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Home , Audi, Audi 100, Audi Front, August Horch, Auto Union, Bernd Rosemeyer

20 QUATTRO QUARTERLY SPRING 2009 100 Years EUROPOINT of by Elaine Catton I’m not very good with birthdays; I even forgot my husband’s once — that didn’t go down well. However, it has been diffi cult to avoid noticing that 2009 marks an important milestone for — its centenary, no less.

IT STRUCK ME, THEREFORE, THAT THIS was thinking farther ahead and Ehrenfeld near , A. Horch & Cie might be a good time to brush up on some envisioning great things for expanding the later moved to Reichenbach, before finally Audi history. While Audi’s market position power and scope of the automobile. settling in the Saxon town of in in the U.S. may sometimes seem like one of The largely unsung hero at the side of 1904. Clearly, moving a factory was an a niche player, it does no harm to remember was the engineer Hermann easier task in those days. that the company has its roots in the very Lange, whom Horch met early in his career Anyone who has ever seen a built dawning age of the automobile. in . When Horch moved to work with by August Horch is well aware that they are When first unleashed his Benz Carl Benz, he took Lange with him as Senior imposing and luxurious pieces of machinery Patent-Motorwagen on an unsuspecting Engineer. built for discerning and, above all, extremely world, an 18-year old boy from the German Apparently frustrated by his inability to wealthy customers. Almost all of the ground town of Winningen was busy following in bring to fruition any of his own ideas, Horch work for this was laid during the ten years his father’s footsteps as a blacksmith. In left Carl Benz to set up his own operation of August Horch’s tenure. Impressed by the wave of enthusiasm for engineering in 1899 — taking Hermann Lange with the forward thinking of the French, Horch that was rife at the time, the young August him. Originally established in the town of was the first German manufacturer to put Horch shifted his attention away from the forge and onto mechanical engineering. By 1896, the 28 year-old had joined Carl Benz in to work initially in Manufacturing before going on to head up Motor Vehicle Construction. Whenever I read through tales of how the automobile first sputtered to life, I wonder if any of these engineering pioneers were also possessed of the social intellect and foresight to appreciate what it was they were starting back then. Or were they too wrapped up in the innovative roller coaster to spend any time musing over the socio-political impact of this new-fangled contraption? By all accounts, August Horch fell more into the category of visionary thinker and manager than of technical inventor. While Carl Benz jealously held onto full developmental control of his motor car, Audi 10/22 hp (Type A) and Audi 10/28 (Type B) in the Austrian Alpine Run, May 1911 SPRING 2009 QUATTRO QUARTERLY 21 100 Years off

August Horch in Zwickau

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the engine up front and to separate the adversarial relationship with commercial Latin scholars out there will be able to body from the chassis. Some features were director Jakob Holler finally erupted in make that leap pretty easily. And thus Audi original Horch/Lange inventions, the key Horch’s departure from the company Automobilwerke GmbH was born. principles of which are still in use to this day. bearing his name. While the Horch was focused on Horch, for example, was the first to Unperturbed, Horch decided to set up luxury and grandeur, August Horch took introduce a with permanently shop all over again across the road from his new baby down a more sporting route engaged gears. He also used a friction his old company. Naming a company and embraced the burgeoning gentlemen’s in order to avoid shifting the drive back then was obviously a self-obsessed pastime of motorsport. belt from the idler pulley to the exercise, with virtually all vehicle makers Between 1911 and 1914, Audi enjoyed gear. However, one of the most significant being named after their founders. Horch, considerable success on the Alpine contributions made by Horch to automotive however, was hamstrung by the company Run. The Type C, which later became technology was his introduction of the already in existence. It was the son of a known as the “Alpensieger” (Alpine Victor), universal . business partner that came up with the was powered by a four-cylinder 3.5-liter But all this is preamble to what idea of using the Latin version of his name. engine generating 35 hp and boasted an then occurred in 1909. August Horch’s As Horch means “listen” or “hark”, those impressive top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph).

