Aircraft

Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots. The following is a partial list of concept cars.. Piston-powered propeller aircraft (single-engine or twin-engine) are especially common for both private and commercial general aviation, but even private pilots occasionally own and operate helicopters like the Bell JetRanger or turboprops like the Beechcraft King Air. The following is a list of models Audi ostensibly plans to offer in the future.. Commercial general aviation pilots use aircraft for a wide range of tasks, such as flight training, pipeline surveying, passenger and freight transport, policing, crop dusting, and medical transport (medevac). Audi now has an impressive range of cars, engines and transmissions available, which continue to lead the way and introduce new technologies into the market. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Recent examples of this include DSG and FSI.

Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. As a premium member of the VW Group, technologies are frequently first introduced to the mass market with Audi vehicles before being 'trickled down' to more value oriented brands such as VW, SEAT and Škoda. Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). This is a direct fuel-injection technique that Audi had also used on its diesel engines since the early 1980s. The vast majority of flights flown around the world each day belong to the general aviation category, ranging from recreational balloon flying to civilian flight training to business trips to firefighting to medevac flights to cargo transportation on freight aircraft. Audi has now introduced FSI on some of their engines, including the 1.6 L 4 cylinder, a new 2.0 L (Audi was the first manufacturer in the world to utilize a turbo charger and FSI on the same powerplant), and the 3.1 L V6. Civil aviation includes both scheduled airline flights and general aviation, a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the 1.8 L engine now 2.0 L and the 3.0 L V6 is now 3.1 L in size.

By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting and supporting ground troops. The engine range was continually upgraded, with a 2.7 L twin turbo V6 being offered in the Audi S4, A6 and allroad, the 2.8 L V6 was replaced by a 3.0 L unit. Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. This is implemented in some Volkswagen Golf, Audi A3 and TT models. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. The system includes dual electrohydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter. During World War I many types of aircraft were adapted for attacking the ground or enemy vehicles/ships/guns/aircraft, and the first aircraft designed as bombers were born. At the turn of the century, Audi introduced the direct shift gearbox (DSG), a manual transmission driveable like an automatic transmission.

Combat aircraft themselves, though used a handful of times for reconnaissance and surveillance during the Italo-Turkish War, did not come into widespread use until the Balkan War when first air-dropped bomb was invented and widely used by Bulgarian air force against Turkey. Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12 for the A8. In the past, gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation during the American Civil War and World War I, and cargo gliders were used during World War II to land intruding German troops in many European countries in the 1940/42 period, while Allied troops used them in Europe after D-Day . The V6's were replaced by new 2.4 and 2.8 L 30V V6's in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Even the little fabric-covered two-seater Piper J3 Cub had a military version, the L-4 liaison, observation and trainer aircraft. The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L 4 cylinder, 1.8 turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged 5 cylinder and the 4.2 L V8. military and the Dakota in Britain and the Commonwealth. The model sold relatively well in Europe, however Audi decided not to develop a new model and it has since been discontinued as of 2004.

Many civil aircraft have been produced in separate models for military use, such as the civil Douglas DC-3 airliner, which became the military C-47/C-53/R4D transport in the U.S. Another interesting model introduced was the Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, the Audi A2. Combat aircraft like fighters or bombers represent only a minority of the category. A new A3 (based on the Volkswagen Golf) was introduced to the range in 1997, and the radical TT coupe and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings. The major distinction in aircraft usage is between military aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for military purposes (such as combat, patrolling, search and rescue, reconnaissance, transport, and training), and civil aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for non-military purposes. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along the way. They are restricted to rather specialised niches, such as spaceflight, where no oxygen is available for combustion (rockets carry their own oxygen). The S2 was discontinued.

Rocket aircraft have occasionally been experimented with. This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. In addition to turbine engines like the turboprop and turbojet, other types of high-altitude, high-performance engines have included the ramjet and the pulse jet. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a minor facelift). Helicopters also typically use turbine engines. The next major model change was in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. Pressurised aircraft, however, are more likely to use the turbine engine, since it is naturally efficient at higher altitudes and can operate above 40,000 ft. The weight reduction was offset by the quattro all-wheel drive system, however it meant the car had similar performance to its rivals, but far superior handling.

