Story German company AUDI for production cars goes back to the beginning of the last century. The company has a rich history. Today it is part of the Volkswagen concern, headquartered in Ingoldstadt.
So who appreciates the exceptional German quality, is obliged to know some details from the family tree of his swallow - "Audi". Otherwise, what kind of master are you? Read - remember! Know who's driving you.
Audi was founded in 1909 by August Horch. Its roots go back to the now non-existent, but no less famous firm Horch (“Horch”), which shone in the German sky during the Third Reich. It's time to remember the best Soviet films about the war, where new cars of Soviet brands were disguised as "horch".
In 1899, the talented inventor and businessman August Horch founded the company Horch and Company in Mannheim, which moved to Zwickau 4 years later. In 1909, he built a new, but alas, very unsuccessful 6-cylinder engine, which almost brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. This, of course, did not please his companions at all and they decided to deal with the zealous inventor, expelling him from his own firm.
"Zum Teufel!" - said August and immediately founded another company nearby, which, of course, also bore the name "Horch". His former partners filed a lawsuit against Horch demanding that the name of the company be changed. The opponents won: according to a court decision, the new car company could not bear the name Horch.
"Zum Teufel!" - repeated August Horch and again found a way out. He translated his own surname, which means "listen", into Latin. It turned out AUDI. Thus, in 1909, the famous trademark and the no less famous Audi company were born.
The first car called Audi-A was produced in 1910. On next year followed model Audi-B. Horch exhibited three such cars in June 1911 at the first Auto Alpenfarth race in the Austrian Alps, which replaced the famous runs for the prize of the German Prince Heinrich. In 1913, the most famous model- "Audi-S". In 1912, the first samples were seriously tested at the next Alpine races and achieved good results, for which the cars of the C series began to be called "Alpenziger", or "Conqueror of the Alps", one of the Audi website clubs tells us.
On such an AUDI, we would not have gone far. 4 cylinders with a 3.5-liter engine, which has crankshaft rotated on three supports and was slightly shifted to the side from the axes of the cylinders. A conventional cone clutch had a leather friction surface. The wooden body on the chassis with a base of 2900 and 3200 mm was open with an elongated and pointed rear.
During the years of the global economic crisis, Audi had to merge with another company. In 1928 the company was acquired German DKW(DKW), Audi owner became Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen. In 1932, a new economic crisis prompted a number of German firms to create a concern Auto Union("Auto Union"). It included, along with DKW and Wanderer ("Wanderer"), former rival firms "Horch" and "Audi". The concern released two models equipped with front-wheel drive and Wanderer engines.
After World War II, Audi and other Auto Union partner firms were nationalized. They were transformed into a subdivision of the Association of People's Enterprises for the Production of Automobiles. In 1949, Auto Union was reformed by attracting a majority of the shares of Mercedes-Benz. In 1958, Daimler-Benz AG acquired a controlling stake in Auto Union, but then sold it to Volkswagen. After the transfer in 1965 of a controlling stake to Volkswagen ("Volkswagen"), the name Audi was revived. Shortly after this event was released new car with front-wheel drive, and by the end of 1968 Audi returned to the market, having good assortment models and enviable sales statistics. Four circles were retained as an emblem, symbolizing the 1932 merger of the four companies.
Model "100", which appeared on the market in 1968, as well as its followers, including the famous Audi Quattro, featured a sporty profile and 4-wheel drive, which was an advance in automotive industry Germany. It was the Quattro model, which appeared in 1980, that gave a powerful impetus to the development automotive industry and brought the company Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, worldwide fame. In 1969, Volkswagen bought the Neckarsulmer Automobilwerke (" car factory in Neckarsulm, NSU). As a result, the name of the company changed, the company became known as Audi NSU Auto Union, and in the summer of 1985 the name of the company was transformed back into Audi AG. In 2000, the company opened its museum in Ingolstadt, which displays 60 car models.
Today, Audi, which is integral part concern "Volkswagen", is experiencing a rapid rise. Such success was made possible thanks to the new developments of the company, including the Audi A8 model with a body that deserves the highest praise.
The multifaceted, eventful history of the famous car brand"Horch" has its roots in the 19th century. On November 14, 1899, the talented German engineer August Horch founded his own vehicle manufacturing company, Horch & Cie, in Cologne. Motorwagen Werke. A year later, the Horch brand saw the light, distinguished by design innovations. Subsequently, August Horch became one of the first famous automotive designers in the world.