Horch model 1, “vis-á-vis”, two-cylinder, 4-5 hp SPRING 2009 QUATTRO QUARTERLY 23 100 Years of August Horch himself entered the race right side — in order to ensure that the Now, I don’t personally have much of a feel with the Type C in 1911 and, on winning horses didn’t steer into roadside ditches. For for what marketing must have been like as it, decided to return in subsequent years Audi, however, it was clear that the more a commercial discipline in those days, but with an entire team of and drivers. imminent danger facing the passengers I am forced to deduce that the guys who Audi was victorious every year through to of the automobile was from oncoming named the “Imperator” were not necessarily 1914, picking up a substantial international and carriages. The Type K was involved in the creative process that came following along the way, until WWI came followed in 1923 by the six-cylinder Type up with that particular name. along and put a damper on things. M, with Audi’s first eight-cylinder vehicle Regardless of the creativeness of its In many ways, the Alpine Run years were appearing in 1927 — the now legendary moniker, the DKW Front was a hit from August Horch’s finest hour at Audi. As the and gloriously-named Imperator. day one. Within just two months of the company emerged from WWI, its founder It was in 1928 that the owner of start of production, one of the earliest began to take a back , moving in 1920 manufacturer DKW, a Danish true “people’s cars” was at number two to to act as a technical consultant entrepreneur named Jörgen Skafte in ’s registration figures behind on automotive matters to the German Rasmussen, acquired a majority stake in the — a state of affairs that pretty much government. By that time, however, the publicly-owned Audiwerke AG, going on to remained until the outbreak of WWII. foundations had been laid. merge it with DKW a year later. Alongside downsizing, the great In keeping with Horch’s far-seeing Rasmussen had been working for some depression was also a period of intense approach, which constantly challenged time on the idea of a small front-wheel drive rationalization within German industry — contemporary thinking, Audi shook things car, but his endeavors had yet to come to giving rise to the formation of up in 1921 when it launched Germany’s fruition when the full force of the depression AG in 1932. first left-hand drive car. Although cars hit home. As the market for high-end luxury It was at the behest of the State Bank drove on the right side of the road, the collapsed, Rasmussen applied his of that Audiwerke and DKW convention was for the driver to sit where Zwickau resources to the issue and, in 1931, were merged with Horchwerke and the the coach driver had always sat — on the the first DKW Front saw the light of day. automotive division of to form

Production of DKW cars with front-wheel drive, 1937 (Type F7)

Audi 18/70 hp dating from 1925 Charles de Gaulle in his Horch 830 BL

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Auto Union AG, marking the birth of the European Grand Prix with legendary vehicles Eventually, in a spate of industry four rings — each representing one of the such as the 16-cylinder Type C and even rationalization, a major shareholder of both four original and bringing together more legendary race drivers like , Daimler-Benz and Auto Union “persuaded” both of the companies founded by and . the company to buy up his August Horch. However, that all came to a crushing interests in Auto Union GmbH in 1958. It The synergies of the four companies end in 1939. Following the decimation went on to become a 100 percent subsidiary were put to good use in the creation of a of German industry in the aftermath of of Daimler-Benz a year later. Thus, in yet coordinated model range. DKW occupied WWII and the annexing of another exercise of full-circle completion, the entry level with Wanderer covering (including Saxony) by the Soviets, Auto the Horch name (both in German and the mainstream mid-size sector, while Audi Union GmbH re-emerged in the garrison Latin), found their way back into the took the luxury mid-size market. Horch, of town of in . Initially, Benz fold. course, remained firmly placed in the high- it concentrated on its pre-war bread- It was during this period of ownership end prestige market. and-butter products — a DKW and that the “Silver Arrow” racing name Applying group synergy, the success motorcycle. Its first post-war car didn’t managed to make the journey to Stuttgart, of the diminutive two-stroke DWK Front appear until 1950. where it has remained to this day as the was translated upwards to create the mid- However, the new Auto Union failed name of the -Benz Formula 1 sized Type UW, powered by a to make the necessary technical and team. Having been somewhat forced into Wanderer 2.0 liter six-cylinder four-stroke commercial decisions that would enable it making the acquisition in the first place, engine designed by Ferdinand . It to return it to the leading position it had Daimler-Benz presumably was of the was during this period that Auto Union enjoyed before the war. Despite the massive collective opinion that it served them right. became a force to reckon with on the race growth in vehicle ownership in Germany Daimler-Benz never really got track with the immensely successful Silver during the 1950s, it struggled to remain comfortable with its unwelcome foster Arrows. competitive in the face of the new upstart child. It did, however, throw a great deal It claimed victory after victory within from the north — . of investment its way — to no great effect.