During the forties and especially following the 1973 energy crisis, development work was done on propellers with swept tips or even scimitar-shaped blades for use in high-speed commercial and military transports. The Audi A8 replaced the V8 in 1994, with a revolutionary Aluminium Space Frame (ASF) to save weight. Piston engines normally become less efficient above 7,000-8,000 ft (2100-2400 m) above sea level because there is less oxygen available for combustion; to solve that problem, some piston engines have mechanically powered compressors (blowers) or turbine-powered turbochargers or turbonormalizers that compress the air before feeding it into the engine; these piston engines can often operate efficiently at 20,000 ft (6100 m) above sea level or higher, altitudes that require the use of supplemental oxygen or cabin pressurisation. These two models were the beginning of the mass produced S series of performance cars. Piston engines typically operate using avgas or regular gasoline, though some new ones are being designed to operate on diesel or jet fuel. It was fitted to the Audi Coupe and named the S2 and also to the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. Water cooled V engines, as used in automobiles, were common in high speed aircraft, until they were replaced by jet and turbine power. The engine, initially fitted to the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport Quattro.

(See also: Aircraft engine.) The piston engine is still used in the majority of aircraft produced, since it is efficient at the lower altitudes used by small aircraft, but the radial engine (with the cylinders arranged in a circle around the crankshaft) has largely given way to the horizontally-opposed engine (with the cylinders lined up on two sides of the crankshaft). The 5 cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice, however a turbocharged 230BHP (169kW) version remained. Until World War II, the internal combustion piston engine was virtually the only type of propulsion used for powered aircraft. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of 4, 5 and 6 cylinder engines, in sedan, coupe and cabriolet body styles. Airships combine a balloon's buoyancy with some kind of propulsion, usually propeller driven. With the introduction of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8l V6 engine. For gliders, takeoff takes place from a high location, or the aircraft is pulled into the air by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or towed aloft by a powered "tug" aircraft. Although the five cylinder engine was a successful and very robust powerplant, it was still a little too different for the target market.

Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). There was also a coupe version of the 80/90 with both 4 and 5 cylinder engines. Some types of aircraft, such as the balloon or glider, do not have any propulsion. By 1991, Audi had the 4 cylinder Audi 80, the 5 cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. These designs may have potential but are not yet practical. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorprated in the bonnet. And finally the flapping-wing ornithopter is a category of its own. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences.

It is (2005) in development in the United Kingdom. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. This uses a fixed wing with a forced airflow produced by cylindrical fans mounted above. Through the early 1990's, Audi began to move more towards the position of being a real competitor in it's target market against Mercedes-Benz and BMW. A recent innovation is a completely new class of aircraft, the fan wing. This range of engine capacity was a good combination of good fuel economy which was on the mind of every motorist in the 1980's, and a good amount of power the customer wants. A further category might encompass the wing-in-ground-effect types, for example the Russian ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster" and hovercraft; most of the latter employing a skirt and achieving limited ground or water clearance to reduce friction and achieve speeds above those achieved by boats of similar weight. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L.

Some craft have reaction-powered rotors with gas jets at the tips but most have one or more lift rotors powered from engine-driven shafts. The 2.1 L inline 5 cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the 1980's, providing well over 400 horsepower (298 kW) after modification. The best-known examples are the helicopter, the autogyro and the tiltrotor aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey). This engine was used in not only production cars but also their race cars. Here, the lift is provided by rotating aerofoils or rotors. In the 1980s, Audi was the champion of the inline 5 cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine as a longer lasting alternative to more traditional 6 cylinder engines. A second category of aerodynamically lifted aircraft are the rotary-wing aircraft. Today, after many decades of class-leading technology and engineering, the name quattro is an identifiable symbol and trademark that shows would-be competitors the level of quality they have to achieve in order to attempt to compete with Audi.

So far the only significant practical application of the lifting body is in the Space Shuttle, but many aircraft generate lift from nothing other than wings alone. Although Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offer all-wheel drive systems in some cars today, neither manufacturer was able to ride the fad and come out on top like Audi has. The lifting body configuration is where the body itself produce lift. The system also was not popular in Porsche vehicles because owners wanted the traditional performance of the rear wheel drive they got used to in older Porsches. A variable geometry ('swing-wing') has also been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft (the F-111, Panavia Tornado, F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer, among others). Unfortunately, the all-wheel drive system in the Mercedes-Benz vehicles were riddled with problems right from the design sheet. the B-2 Spirit). In the 1980's, all-wheel drive systems in cars became a fad, and other manufacturers like Porsche and Mercedes-Benz offered all-wheel drive systems in their cars to compete in the marketplace.

