How Audi Shaped the Automotive Industry
The history of Audi in the automotive industry is rich with innovation, evolution, and motorsports. From its first model to modern-day achievements, the automaker has always been at the forefront of the car-making world. This innovation has provided the groundwork for modern features, technology, and design aesthetics. Audi has pushed the envelope, forcing the competition to follow suit, and as a result, has left a mark on the automotive world.
By identifying needs and predicting trends, Audi has always stayed ahead, inviting other manufacturers to try and keep up. The result: a company built on hunting down success and invention. This automaker has never just made cars that are more advanced, it's also built machines that are crafted around the driving experience. With its fair share of roots in the motorsport world, Audi understands what it takes to make a vehicle perform well, under any conditions.
Every Great Super Hero Has an Origin Story
When you see a vehicle adorned with the famous four rings badge on the nose, you know unequivocally that it’s something special. Audi is one of the premier manufacturers in the world with a long, storied history of innovation, quality, and racing pedigree.
Founded by August Horch in 1909, Audi is part of the Volkswagen Group of companies and is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Germany. The name Audi actually comes from the Latin translation of Horch’s last name, itself the word for ‘listen’ in German. And that famous four-rings logo? It’s more than just a brand symbol; it represents the four original companies that Audi merged with back in 1932 to form the larger Auto Union AG brand. Auto Union was acquired by a number of different companies throughout the mid-1900s and was fully purchased by Volkswagen in 1966, and it was only in 1985 that Audi shed the Auto Union name.
From the Race Track to the Street
Audi has a rich racing heritage that spans a wide range of disciplines, from August Horch’s successful racing career that he pursued during the early years of Audi, to the racing history baked into the DNA of the other three companies that Audi merged with, to the company’s absolute domination of Rallying in the 1980s, and most recently, Audi’s mastery of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with its diesel racing machines.
1978 saw the creation of the Audi Sport Department and victory on the dirt came only one year later with the legendary Audi 80. The combination of the revolutionary Quattro all-wheel drive and the company’s beastly turbocharged five-cylinder engines crushed the competition, and Audi rally cars brought home multiple world titles and firmly securing the brand’s legacy as a motorsports powerhouse.
And there are few manufacturers that can match Audi’s track record (pun intended) of innovation on the race track and bring that technology to the street. Case in point is the legendary Audi Quattro which first debuted at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show. As the very first performance car to feature all-wheel drive, it was instrumental in popularizing the use of all-wheel drive in road cars and that system has gone on to become an Audi hallmark.
Committed to Evolution
As the automotive landscape changes, Audi is changing right along with it. Its ultra-high performance ‘RS’ vehicles still come packing massive engines with crazy horsepower, but the future for Audi is definitely electrified. Last year, the company unveiled a stunning fully electric supercar at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance called the PB18 e-tron. Bring on the future.
Audi is still committed to changing the automotive industry, and it remains a leader in efficiency, performance, and luxury. Visit Audi Silver Spring at 3151 Automobile Blvd, Silver Spring, MD 20904 or contact our sales staff online today and let us show you how the rich history of Audi has helped this brand generate some of the best vehicles on the market today.
Image Credit: Audi