August Horch
The future talented engineer and successful entrepreneur was born on October 12, 1868 in the city of Winningen, in the family of a blacksmith. The family of August Horch could not boast of prosperity, and therefore he had to work from the age of 13. Having changed several types of occupations, the purposeful and quarrelsome Horch was not inspired by any of them and in 1888 he decided to enter the Saxon Engineering School. Compensating for the lack of knowledge, the persistent young man successfully graduated from an educational institution and got a job first at a foundry, and then at the design department of a shipbuilding company, where he first encountered engines internal combustion.
His life changed dramatically after he got into motorcycle racing in 1896. At that time it vehicle was a marvel of technology. Horch asked the mechanics a lot about motorcycles and by the evening decided to write a letter with detailed information about yourself and applying for a job in Benz. Not expecting a quick response, August was pleasantly surprised when he soon received the news that he had been accepted and should immediately begin work. The 27-year-old Horch was appointed assistant chief in the engine building department, but after four months, thanks to diligence, he was put in charge of car production.
Foundation of the company
Four rings - four brands
The innovative approach and constant search for new solutions of August Horch in the design of cars required constant financial injections. This did not please the shareholders in any way and led to constant disagreements. Horch considered participation in motor racing the best advertisement for trademark. The company's cars became regular participants in the competition, and the designer often got behind the wheel himself.
The world of speed requires constant investment and growth. So, in 1906, the company released a new model ZD. german car"Horch ZD" with a 5.8-liter engine and a light sports body was specially assembled for participation in the prestigious races of Henry of Prussia. Unsuccessful performance in the competition led to an aggravation of an already difficult relationship with shareholders, who were extremely dissatisfied with sales previous model Horch Z. The stubborn designer rejected any proposed compromises, fully defending his point of view. As a result, in the summer of 1909, under pressure from shareholders, Horch left the company he founded, but a month later, in the same Zwickau, he registered a new company, August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH.
Two firms with an almost identical name and almost on the same street outraged the owners previous company. After the trial, which Horch lost, the question of a new name arose. During a discussion about this at a friend's house, the owner's son, who was studying Latin, simply translated Horch from German into Latin. This is how the name Audi appeared, and later - and Audi company Automobilwerke GmbH.
Familiar today four AUDI rings appeared much later. Influenced by the economic crisis of the early 1930s, the four companies decided to merge into one concern, Auto Union AG. The association included Horch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW. The emblem in the form of four rings symbolized the union of these four companies and had to be present on all cars of the concern. Horch and Audi made the Wanderer - middle class, DKW - budget and small cars. There is an erroneous opinion that the Horch car is the same as the Audi, just renamed over time. The fact is that after some time, three of the four representatives of the concern ceased to exist. Only Audi remained, which inherited the emblem.
Most Popular Models
by the most popular models"Horch" are rightfully considered cars with four-cylinder engines medium volume. Sales volumes of cars with larger displacement engines (sports, executive) have always been lower for several reasons. The exception was the models produced from 1937 to 1940 (851/853/853A/855/951/951A). It was these solid representative cars that were remembered as a symbol of the Horch brand. The car (the 1939 photo below proves it) looked great.
In addition to the production of civilian passenger cars, Horch had considerable experience in the production of military vehicles. One of the most famous is the medium multi-purpose vehicle "Horch 901" off-road. This machine was produced from 1937 to 1940 under the target program of the Wehrmacht to equip the army four-wheel drive vehicles three types: light, medium and heavy.
Post-war decline of the company
Starting from the mid-1930s, the management of the company by August Horch was of a formal nature. He became more and more social activities, occupied whole line leading posts. After the war, the city of Zwickau remained in the territory controlled by Soviet Union. The enterprises were nationalized and became part of the IFA, although for some time cars under the Horch brand were still produced, for example, the executive model 930S.
Horch cars in chronological order
The model range of civilian passenger cars by years can be seen in the table below.
Release years | Engine and number of cylinders | Working volume, l |
|
10 M 20 (10/35 PS) | |||
10 M 25 (10/50 PS) | |||
Type 303/304 (12/60 PS) | |||
Type 305/306 (13/65 PS) | |||
Type 350/375/400/405 (16/80 PS) | |||
Type 420/450/470/720/750/750B | |||
Type 480/500/500A/500B/780/780B | |||
851/853/853A/855/951/951A |
Now you know the history of these amazing cars and their talented creator.
Horch-850. Car of Walter Schellenberg January 27th, 2013
Schellenberg performed by Oleg Tabakov arrives at the Tempelhof airfield. As his car real car Schellenberg Horch-853A. In the background is an AN-2 with German identification marks applied to it.
