The automobile has been around now for over 120 years. Karl Freidrich Benz was the man who created the first true automobile back in 1886. Henry Ford visualized and created the first assembly line for mass production of large numbers of automobiles with the Model T Ford, which you could have in any colour as long it was black. Both men played a crucial part in auto making history, but we cannot talk about auto making history without mentioning Audi, who have just celebrated 100 years of manufacturing.
Now owned by Volkswagen, Audi is part of one of the biggest and most popular car companies in the world. It as a manufacturer now produces a large range of vehicles from luxury and prestige to practical and affordable.
Audi was founded by August Horch in 1909, the year he was forced out of the company he founded in 1899. In the beginning, Horch continued to trade under the Horch brand, but after his former partners sued him for trademark infringement, he was forced to come up with another name for his company. In a meeting to come up with a new name, a son of a friend of Horch’s who was studying Latin suggested that instead of the German Horch (meaning ‘hear’) they used the Latin word ‘Audi’ which meant ‘Hark!’. The idea was accepted and an enduring brand was born.
The first models produced by Audi were the 2,612 cc 2.6 litre 4 cylinder model, followed by a 3564 cc 3.6 litre model, as well as 4680 cc 4.7 L and 5720 cc 5.7L models. In 1921 Audi was the first German car manufacturer to build a left-hand drive production car, the Audi Type K.
Audi Models of the 1920’s were luxurious and emerged as one to watch on the racing tracks. The early 30’s saw Audi merge with Horch, DKW and Wanderer to form Auto Union. With the creation of Auto Union the four overlapping rings badge was created to represent the union of the four German car manufacturers. The Auto Union era is best known for its success in the racing tracks. The Silver Arrows dominated the GP car racing from 1934 onwards and established records that were only equalled in the early 80’s by turbocharged F1 cars.
The early 80’s marked period of significant development for Audi. This was the period that saw the introduction of the Quattro four wheel drive and the Audi Quattro, commonly know at the time as Ur-Quattro, a turbocharged coupe that dominated the rally tracks in the 80’s and was the first German car to be produced in large scale featuring permanent all-wheel-drive (Quattro).
In 1985 Auto Union was officially dead and Audi shortened its name to Audi AG. Over the following years Audi introduced less successful models like the Audi 80 and the Audi 90.
Audi’s big break happened in 1994 with the introduction of the Audi A4, a predecessor for the Audi 80. The Audi A4 gained a good reputation, leading to recognition and increasing sales, encouraging Audi to develop more powerful and luxurious models like the Audi A6 and A8.
Two years later Audi released what became its most successful model to date, the Audi A3. Built in conjunction with the Volkswagen Group, and using the same platform as the A4, the A3 was initially available only as a 3 door hatchback.
In 2000 Audi revolutionized sports car racing once again with the Audi R8 and dominated the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning 5 of 7 years it competed.
After 20 years of research with diesel engines the results were paid off with another revolutionary racing car the Audi R10 TDI, which again dominated Le Mans’ racing tracks for four consecutive years, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, until it was replaced the new Audi R15 TDI.
Further proof of Audi racing credentials is the Audi R8, a state of the art sports car, which was successful in racing and in less than 2 years gained respect of sports cars enthusiast form all over the world.
All technological advances made by Audi in the racing tracks are used in its models nowadays. With their high fuel efficiency and low emissions the TDI engines are a reference, the petrol engines have high fuel efficiency thanks to Audi’s Valvelift technology, not to mention the Quattro four-wheel-drive and all the other technological advances Audi makes year after year.
In 2009 Audi Australia has 17 models with close to 50 variants. Due mostly to Audi’s TDI technology, their model line-up now has 21 of those variants which consume 7 litres/100km or less. This is more than any other premium manufacturer in the country.
Audi’s success is the reflection of the company’s tagline Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning ‘Advantage through Technology’.
Diesel Audi TT
The all-new Audi TT Coupe 2.0 TDI Quattro is the first series-production sports car in Australia to be powered by a diesel engine, further cementing Audi’s reputation for leading performance with TDI technology.
The first premium brand in Australia to introduce a TDI engine into every major model line, Audi has now extended its diesel range into sports cars with a two-litre four-cylinder engine that delivers dynamic thrust of 125 kW and 350 Nm of torque.
On average, the TDI in the TT Coupe requires only 5.3 litres of fuel per 100 km – unbeatably low consumption in the sports car segment.
This extreme efficiency also means the new TT 2.0 TDI Quattro is completely exempt from Luxury Car Tax, meaning the manufacturer’s recommended price, including GST, is just $70,900 (excl dealer delivery and Govt statutory charges).
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