Other possibilities include the delta-wing, where lift and horizontal control surfaces are often combined, and the flying wing, where there is no separate vertical control surface (e.g. In the 1970's, some vehicle manufacturers including Audi (and Subaru) designed their own all wheel drive systems in passenger vehicles. This is principally an improvement in structures and not aerodynamics. The all-aluminium concept was extended to the company's new sub-compact, the Audi A2 which was launched in 2001. Subsequently most aircraft are monoplanes. Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-nineties and continues to pursue leading-edge technology and high performance. The number of lift surfaces varied in the pre-1950 period, as biplanes (two wings) and triplanes (three wings) were numerous in the early days of aviation. An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space frame technology.

Canards are becoming more common as supersonic aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight. Audi is the only car manufacturer that produces 100% galvanized vehicles to prevent corrosion. The other configuration is the canard where small horizontal control surfaces are placed forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. Its first race will likely be the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans. In a "conventional" configuration, the lift surfaces are placed in front of a control surface or tailplane. the R10 employs many new features, including a twin-turbocharged diesel engine. Much aerodynamic work was done with kites until test aircraft, wind tunnels and now computer modelling programs became available. This also ends the long era of the R8, however its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10, was unveiled on December 13, 2005.

Kites depend upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the wind currents. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GT's in 1967. The forerunner of these type of aircraft is the kite. But with a team of excellent drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take first and third while the ORECA team took fourth. Among aerodynamically lifted aircraft, most fall in the category of fixed-wing aircraft, where horizontal airfoils produce lift, by profiting from airflow patterns determined by Bernoulli's equation and, to some extent, the Coanda effect. On average, the R8s were about 2-3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo-Judd. With engine lift, the aircraft defeats gravity by use of vertical Examples of engine lift aircraft are rockets, and VTOL aircraft such as the Hawker-Siddeley Harrier. The R8s (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a more narrow air inlet restrictor, cutting power, and an additional 50 kg of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis.

In the case of aerodynamic lift, the aircraft is kept in the air by wings or rotors (see aerodynamics). At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. In heavier-than-air aircraft, there are two ways to produce lift: aerodynamic lift and engine lift. Audi returned to the winner's circle at the 2004 race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx second, and Champion Racing third. Several accidents, such as the Hindenburg fire at Lakehurst, NJ, in 1937 led to the demise of large rigid airships. In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Audi and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow VW company, competed in the GTP class and finished the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Racing R8 finished third overall and first in the LMP900 class. The most successful type of rigid airship was the Zeppelin. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing.

Examples of lighter-than-air aircraft include non-steerable balloons, such as hot air balloons and gas balloons, and steerable airships (sometimes called dirigible balloons) such as blimps (that have non-rigid construction) and rigid airships that have an internal frame. The factory supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans three times in a row (2000 - 2002), as well as winning every race in the American Le Mans Series in its first year. A first division by design among aircraft is between lighter-than-air, aerostat, and heavier-than-air aircraft, aerodyne. Beginning in 1999, Audi built the Audi R8 to compete in sports car racing, including the LMP900 class at the 24 hours of Le Mans. Below, we describe classifications by design, propulsion and usage. After 4 victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance, although Champion Audi would still manage to win the 2004 championship. There are several ways to classify aircraft. They returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Cadillac, gave them a run for their money.

Aircraft fall into two broad categories:. Once again, the quattro was superior and Champion Audi won the championship. . In the US, Champion Audi racing entered an Audi RS6 in the 2003 speedvision GT challenge, competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller, more agile BMWs. An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. In 2004 Audi returned to touring car racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing A4s in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series. The distinction between a balloon and an airship is that an airship has some means of controlling both its forward motion and steering itself, while balloons are carried along with the wind. The quattro system would eventually be banned in 1998 by the FIA.

