Audi - Being Ahead through Technology

        One of Germany's top automobile brands Audi, known for its and cutting-edge technology and exemplary racing pedigree,  is one of the largest distributors of gilded vehicles. Audi is an entirely owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group. 

Audi was founded more than 120 years ago in 1896 by engineer August Horch who was a disciple of Mercedes Benz founder Karl Benz. Because of his massive ambition, Audi is now the 2nd largest luxury automaker in Germany and holds 5th position across the globe generating an annual revenue of around 55 billion euros. Audi delivers around 1.8 million cars a year worldwide.

The word 'Audi' is based on the Latin word 'Hear'. August Horch first started the company named 'Horch & Cie', because of some disputes with his financial chief he left his own company and started a new one called 'Horch Automobile Work'. Soon it was subjected to a copyright complaint from his first company 'Horch & Cie'! So he used the Latin translation of the word 'Horch' which means 'hark' or 'listen' so he named his company 'Audi'.

The logo which consists of those 4 overlapping and interlocking rings denotes the 4 companies of Auto Union. In 1932 Audi merged with Horch's first company 'Horch & Cie' (with some mutual interests) and other two companies namely DKW and Wanderer, leading to the formation of the Auto Union.

The 6 and 8 cylinder engines were made by Audi, the V8 and V12 engines for luxury vehicles were made by Horch, Wanderer made 4 cylinder cars and DKW made 2 stroke cars.

AUDI

DKW

HORCH

WANDERER

After 1969 Auto Union was acquired by Volkswagen Group and renamed as simply 'Audi'. Today Audi is among the best-selling luxury automobile brands in the world.

Audi invests an AI-enabled driver assist feature for production cars like the Audi A8, which offers full self-driving capabilities up to 60 km/h. Audi A8 is the first production car to reach level 3 autonomous driving, i.e. the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks. This company is the first to introduce a 3D lidar system and a bunch of cameras and sensors to facilitate the autonomous driving system.

Level 3 autonomy

Audi was the first company to perform crash tests on cars. The first crash test was done by DKW in 1938.

The cars were 100% galvanized to prevent corrosion and this company was the first one to do it.

Crash test

Audi was the first one to introduce 'Space frame', an all-aluminum car, making it lighter to facilitate top-performance. Audi R8 also uses Space frame technology.

Space frame technology

Audi introduced the Quattro system, the 4-wheel drive system, which was introduced in 1980 with the Audi Quattro model. This technology is considered to be the main pillar of Audi's innovation array.

Audi unveiled the coolest-looking tail lights in the world! Audi's OLED lighting technology can adapt to the driving conditions and display more information compared to other cars.

OLED Tail Lights

Here are some amazing facts about Audi:

1) The most expensive Audi car is the 2003 'Audi Le Mans concept'.

2) The Auto Union 'D-Type' is the rarest vehicle ever produced.

3) Audi was the first car manufacturer to produce Left-Hand Drive vehicles.

4) Ferdinand Porsche, founder of Porsche who worked for Audi convinced Hitler to launch a program between Audi and Mercedes Benz who were rivals at that time.

5) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had a 1937 Audi Wanderer W24!!!

Audi Wanderer W24 - Netaji's great escape car
This was a 4-Cylinder engine that generates 42 horsepower at 3500 rpm.

Netaji made his great escape from the police with his Wanderer in 1941 from Kolkata to Gomoh and on to Peshawar where he formed the Azad Hind Fauj to fight for India's freedom.

On Jan 17, 1941, a man disguised as insurance agent "Mohammad Ziauddin", quietly sat on the left rear seat of the Wanderer and made a low escape through the main gate. The man was non-other than our Netaji and the driver was his nephew Sisir Kumar Bose. Netaji was under house arrest. He eventually escaped to Germany via the Soviet Union with the aim of seeking the support of Axis powers to overthrow the British government in India.

Audi restored the 80-year-old car to its original glory and now is preserved in a glass enclosure at Netaji Research Bureau (NRB).