Audi 2008 Annual Report Download - page 120

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AUDI 225
ROADSTER
Since the start of the 1930s,
Auto Union AG was a multi-
brand group, under whose
umbrella DKW, Wanderer,
Horch and Audi were each
given precisely defined
roles. Audi was the brand
for the upscale midsize
category, targeting cus-
tomers drawn to techni-
cally avant-garde solutions.
It therefore comes as no
surprise that this brand
adopted front-wheel drive.
1935 saw the introduction
of an enhanced version of
the Audi Front, designated
the Audi Front 225, with its
engine capacity increased
from 1,950 cc to 2,257 cc.
It was a model that ap-
pealed to both esthetes
and individualists alike.
The rarest model of all was
the Special Roadster, which
was actually intended as
an attention-getter for an
auto show and cost the
princely sum of 8,500
Reichsmarks – a luxury only
two customers could afford.
AUDI TYPE 920
Audi has earned a reputa-
tion as being a brand suited
to technically discerning
customers looking for
products that are truly spe-
cial. Some of the innova-
tions securing this reputa-
tion are the Audi Front,
launched in 1933, the 225
series, introduced in 1935,
and the ultramodern
3.2 liter straight-six engine
that achieved 75 hp at
3,000 rpm. This engine was
developed by Audi’s exclu-
sive sister brand Horch for
a “compact” Horch model
and made its way into the
product range as the Audi
Type 920. With this en-
gine’s 75 horsepower, the
exclusive sedan and elegant
convertible were capable of
130 km/h. And since the
Type 920’s comfortable
specifications also meant
it had to be heavier, the last
pre-war Audi reverted to
rear-wheel drive. Sales
started well – but then war
broke out and only 1,281 of
this model were ever built.
AUDI 72
By the mid-1960s, the two-
stroke era was drawing to
a close at Auto Union and
a new era was dawning in
Ingolstadt, when Head of
Development Ludwig Kraus
brought a new four-cylin-
der, four-stroke engine able
to pull 72 hp out of 1,696 cc
into production. This en-
gine, which had an excep-
tionally high compression
ratio, was destined to secure
Auto Union’s future. The
first post-war Audi rolled
off the production line on
August 13, 1965 in Ingol-
stadt and went on sale at
a price of 7,690 German
marks. It was later desig-
nated “72” to denote the
number of horsepower.
AUDI QUATTRO
Rarely has a new technol-
ogy had such a radical influ-
ence on developments in
the auto industry as the
quattro, unveiled during
the Geneva Motor Show in
1980. “That’s the car we
forgot to build,” said flab-
bergasted competitors
when the quattro streaked
away from its challengers
in its very first outing at
the World Rally Champion-
ship. A hollow shaft with
center differential in the
manual transmission dis-
tributed the engine’s power
to all four wheels. The eye-
catching quattro coupe was
universally impressive;
whether on ice or snow, dry
roads or wet. It demolished
its rivals in rally competi-
tions and captured its first
Constructors World Cham-
pionship in 1982.
Under the then Technical
Director Ferdinand Piëch,
Audi wrote a new chapter
in technical history.
Origins Vorsprung
1939
19 65
198 0
1935