In particular, these aircraft use a relatively low density gas such as helium, hydrogen or heated air, to displace the air around the craft. they then switched to DTM with the Audi V8, then they turned their attention to the Super Touring. Aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same manner as ships float on the water. In 1989, Audi moved to IMSA GTO with the 90, however as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose out on the title. Lighter than air aerostats: hot air balloons and airships. As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988,. Mainly used internationally. This Audi S1 started the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an increased level of sports options and quality to the Audi line up.

STOL stands for Short Take Off and Landing. The Audi S1 enjoys a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.3 s. The abbreviation VTOL is applied to aircraft other than helicopters that can take off or land vertically. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, Michèle Mouton. Helicopters and autogyros use a spinning rotor (a rotary wing) to provide lift; helicopters also use the rotor to provide thrust. The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. For a glider to maintain its forward speed it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW).

Exceptions are gliders which have no engines and gain their thrust, initially, from winches or tugs and then from gravity and thermal currents. In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 he retired from the WRC in 2 years earlier. The movement of air over the airfoil produces lift that causes the aircraft to fly. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22. Fixed-wing aircraft generally use an internal-combustion engine in the form of a piston engine (with a propeller) or a turbine engine (jet or turboprop), to provide thrust that moves the craft forward through the air. Joaquim Santos avoided hitting spectators on one side of the road, and ended up hitting spectators on the other side. Heavier than air aerodynes, including autogyros, helicopters and variants, and conventional fixed-wing aircraft: aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada), airplanes in North American English. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following the death in Portugal of driver Joaquim Santos in his RS200.

The climb race pits a driver and car to drive up a 4,302 meter high mountain in Colorado and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39 and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. Michèle Mouton, the first female WRC driver to win a championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the S1 and raced in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Audi also received rally honors in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. After another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1 and helped place Audi second in the manufacturer's points.

In 1984 Audi launched the "Sport Quattro" car which dominated races in Monte Carlo and Sweden with Audi taking all podium finishes but succumbed to problems further into World Rally Championship contention. It won competition after competition for the next two years. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was an instant success, winning its first rally on its first outing. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of all-wheel-drive in competition racing.

In 1980 Audi released the Quattro, an all wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. In the 1990s Audi dominated the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing Stateside. Audi's rich tradition in motorsport began with the Auto Union in the 1930s. Audi has competed in (and sometimes dominated) numerous forms of auto racing.

However, after 2003, with the release of the new A4, and in 2004 with the new A6, Audi's dedication to quality had finally paid off when it started to receive news reports and various vehicle critics praising Audis over Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Though its brand still doesn't have the global cachet of Mercedes-Benz or BMW, Audi's reputation for quality and understated style has once again made it a highly desirable marque. In March of 2005, Audi is building its first two dealerships in India following its high increase in sales in that region. The largest sales increases came from Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa (+17.2%) and the Middle East (+58.5%).

Record figures were recorded from 21 out of about 50 major sales markets. 2004 marked the 11th straight increase in sales, selling 779,441 vehicles worldwide. Currently, Audi's sales are growing strongly in Europe, and the company is renowned for having the best build quality of any mainstream auto manufacturer. The turning point for Audi was the sale of the new A4 in 1996, and with the release of the A4/6/8 series, which was developed together with VW and other sister brands (so called "platforms").

Audi had contemplated withdrawing from the American market until sales began to recover in the mid-1990s. The report immediately crushed Audi sales, and Audi renamed the affected model (The 5000 became the 100/200 in 1989, as in Germany and elsewhere). 60 Minutes ignored this fact and rigged a car to perform in an uncontrolled manner. This was never an issue in Europe, as Europeans in general use manual transmission gears, and have a "feeling" for vehicle revs in comparison to the speed of the car.

US citizens are used to automatic gearboxes and only two well separated pedals). (In race cars, when manually downshifting under heavy braking, the accelerator has to be used in order to match revs properly, so both pedals have to be close to each other to be operated by the right foot at once, toes on the brake, heels on the gas. Independent investigators concluded that this was most likely due to a close placement of the accelerator and brake pedals (unlike American cars), and the inability, when not paying attention, to distinguish between the two. The 60 Minutes report was based on customer reports of acceleration when the brake pedal was pushed.