Audi Front, Type UW

DKW F89 Meisterklasse Cabriolet

DKW Front

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30 men on roof of DKW to demonstrate strength of DKW’s wooden coach work

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Auto Union stuck firmly to its DKW range of turned in a profit of 4.2 million Marks in enthusiasm for the idea that he put the full small two-stroke cars, which slowly lost their 1966 — quite a turnaround. force of his support behind this underground appeal in the face of advancing technology. However, despite their success, it was development program. As far as Auto Union was hemorrhaging money and clear that these cars — these “bastards” as was concerned the “F 104” was simply a suffering considerable quality problems. Kraus called them — could only function as larger version of the “F 103” (the original The task then fell to Daimler to revamp the a stop gap. A completely new vehicle was four-stroke Audi). Auto Union product range with something called for. Kraus envisaged re-establishing When the was presented to more “now”. In 1963, after much debate, the Audi brand in the mid-size sector and the VW board as a fait accompli (looking Daimler-Benz sent engineer Ludwig Kraus to had already begun development work on a great deal like a Mercedes on the inside, Ingolstadt as Technical Director, tasked with the Audi 100. by the way), Leiding was prepared for the putting a new Daimler four-cylinder, four- But the noises from Wolfsburg were not worst, even keeping his coat on for a sharp stroke engine into the DKW F 102. The new very supportive. Volkswagen wanted to exit. But, after what must have been a product demanded a new approach and transfer all vehicle development northwards truly nerve-wracking walk-round, VW boss the company decided to keep its two-stroke and instructed Kraus to cut back his turned to Leiding and and four-stroke products commercially development manpower drastically. said, “Herr Leiding, you have a green light distinct. The new product would herald the Kraus was not in the least enamored for this car.” reawakening of the slumbering Audi brand of this notion and put up an intense battle It was the Audi 100 that saved the when it was launched as the Auto Union for development survival. With some inside Audi name from being reconsigned to that “Audi Type” in August 1965. help from “sympathizers” in Wolfsburg, he massive trash can of old vehicle brands and, By that time, however, there was a was able actually to increase his team and indeed, created the gene pool of the Audis lot more than just the engine combustion worked secretly on the development of the we drive today. cycle that had changed for Auto Union. Audi 100. Clearly, Audi is going to spend all of Never having developed a paternal When Auto Union boss 2009 turning 100, so, rather than hit you relationship with its Bavarian subsidiary, accidentally stumbled upon a 1:1 scale with it all in one go, I’m going to save the Daimler-Benz finally managed to find a new model of the Audi 100, such was his rest of the story for another time … adoptive family for its problem child. Enter Volkswagen. By the time the Audi saw the light of day, Auto Union was already well on its way to becoming a Volkswagen subsidiary. VW took a controlling stake in Auto Union in early 1965. The idea was to maintain the two-stroke DKW business, but such was the success of the Audi that Volkswagen gleefully dropped the DKW money pit and turned over the excess capacity at the modern Ingolstadt plant to the production of VW Beetles. But, while the re-emergence of Audi actually took place on VW’s watch, there was a very definite Daimler flavor about it all. Ludwig (Wiggerl) Kraus was quickly able to expand the Audi range with a number of engine developments and body tweaks. Within 12 months he had the original Audi with a 72 hp engine, the with 80 hp and extra equipment, and the Audi Super 90 with (wait for it…) 90 hp and lots of extra bells and whistles. Added to the production in Ingolstadt of the Beetle and the extensive revamps that VW had undertaken to the Auto Union sales network, the new model range enabled Auto Union to crawl back into profitability. Having lost 84.2 million Marks in 1965, it Hans Stuck, star of the 1930s at the Nurburgring in 1937 SPRING 2009 QUATTRO QUARTERLY 27