Walter Schellenberg
August Horch
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the creation and production of automobiles became a prestigious business that brought money and fame. Automotive firms appeared by the hundreds, but went bankrupt by the hundreds. Their names, like the names of the owners, are now forgotten by almost everyone, and only a very few managed to leave a noticeable mark on the history of the car. One of those few was August Horch.
He was born on October 12, 1868 in Winningen, on the Moselle, in the family of a blacksmith. At sixteen, he got a job at a car building plant in Heidelberg, where he was engaged in more than a prosaic business - with sledgehammer blows, he pressed steel bandages onto the wheels. However, already in 1900 he was the owner of his own automotive company, which, changing and renaming, has turned into the present existing brand Audi. But today our story is not about him, but about a car named after him.
The crown of creativity Horch and considered to be a car Horch-850. This car was created as a car for Hitler. But Hitler preferred the 770th Mercedes. However, despite this, the rest of the German leadership - and Goering, and Bormann, and Himmler, and Ribbentrop, used this particular car. Moreover, if you not only watched the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, but also read the book of the same name by Yulian Semyonovich Lyandres, better known under the pseudonym “Semyonov”, then you remember that the book Stirlitz, unlike the movie one, did not drive a Mercedes- 230, namely Horch e. Indeed, Horch in those years, it cost from 13 thousand 900 to 20 thousand 850 Reichsmarks, depending on the type of body, and the salary of the Standartenführer ranged from one and a half to four thousand, depending on the place of service. The then Reichsmark is equal to the current 10.39 dollars. So Stirlitz, if he weren’t a miser who, out of stinginess, didn’t even have mistresses, he could well afford not a mass-produced “gelding”, but a luxurious Horch, however, most likely only in basic configuration. Otherwise, his boss Walter Friedrich would have looked askance at him Schellenberg, who himself then - in the late 1930s - was not yet a brigade, but a standartenführer. At the time of the publication of the first Horch a 25 year old Schellenberg was only a regirungsrat, which in Germany roughly corresponded to the pre-revolutionary Russian rank of collegiate assessor. A Horch Schellenberg purchased in April 1939 for 18,250 Reichsmarks.
First serial Horch-850 walked out of the factory gate Horch-Werke in Zwickau (the same Zwickau, in which Trabants will later be made) on June 18, 1935, and its first series was immediately sold out by the German rich, who had been waiting for its appearance for almost half a year, because on February 11 its pre-production sample was presented at the Berlin Motor Show. By the way, then this pre-production copy was in an accident, after which it was converted into a fire truck.
The executive car, equipped with a Glaser convertible body with a bold fender line and headlights the size of a human head, looked very majestic. Horch-850 had a length of 5 meters 35 centimeters, and his radstand, as the Germans call wheelbase, was 3450 mm. The width of the car reached 183 centimeters, which was rare in those days.
A dense awning, a powerful stove and a ceiling lamp for interior lighting created comfort in a convertible that is quite acceptable even by modern standards. The comfort in a limousine from the Erdmann & Rossi bodywork company could well compete with that in cars of our time. Of course, it did not have those bells and whistles that are present now, but the softness of the seats and the smooth ride made the trip pleasant and not tiring.
The car package included a radio, a bar, folding table, as well as a set of several travel suitcases and an umbrella engraved on the handle with the company logo of four rings, like an Audi. It differed from the Audi logo only by the inscription "Auto Union".
The car was equipped with a 4944 cc inline eight-cylinder engine. cm. The diameter of its cylinders was 87 mm. Piston stroke - 104 mm. Initially, its power was 100 hp, but in 1937 it was increased to 120. This modification was called Horch-853A. This is the car I bought Schellenberg.
Horch of one of the St. Petersburg collectors
Ironically, it was this car that played itself in the movie. Remember frame when Schellenberg meets SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Friedrich Otto Wolf who arrived from Germany? This event actually took place on March 16, 1945. At the Tempelhof airfield, two cars were waiting for Wolf at the same time: one was a prison car with armored doors and three thugs from the guards of the Gestapo underground prison. The role of this machine was played by the Soviet UAZ-452 . In another car sat SS Brigadeführer, Reich political intelligence chief Walter Schellenberg. And three thugs in black, with degenerate faces, and an intelligent, handsome man, dressed for this occasion in a dandy general's uniform Schellenberg. A ladder was rolled up to the door of the landing Dornier, and instead of handcuffs, Wolf's hands clenched his fingers Schellenberg A. The jailers in this situation did not dare to arrest Wolf - they only followed the car Schellenberg A. The SS Brigadeführer took Wolf to the apartment of General Fegelein, the husband of Eva Braun's sister and Himmler's personal representative at the Fuhrer's headquarters.