This decline in sales was not helped in the USA by a 60 Minutes report which purported to show that Audi automobiles suffered from "unintended acceleration". In the early nineties, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 series, and some basic construction problems started to surface. However, its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low performance of its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan (even the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi put forward a new and very elegant Audi 90, which had a much superior set of standard features. This completely new development sold extremely well.

In 1986, as the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to develop a kind of "grandfather's car" image, the type 89 was introduced. Prominent wins proved the viability of all-wheel drive racecars, and the Audi name became associated with advances in automotive technology,. Commonly referred to as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix is a German augmentative used, in this case, to mean "original" and is also applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 sport sedans, as in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these vehicles were produced (all hand-built by a single team) but the model was a great success in rallying. The performance car was named the "Quattro," a turbocharged coupé which was also the first production vehicle to feature full-time all-wheel drive through a center differential.

The Audi image at this time was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis engineer Jorg Bensinger was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive technology in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance car and rally racing car. This was soon joined by the Audi 80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) in 1972. The first Audi of the modern era was the Audi 100 of 1968. However, Volkswagen took the K70 for its own range, spelling the end of NSU as a separate brand.

The mid-sized car that NSU had been working on, the K70, was intended to slot between the rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic Ro 80. Presently several lines of Audi cars are produced in Neckarsulm. In 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a space-age car well ahead of its time in technical details such as aerodynamics, light weight, safety, et cetera, but teething problems with the rotary engines put an end to the independence of NSU. NSU then focused on new rotary engines according to the ideas of Felix Wankel.

In the 1950s NSU had been the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles but had moved on to produce small cars like the NSU Prinz (the TT and TTS versions are still popular as vintage race cars). In 1969, Audi merged with NSU, based in Neckarsulm near Stuttgart. Today, aircooled powerplants once produced by VW are no longer placed into production vehicles since December 23, 2005. Daimler-Benz sold the company to Volkswagen in 1964; subsequently, Volkswagen's purchase of Auto Union has led to the modernization of VW to which it gained expertise in manufacturing water-cooled vehicles.

This model appeared in September 1965, "relaunching" the Audi brand. Daimler-Benz developed a 72 hp (54 kW) four-door sedan, with a modern four stroke engine driving the front wheels. In 1958, Daimler-Benz acquired 88 per cent of Auto Union and the next year became its sole owner. The company focused efforts on the DKW brand, but their two-stroke engines became unpopular.

In that period, the four interlinked rings were used together with the DKW badge. After the war, Zwickau soon became part of the German Democratic Republic and Audi headquarters were moved to Ingolstadt. Auto Union plants were heavily bombed and partly destroyed during World War II. The technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built engines.

This badge was used, however, only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems. Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. In 1932 Audi merged with Horch, DKW and Wanderer to form the Auto Union. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.

At the same time, six cylinder and a small four cylinder (licensed from Peugeot) models were manufactured. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. In 1928, the company was acquired by J S Rasmussen, owner of DKW, who bought the same year the remains of the US automobile manufacturer, Rickenbacker including the manufacturing equipment for eight cylinder engines. The first six cylinder model (4655 cc) appeared in 1924.

August Horch left the Audi company in 1920. These cars were successful even in sporting events. Audi started with a 2612 cc model followed by a four cylinder model with 3564 cc, as well as 4680 cc and 5720 cc models. Audi has another production plant in Neckarsulm.

Audi produces over 2 million vehicles annually at its main production site in Ingolstadt. It is also popularly believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt". As the word "horch!" translates to "listen!" in German, August Horch settled on the Latin equivalent of his name - "audi!". August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in his new car business.

His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. In 1910, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau, in former East Germany.

The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. . The tagline is used either in original or in its English translation "Advantage through Technology". Audi's German tagline is "Vorsprung durch Technik".

The company is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi is an automobile maker in Germany, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group. Audi Roadjet. Audi Le Mans Quattro.

Audi Nuvolari Quattro. Audi Pikes Peak. Audi Avantissimo. Audi Quattro Spyder.

Audi Avus Quattro. Audi Shooting Brake, design study for the next generation TT. Audi Allroad Quattro Concept. Audi RSQ designed exclusively for the 2004 film I, Robot.

R8. Q5. RS4. A5.

model. Audi UrS4/S6. Audi V8. Audi Quattro.

Audi 100/200/5000. Audi 80/90/4000. Audi 50. TT.

S8. A8