of recalls for the acceleration problem plagued the automaker between 1982 and 1987, putting a damper on Audi 5000 sales and moving the model forward. Audi’s U.S. sales went from a robust 74,061 cars in 1985 to only 12,283 in 1991, due in large part to the effects of the unintended acceleration issue.

The Audi A4

The Audi A-Series was developed in late 1994 to replace the 80,100,200 and other series of Audi’s lineup of cars. The A4 was the first Audi model to feature Audi’s new 1.8 liter 20 valve 4-cylinder engine. The small turbocharged power plant was capable of producing 168 HP and was essential for Audi to carve a niche in the 4-cylinder automobile marketplace. The Audi A6 and A8 were introduced to compete in the luxury sedan marketplace.

Audi also debuted their tiptronic automatic transmission with the A-Series of vehicles. The transmission combines a conventional automatic gearbox with a torque converter that allows the driver to have a manual selection of gears.

The Audi TT

The Audi TT is a two-door sports coupe that has been in production since 1998. The first Audi TT models were powered by two different 20 valve 4-cylinder engines (178 hp and 222 hp versions). Later in 2003, a 3.2 liter six-cylinder VR6 engine producing 247 hp was added as an option. The Audi TT Quattro Sport achieves 246 hp from the 1.8 liter 20 valve 4-cylinder engine, allowing it to produce a 5.9 second 0-100 km/hr acceleration time and an electronically limited top speed of 155.3 mph.

The Audi TT comes in roadster or coupe variations. A newer Audi TT RS Plus model comes with a 2.5 liter inline 5-cylinder turbocharged engine that produces 360 hp and propels the car from 0-100 km/hr in only 4.3 seconds.

The Audi R8

The Audi R8 was developed by quattro GmbH, a subsidiary of Audi AG, using the aluminum Audi Space Frame as its foundation that is base to the Lamborghini Gallardo platform. The race car Audi R8 prototype was first unveiled at the 2003 International Geneva Motor Show. The R8 was introduced to the public in 2006, powered with a 4.2 liter V8 engine that produced 414 hp. All models have come standard with an all-wheel drive quattro drive train.

The Audi R8 5.2 FSI Quattro was an ultra-high performance version introduced in 2008. It added even more power to the R8 with a V10 engine that can produce 525 hp and a 0-100 km/hr acceleration time of only 3.9 seconds. This R8 can reach a top speed of 196.4 mph. Good thing the car has had a good reputation for being one of the best handling road cars of its time.