So, this very car was Horch-853A, previously actually owned Schellenberg y. Shortly after the event described above, Soviet troops took Berlin on May 1, and on May 3 Schellenberg flew to Copenhagen to negotiate peace through the mediation of the head of the Red Cross, Duke of Västerbotten, Gustav Adolf Bernadotte. On the 6th of May he flew to Stockholm with official authority to conclude a truce in Scandinavia. However, the British command rejected the mediation of the Swedish Red Cross, and Schelenberg's last mission failed.
After the surrender of Germany, Schelenberg lived for some time at the Villa Bernadotte in Sweden. However, already in June 1945, the allied command achieved his extradition as a war criminal. During the trial, all charges were dropped from him, except for membership in criminal organizations, as well as involvement in the execution of prisoners of war. April 11, 1949 sentenced to six years in prison. In December 1950, he was released on parole for health reasons. After that Schellenberg lived in Switzerland and then was forced to move to Italy for liver surgery. However, on the eve of the operation on March 31, 1952, he died suddenly without finishing his memoirs.
The car outlived its owner for a long time: being among the trophies Soviet troops. Soon the famous Soviet ace Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin became its owner. However, for Pokryshkin
he turned out not the only car. In 1950 he was given ZiM, and in 1959 he moved to the Volga GAZ-21. Unused Horch stood in the garage for a long time, until in 1968 Pokryshkin donated it to the Mosfilm film studio. And so, during the filming of "Seventeen Moments of Spring" this car played itself.
Production Horch ov stopped in February 1940. A total of 768 copies were produced. Only a few have survived to this day, and one of these units is a car. Schellenberg.
And the history of the company Audi closely associated with the name of August Horch, a talented design engineer and one of the pioneers of the German and global automotive industry.
August Horch Born October 12, 1868 in Germany in the small town of Winnenden. The family was not rich, his father was a blacksmith. He did not consider the education of his children a priority. At the age of thirteen, school was over, and August began to help his father in the forge. Blacksmithing did not inspire August, after three years he left home and got a job at a wagon factory in Heidelberg.
In his youth, August Horch changed four or five jobs. At the age of 20, in 1888, Horch entered the Saxon engineering school (technical school) in the city of Mitweida, and after graduating he went first to work at a foundry in Rostock, and then in the design department of a shipbuilding company in Leipzig. Here, for the first time, fate brings him together with internal combustion engines, which Germany, and in particular this plant, needed to create torpedo boats as a new class of military ships of that time.
In 1896, an event occurred that, in the end, turned his whole life upside down. He first got into motorcycle racing and with lust and envy watched motorcycles race. After that, he went over to talk to the technicians involved in these apparatuses, which bore little resemblance to those we see today. And here Horch had a desire to get into one of the companies whose motorcycles were presented at these competitions.
And August Horch simply wrote a letter to Karl Benz (the inventor of the automobile), where he asked to be hired by Benz & Cie. Horch did not even think that this writing of the letter would end with something, but a few days later he received a letter and then a telegram with a request to come to Benz himself, appear before him and start work.
But disappointment awaited him at Benz & Cie. Karl Benz instructed him to deal with internal combustion engines, but those that are stationary (generators, etc.), and August Horch wanted to deal with cars. But Benz was adamant.
However, this did not convince Horch at all, and already on the first day he made his way to the laboratory where cars were being developed. It was not a huge hangar, but just a few small sheds, but there was a big guard standing at the entrance. He told Horch that only people with special access could enter. But Horch did not lose his head and convinced the guard that he was Karl Benz's personal assistant.
Horch entered the laboratory, began looking at everything, talking to the engineers. Suddenly, at some point, everyone was silent and Horch, turning around, saw that Karl Benz was standing in front of him. “What the hell are you doing hanging around here? - Benz flashed - You have nothing to do? Why without my permission?” . It was a complete dressing down with a ban on appearing in the laboratory.
Horch abandoned this idea for a while and did not even dare to pass by these sheds where cars were developed. But, in the end, after four months, his success in the field of creation stationary engines internal combustion led to the fact that Benz invited him to deal with cars. August Horch finally begins to do what interests him. After some time, he headed the department of car design.
