German sport luxury brand Audi has played a robust role in helping to shape shopper tastes and influence the entire European touring market. For nearly 100 years, the Audi brand has been synonymous with producing high quality, reliable, and well engineered automobiles. An wierd start almost scuttled the corporation’s plans, yet today Audi has risen above grief and is manufacturing automobiles that are world respected in quality and engineering.

August Horch set up Horch car in Cologne, Germany in 1899, and began manufacturing cars in 1901 which featured a horizontal engine producing upwards of five h.p. Demand for these models propelled Horch to grow production and move to a bigger producing facility where a newer, stronger model pumping out a then-amazing 10 horsepower was released.

By 1910, Horch himself was booted out of the company that sported his name so he set up shop elsewhere and started to sell vehicles under the Audi moniker. Originally, Horch tried to use his folks name, but German courts ruled against him therefore the Audi name was selected instead. In German, Horch means “hark” and the word “audi” is the Latin interpretation of horch/hark. So, though he could legally no longer use his folks name, the Latinized version of the same won out. Guess which name is known today?

In between a pair of devastating world wars, the modern Audi company began to take shape. Indeed, the “four rings” brand of the company represents the union of 4 distinct German automotive makers under the auspices of Audi. Yes, you got it : the Horch company that originally booted Mr. Horch was soaked up by Audi and makes up one of the 4 rings. August Horch lived to see that massive day, but he also witnessed the dismantling of the company following the end of the second world war.

Reparations was the rallying cry when WW2 finished, thus the Soviet Union who was occupying the eastern portion of Germany in the postwar era, appropriated the company, took all of its assets, and by August 1948 the company no longer existed. One year later thanks to state loans and Marshall plan help, a resurrected Audi was back on the scene producing a delivery van and a motorcycle. Continuous growth throughout the 1950s highlighted by Daimler’s acquisition of the company in 1958 fueled further growth. In 1964, the Volkswagen group purchased Audi from Daimler and to this day Audi remains a significant part of the Volkswagen establishment.

By the late 1960s, Audi started what many consider to be its historic run to the top of automotive excellence. New models were developed several of which were also sold as Volkswagen models for that era. In 1980, Audi shook the automobile world to its foundation when it released its Quattro sports automobile, a vehicle with full time all wheel drive and a turbocharged engine. Instantly, the Quattro propelled the Audi name to the apex of the race car world when the auto started to win race upon race. Undeniably, the Quattro was such a runaway hit that the model was banned from some races for having an “unfair” technological advantage.

Throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, Audi started to produce extra models including its first premium model, the Audi V8 in 1988. Wearing a 3.6L 32-valve V8 engine, the Audi V8 featured full time all wheel drive and a 4 speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. This model was a massive exit from earlier Audis and set the brand on a collision course with Mercedes and BMW, Germany’s two other luxury brands in a bid for automobile supremacy.

Today, Audi continues to expand and compete against all of the top luxury brands in the world. New technology including its Audi Space Frame all-aluminum body – famous for its rigidity and improved crashworthiness – are among the highlights of a brand that does not accept second best. From sedans to sport coupes to an all new SUV, Audi has a model that competes against the likes of Lexus, Mercedes, Cadillac, Infiniti, and BMW its chief competitors.

That “hark” sound you hear is both the name of a company and the awareness the brand merits in an ocean of capable premium models produced by Germany’s esteemed Volkswagen Group. Yes, Audi has weathered several hurricanes and the company appears stood to resume its thrust forward thanks to its many innovations and continued prime quality.

To read more about cars and see some of the most expensive cars in the world, visit thesupercars.org and along the way, have a look at Audi S 6 for sale.

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