Tour of the Audi museum

• Audi museum tour

Audi emblem depicting four rings - a symbol of the merger of four independent vehicle manufacturers, the brand with a very long and interesting history. We visited the city of Ingolstadt, where to this day there is a factory, headquarters, brands and Museum.

Creation of the company is connected with the name of August Horch, the great engineer and one of the founders of the German automotive industry.

August started his career at Carl Benz plant in Mannheim. Initially, he worked in the production of engines, and then led the car design department. Their own businesses Horch founded in 1899, established in Cologne on November 14 of the same year the company Horch & Cie. Motorwagen Werke.

In 1909 due to disagreements with the board and the supervisory board he is leaving the company and establishes another automobile production. As his name was already used in the title of the company, and was protected by trademark, for the name of the new company Horch chose a Latin translation of his surname. So German "horch" ( "Listen") turned into the Latin "audi".

Thanks to the impressive successes of Audi cars in the Austrian mountain rally racing between 1911 and 1914, August Horch succeeded in making the brand internationally known for several years.

June 29, 1932 Audi plants, Horch, DKW and Wanderer merged into the Auto Union AG. Its symbol became familiar to all four rings. After this merger company became the second car manufacturer in Germany. All brands of the group does not compete with each other. Each brand has been allocated a separate market segment: DKW - motorcycles and small cars, Wanderer - middle class cars, Audi - cars of the upper middle class segment, Horch - class "luxury" cars and executive cars. In 1940, the release of all civilian vehicles was the concern is minimized, association factories switched to the production staff car Horch 901. After the war ended in 1945, factories Auto Union AG, located in the Soviet occupation zone, were destroyed, all that survived was dismantled and exported.

Before entering were carefully placed 10 pieces of red Audi R8:

We visited the museum on May 9th. In Bavaria (and maybe in the whole of Germany) on that date was some kind of a national holiday (Day of Victory is not !!!), so to get a tour of the production did not work - all the rest.

Perhaps I'll start with the bike. Wanderer in 1889, perhaps the oldest exhibit of the museum:

Motorcycle Wanderer 2 PS. 1914 was used by the Wehrmacht during World War II:

And this is the DKW motorcycles during the Second World War. In general, the museum presents a lot of Wanderer and DKW motorcycles, but I did not take pictures:

Some especially valuable exhibits are separated by a glass partition from those visitors who not enough just to look, but also be sure to touch.

Horch 10-12 PS 1903. The engine capacity of 10-12 liters. from. and a maximum speed of 50 km / h. It was released about 40 copies. This is the second car made by August Horch:

Audi 14/35 Type C Limousine 1913 - the first car released under the Audi brand. For success in the Austrian mountain rally racing was nicknamed "the conqueror of the Alps":

Horch 10/35 PS Voll & Ruhrbeck-Phaeton 1923. According to unconfirmed information, he meant the King of Sweden and was already in the car were the shell:

Audi 18/70 PS of 1925. One of the most expensive cars of the time. To date, a total of 4 copies left in the world:

Horch 8 Type 303 in 1927. premium car with in-line 8-cylinder engine:

Audi Front Type UW Limousine 1934. The model was intended for the upper middle class:

Horch 670 1934. A 12-tselindrovym V-shaped engine capacity of 120 liters. from. with a volume of 6 l 0. The maximum speed of 140 km / h:

DKW Schwebeklasse 1936:

Wanderer W40 1936:

Wanderer W25 K 1938. Elegant sports roadster, very rare model, was released about 250 cars and only a few have survived to the present day:

the Horch 853 1937. One of the most prestigious cars before the war:

Horch 855 Special Roadster 1939. It is one of seven built copies of the most expensive and exclusive car company.

Horch was made on the basis of 853 and cost 22,000 Reichsmarks (which is 7000 more very expensive Horch 853):

Auto Union Type C / D in 1939. 16-cylinder racing car, built specifically for the mountain stages, could accelerate to 380 km / h. The famous "Silver Arrows", won several important victories in the prestigious racing 30s:

Auto Union V16 Type C 1937, set a record speed of over 400 km / h:

Audi 80 Tourenwagen Europameister 1980:

Audi 90 Quattro IMSA-GTO 1989, develops an impressive output of 720 liters. from.:

The legendary racing car Audi R8 Joest Racing. Sport prototype Audi R8, which the crew Frank Biela, Tom Kristensen, and Pirro won Emanyuel famous prestigious race of Le Mans in 2000. In this race I took part three of the same car, which eventually occupied the entire podium, which was the highest triumph of the sports team Audi:

DKW Schnelllaster F 89 L 1950. The first model of the Group Auto Union, released after the war, and the first model was released in Ingolstadt:

DKW Meisterklasse F 89 1951. This is the first passenger, a truly people's car, manufactured by Auto Union after the war. The car used the same 2-stroke engine and the same powertrain as in the DKW Schnelllaster F 89 L:

DKW 3 = 6 Sonderklasse Type F91 1953. It was as massive as the car the VW "Beetle":

At first, all models of the reborn group produced under the brand name DKW, but by the mid-50s the most expensive car modification became known as Auto Union. In 1957, the company is launching a model Auto Union 1000 S, reviving its former name:

Auto Union 1000 Sp 1965:

DKW Junior 1960:

Audi 72 1965 with this model, a new life began Audi, and in the same year disappeared forever mark DKW:

Audi 100 1969 was a huge success and was appreciated primarily for durability. In addition, the Audi 100 allowed the company Auto Union to preserve their individuality:

Audi 80 1979 - another massive and popular model. In the section you can see literally every detatal of wheels, seats and instrument panel to the engine block, cylinders and pistons:

Horch 830 BL Pullmann Limousine 1953. This is the last Horch, he spent 40 years in the deserts of Tehassa and in 2008 was acquired by AUDI AG:

Audi Q7 Pick Up:

Audi R8:

Audi A1Clubsport quattro:

Audi Q5 quattro:

Audi TT Clubsport:

Audi A1 Hot Rod:

Audi Front 225 Roadster 1935:

One of the factory buildings:

where you can sit in any car which is currently produced, even in the Audi R8 roadster:

All brands of cars, which existed in Germany ...:

... of which remain to this, and the first place of course Audi:

The museum feels intimate, homely atmosphere and respect for the history of the brand. Well done, that such should be a museum of world automakers. Required to attend interested in vintage cars and the Audi brand.