Benz didn't pay much attention to the quality of his first cars, but demanded improvements in their reliability. In turn, Horch insisted that the development of the automotive industry move towards increasing the power of cars and their speed. And here they had their first conflict. Horch argued that it was necessary to increase power, create new engines, work with the transmission, Benz said - No, let's refine what we have, make it reliable and make money on what we already know how to produce.
Horch was helped by one of the co-owners of the Benz company, Julius Hans. He took responsibility and gave the green light to the creation of new engines for Benz cars. The very first engine, created by Horch, showed an incredible result for that time: a car with a new engine overtook a train.
In the end, Horch grew into a man who began to get along closely with the great designer and inventor of the car, and he realized that he could create his own company. Constant conflicts led to the fact that he found an investor (a person who gives him money) and left Benz. Benz almost on his knees begged him to stay, because. understood that a young and promising engineer could breathe life into his brainchild, but Horch refused.
In 1899, August Horch created the company “A. Horch & Cie” with a staff of 11 people. At first, they were only engaged in repairing other people's cars. But a year later, the first car appeared with a front-mounted two-cylinder engine with a capacity of 4-5 liters. With. Drive on rear wheels carried out using an archaic belt drive.
A few months later they rolled out their second car. It was the first car in Germany with cardan transmission, with aluminum crankcase and gear box with high alloy steel gears. To create a two-cylinder engine with a power of 10-12 hp, a talented engineer Fritz Seidel was involved. There was no end to customers, the number of employees of the company increased to ninety people.
Two years later, in 1902, Horch moved the firm first to Reichenbach, and two years later to Zwickau. The company turned into a joint-stock company with an authorized capital of 140 thousand marks - a very impressive amount at that time.
The main goal of life at that time, August Horch put making money. In 1909, the company's turnover was over half a million marks. The company introduced a strict system of fines. A latecomer for 15 minutes was fined 25 pfennigs, a half-hour delay was 40 pfennigs. The work shift lasted more than 10 hours.
In 1906, a new luxurious six-cylinder model (60 hp) was introduced. The first buyer of this car was the Sultan of the island of Java. The Horch Z with a 22-horsepower engine was also popular - 307 copies were sold.
Knowing perfectly well that you need to somehow promote and advertise your cars, stimulating sales, and wanting to raise the prestige of your brand, Horch began to take part in races. And here the unexpected happened. Was created new model Horch ZD with a 40-horsepower 5.8-liter engine, equipped with a lightweight body and exhibited at prestigious races.
He lost the race, sales began to fall, and this caused a split in Horch's relationship with shareholders. The reason was not so much the defeat in the race as the idea put forward by the designer to create a load-bearing body and the use of new materials. Stubborn and quarrelsome Horch did not want to hear about any compromises. In the end, he is kicked out of the company and paid him a release of 25 thousand marks, while the racing Horch ZD cost 15 thousand. That is, he was left with nothing.
Without leaving the city of Zwickau, a month later, Horch founded new company with almost the same name - August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. The existence of two firms similar names, and even on one street was unacceptable for the owners of the former Horch company. A legal battle began, which Horch lost. The court ordered him to change the name of his new company.
Truth speaks through the mouth of a child. In one of the protracted discussions, Horch with his colleague and partner about the new name of the company, the ten-year-old son of a partner, who studied Latin and was tired of the screams and arguments of adults, loudly said: “Audiatur et altera pars!”“Listen to the other side, too!” And then colleague Horch realized that “ horch” in German it means the same as “ audi” Latin for "listen". New firm was registered under the name of Audi Automobilwerke GmbH. The Horgh company continued to exist in the form in which August Horch left it.
Before the outbreak of the First World War, Horch was mainly engaged in the development of new cars. Particularly memorable was the Audi C 14-35, with a power of 35 hp, which received the nickname “ Alpensieger” (Conqueror of the Alps). This car won a multi-day racing event in the Austrian Alps, the prototype of modern rallies. In 1913 and 1914, the same cars brought the company victories in the team standings, and in the last pre-war race, five Audis came to the finish line with clean credit sheets at once.
But with the outbreak of the First World War, he begins to gradually move away from the design of cars. He begins to like being an official and August Horch literally collects positions in various state and near-state structures. After the war, he finally retired from the company and moved to Berlin. The patience of Audi shareholders finally came to an end and by the decision of the meeting, Horch was removed from the leadership of the company, leaving him only a membership in the supervisory board.
