From Horch to Audi in 100 years

The Audi museum mobile at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt in Zwickau, Germany, is holding an exhibition to mark the centenary of the Audi marque until July 16.

For the event, entitled 'From Horch to Audi - The history of perfection has a new name', historic cars have been collected from all over Europe. Visitors will be able to admire 13 cars dating from before World War II, including the first model to bear the Audi name, a 1911 Audi Type A, and a world premiere - the 1935 Audi 225 Front Special Roadster which was recently rebuilt. Both cars, and many other exhibits as well, are the only examples to be seen anywhere in the world.

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, which were combined to form Auto Union in 1932. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, both made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. The modern-day Audi AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985.

Audi AG can look back on a very varied and often turbulent history. Before the end of the 19th century, August Horch established a company known as Horch and Cie. Motorwagen Werke in Cologne. In 1902, he moved it to Zwickau in Saxony, and in 1904 it was reorganised into a joint-stock company.

In 1909, following a dispute with the members of the executive and supervisory boards, August Horch left the company and a few weeks later established a second automobile manufacturing operation, also in Zwickau. Since he could not use his own name, which was a registered brand, he chose a Latin translation instead: the German word 'Horch!' (meaning 'listen') became 'Audi'.

The use of this Latin imperative was suggested by the son of one of August Horch's business partners, a student of Latin, who had followed the discussion about a new name with interest. Car production began on a small scale, true to Horch's basic principle of building only "good, strong cars", but only a few years later Audi had already developed into one of the best-known German automobile brands.

It enjoyed success in competition from the very start. Victories in Austrian Alpine Rallies between 1911 and 1914 made the Audi name familiar on the international scene. The Audi Type C 14/35 PS was especially successful, and acquired the name 'Alpine Victor'.

The stories pertaining to each car at the exhibition have become a storyboard, and this in turn takes the form of a comic strip. Each page deals with anecdotes, special occurrences and legendary landmarks in the Audi company's history. The choice of name, the dismissal of August Horch, the first eight-cylinder model, the pioneering adoption by Audi of left-hand drive in Germany, the competition for the first Audi radiator badge, acquisition by DKW and the subsequent creation of Auto Union - the chronicle continues until the point when, on the outbreak of war, Germany's second-largest automobile manufacturer had to cease production of passenger cars for the general public.

Car enthusiasts will see outstanding examples from Audi's early history, above all the timelessly elegant Audi Front Roadster, on display for the very first time. Only two specimens of this prototype were built in 1935, and both have disappeared. Audi Tradition supplied an original chassis to the specialist Zinke company in Zwönitz, which built a replica body with only photographs as a guide.

The second-oldest exhibit, an Audi Type E built in 1913, also has a dramatic tale to tell. Its 55-hp engine, with a displacement of 5.7 litres, is the largest built by Audi during its Zwickau period. This model remained in production until 1924. Two examples are to be seen in the exhibition, one from the first and one from the final production batch. Although they have similar open tourer bodies, the changes introduced over an 11-year period can be clearly seen.

In 1931 Audi began to build the Type P, the first small car in the brand's history. For many years it was believed that none had survived, until 2003, when one was found in a barn in Ludwigsburg. Its documents indicated that the last owner had been the mayor of a town in the Swabian region of Germany and that the car had been taken off the road in 1955, to spend almost half a century like Sleeping Beauty waiting to be reawakened.

Following extensive restoration in the Latvian capital Riga, Audi is now able to display this unusual car again - the sole surviving Type P. This first major Audi centenary exhibition is rounded off by cars produced by the Auto Union after its establishment and up to 1940 - two different Audi Front 225 models dating from 1935 and the last Audi to appear before the outbreak of war, the 1939 Audi 920.

If you're in town, the Audi museum mobile at the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is open from Monday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The August Horch Museum in Zwickau is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.