- Audi celebrates 60th anniversary
- 60 years since its ‘rebirth’
- Milestone models showcased in Spain
- Which is your favourite from six decades of Audi?
- Send us a pic of your own beloved Audi - email mediaenquiry@selectcarleasing.co.uk.
Audi is celebrating 60 years since its modern ‘rebirth’ - and these are some of the milestone models from six decades of Vorsprung durch Technik.
Audi’s history is a complex one which actually dates all the way back to 1909 (read all about it here).
(Audi 80)
It begins with a chap called August Horch, one of the German pioneers of automotive engineering. He was involved in various manufacturing companies but eventually laid the foundations for the Audi brand.
The name ‘Audi’, by the way, comes directly from Horch himself. Horch in German means ‘to listen’. Translate that into Latin and you get…’Audi!’
(Audi 100 GL)
In the early days, Audi was a member of a quartet of manufacturers (Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer Werke) who merged to form Auto Union AG. It’s where Audi's four interlocking ring logo comes from.
But the ‘Audi’ name faded into obscurity in 1940 when production of the Audi 920 ended.
(Audi RS4 Avant)
This iconic brand lay dormant for a quarter of a century until, in 1965, it came back with a bang at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show, where a Saloon simply referred to as ‘The Audi’ made its debut. That car went on to become the Audi 100, ‘one of the founding fathers of the Audi model portfolio’, the German firm enthuses.
The year 1965 also marked the point that Audi was brought into the fold of the Volkswagen Group.
(Audi RS e-tron GT, left, Audi R8, right)
Flash forward 60 years, and Audi has brought us a steady stream of timeless classics, from the Audi Quattro, TT and R8 supercar, to modern stunners like the RS e-tron GT (above) and the aerodynamic new A6 Sportback e-tron.
To celebrate the anniversary, Audi has this week gathered a collection of its most eye-catching motors at a meet in the Rioja region of northern Spain.
(Audi A6 Sportback e-tron and Audi 100 GL)
And here’s a trio of models that Audi has singled-out for special praise.
So, pictured the scene; three car keys are laid out in front of you… which one are you going to grab first?
The Ur-quattro (1981 10-valve example):
The Audi Ur-quattro was the first generation of the famed Audi Quattro, with the 'Ur' element meaning 'original' or 'first' in German.
Audi says: “Credited not only with revolutionising top-level rallying but also genuinely advancing road car dynamics, the Ur quattro still delivers incredible visual impact. Its tuneful 2.1-litre five-cylinder 10-valve engine, originally adopted from the Audi 200 and uprated with a KKK turbocharger bestowing extraordinary performance, continues to form the technical basis for the unit used by today’s mighty 400PS RS 3 models.”
The TT Coupé (1999 225PS example):
Audi says: “Remaining remarkably faithful to the original, game-changing look of the 1995 concept car penned in California by Freeman Thomas, the stunning geometric lines of the TT have immortalised it as a genuine icon of automotive design. Romulus Rost was responsible for the interior, which with its beautiful, machined aluminium detailing was also a masterpiece that redefined customer expectations in the sports car class and elsewhere.”
The R8 (2007 V8 and 2018 V10 RWS examples):
“The R8’s boldly beautiful lines were closely based on the 2003 Le Mans quattro concept. It started its series production life with a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8, linked to quattro drive via a pleasingly tactile short-shift gearbox with a beautiful stainless steel open gear lever gate. V10 quattro versions followed, and then in 2018 the R8 V10 RWS (Rear Wheel Series) became the first ever roadgoing R8 to channel its considerable power solely to the rear wheels. Stephan Winkelmann, Audi Sport’s CEO at the time, described the RWS as being specifically ‘made for purists’, and it was delivered to a total of 999 of these discerning drivers worldwide.”
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