1899 Company Start
On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868 – 1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. Here he developed his first car, which was completed at the beginning of 1901. The company moved to Reichenbach in Saxony in March 1902 and converted to a share-issuing company two years later, which involved a further change in location. On 10 May 1904, A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG was established in Zwickau
1921 Audi introduces left-hand drive
Right-hand drive originated from the age of the horse and carriage, when the coachman sat on the right-hand side. In September 1921 Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car with left-hand drive, the Audi Type K. By giving the driver a better view of oncoming traffic, consequently making overtaking manoeuvres in particular safer, left-hand drive became established by the end of the 1920s.
1931 The first volume-built car with front-wheel drive
In August 1928 J. S. Rasmussen acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG. He had the DKW small car with front-wheel drive produced in large numbers at this company in Zwickau from 1931. This car also had a wooden body covered in imitation leather and the typical DKW two-stroke engine. This design formed the basis for one of the most successful German small cars of the 1930s, over 250,000 of which left the Zwickau plant up to 1942. DKW cars were made from 1928 until 1966. They always used two-stroke engines and, from 1931, the company was a pioneer in front-wheel drive and transverse mounting. The most well-known cars made before World War II, bearing model names F1 through F8.
1991 Audi quattro Spyder and Audi Avus quattro
Audi presented two sensational sports car studies in the autumn of 1991: the Audi quattro Spyder at the Frankfurt Motor Show and the Audi Avus quattro at the Tokyo Motor Show. The consistent use of aluminium for the bodyshells of these two model studies made reference to the future use of lightweight construction in volume production at Audi.
1980 Audi Quattro – a revolutionary drive concept
In March 1980, a four-wheel-drive sports coupé caused a genuine sensation on the Audi stand at the Geneva Motor Show. The Audi quattro was the first high-performance vehicle with four-wheel drive. This drive concept had previously only been used on trucks and off-road vehicles. The permanent four-wheel-drive system in the Audi quattro enjoyed worldwide success in motor sport and gradually found its way into the entire Audi model range.
Auto History Passion 