The economic crisis of the early 30s led to the fact that interest in cars fell. In 1932, four German car companies - Audi, Horch, DKW And Wanderer- merged into a group Auto Union , which became the second automaker in Germany. From here came the emblem of four rings, where each ring symbolized one of the four manufacturers. August Horch himself was appointed chairman and member of the supervisory board of the concern. He again “with indescribable excitement” and with tears in his eyes entered the gates of the factory that bore his name Horch and from where he was expelled at one time.
Under the purely formal leadership of Horch in the 30s, the concern produced a wide range models, each of the four brands was allocated a separate market segment. Occupying several important positions in the government of Nazi Germany at once, Horch still did not join the Nazi Party, which allowed him to avoid any persecution after the war.
Shortly before the end of the war, Horch gradually retires from all positions. He died in obscurity, forgotten by everyone in 1951 at the age of 83.
In 1965 year Audi became part of the Volkswagen Group. In 1985, the company changed its name from Audi NSU Auto Union AG to AUDI AG. In 1993, the Audi Group was formed, which included the Hungarian and Brazilian divisions and some automakers were absorbed. Modern Audis have a wide the lineup and excellent reputation all over the world.
Names in the automotive industry:
how August Horch founded two car companies and lost them
Today we remember August Horch as one of the pioneers of the German automotive industry, a brilliant designer, an engineer-inventor who founded two automobile companies, one of which is still flourishing today is Audi. But at one time, Horch was also famous for something else - his complex character of the quarrelsome. person. The engineer ascended to the heights and fell from them twice.
text: 5 wheel / photo: wikipedia.org, petrolicious.com / 27.07.2018
The childhood of August Horch was not easy. He was born in 1868 in the family of a simple blacksmith and at the age of 13 he was forced to leave school for the sake of work. He helped his father, pressed steel tires on the wheels with sledgehammer blows at the car building plant, and did all sorts of rough work. Only at the age of 20 was Horch able to return to his studies, enrolling in the autumn of 1888 at the Saxon Engineering School in Mittweide.
August Horch (1868–1951)
its long and thorny path In the automotive industry, August Horch began by taking a job as a production manager for Karl Benz. But after only three years, Horch decides that he has gained enough experience and can start his own business. With financial support, he opens the company A. Horch & Co with a staff of 11 employees and already in 1900 produces his first car. Things are going uphill, the staff is growing and in just two years the second car with a two-cylinder 10-horsepower engine leaves the walls of the enterprise.
In just a couple of years, the capital of the joint-stock company A. Horch & Co grew to 525 thousand Reichsmarks. Model after model came off the assembly line of the company, which settled in the city of Zwickau. The workers at the Horch factory had a hard time. August introduced a harsh system of fines for lateness and violations, and the work shift lasted 10.5 hours.
August Horch in a Horch car, 1908
Over time, not only sales of Horch cars grew, but also disagreements between August Horch and shareholders. They did not approve of his management methods and sometimes too innovative ideas. For example, the inventor already in those years insisted on creating a car with a monocoque body. As a result, on June 19, 1909, Horch was not only removed from the presidency, but also asked to leave the company. As compensation, the founder was paid 25,000 Reichsmarks. In comparison, a Horch-ZD car with a four-cylinder 5.8-liter 40-horsepower engine cost 15,000 Reichsmarks.
Audi Type A, 1910
Horch did not give up and in just four weeks he opened a new car company, which he named August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. But, since his last name appeared again in the title, a lawsuit from A. Horch & Co was not long in coming. As a result of the litigation, Augustus lost the opportunity to use his surname in the names of any of his undertakings. So the name Audi, which in Latin meant “listen”, and the company Audi Automobilwerke GmbH appeared.
Audi car production
The first car of his new company rolled off the assembly line in 1910. It was an Audi-AU/22 model with a 2612 cm3 four-cylinder engine with a power of 22 horsepower. Things are on the up again. Horch modernized old and designed new models. His cars raced, and very successfully. But, as in the previous company, the relationship with the shareholders of the inventor did not develop, and after 1916, Horch was removed from the management of Audi, leaving him a member of the supervisory board.
Auto Union logo.
In the future, August Horch did not return to the design of cars. He held administrative positions in state and near-state structures, received an honorary doctorate in engineering in 1922, and even became director of the Horch plant in 1933, which, like Audi, became part of the Auto-Union concern. In 1942, Horch was elected Vice President of the Supervisory Board of the concern. After the Second World War, Horch retired, and on February 3, 1951, in the 82nd year, August Horch passed away.
