All you need to know about Audi
Date of birth: 1910
Nationality: German
Nine years after building his first Horch automobile in 1901, August Horch was forced out of the company he founded, and then established the name Audi, the Latin "to hear" which approximated the meaning of Horch's own name.
Technology and high performance were Audi watchwords from the beginning, originating in Horch's interest in "torpedo" styling to reduce drag, and the brand dominated motor rallies in the 1920s with its innovative FWD cars. In 1932, Audi merged with DKW, Horch, and Wanderer to form the Auto Union, and the four intertwined circles of today's Audi badge represented each of the merged companies. But the name disappeared during the second World War, and until the mid-1960s the only remaining remnants were the DKW brand, which was revived after the conflict to make low-cost cars with two-stroke engines, and the Auto Union nameplate resurrected in 1957.
In 1969, the struggling moped and "compact" car-maker NSU was brought into the company, with its main innovative asset the Wankel rotary engine, development of which had virtually bankrupted the company. Audi as a brand was resurrected in 1965 and began to build on its technological reputation, culminating in the turbocharged 4WD quattro of 1980 - it was launched by being driven up ski slopes in Switzerland. The system brought Audi back to domination of rallying through the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986 Audi became the first car-maker to fully galvanise its cars to combat rust and corrosion. In 1993 it introduced an all-aluminium car on a space-frame, and four years later produced the A-8 luxury car on that basis.
Also on the technology front, Audi was the first to provide hydraulically-actuated brakes on all four wheels, in 1923, and, much later, premiered dual circuit diagonally linked braking. The company also developed negative roll radius self-stabilising steering, the first mid-engined racing car - the Auto Union Rennwagen designed by Dr Ferdinand Porsche in 1934 - and the first five-cylinder petrol engine in 1976. In safety terms, the elegantly simple Procon-ten system of 1987 which simultaneously tightened seatbelts and pulled the steering column forward was probably the single most useful innovation of the decade.
Since 1994, the simple designations of A8, A6 and A4 have represented a perception of motoring excellence to a generation of car buyers, while the styling sense culminated in the TT spyder and coupé. Audi has been part of the Volkswagen Group since 1964, and its cars have been available in Ireland since 1967.
Best Car: Current Audi A4
Worst Car: Audi 50, forerunner of VW's Polo.
Weirdest Car: 1991 Avus Concept Car.