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                                              Audi AG 

 

                                           

 

 

                                            Type                                             Public (Xetra: NSU)                                             Founded                                             1910, Zwickau, Germany                                             Founder                                             August Horch                                             Headquarters                                             Flag of Germany Ingolstadt, Germany                                             No. of locations                                             production locations: Ingolstadt & Neckarsulm,Germany

Györ, Hungary

Brussels, Belgium

Curitiba, Brazil

Changchun, China

                                            Area served                                             Worldwide                                             Key people                                             Rupert Stadler, chairman                                             Industry                                             Automotive industry                                             Products                                             Luxury Automobiles, Engines                                             Revenue                                             28.432 billion (2005)                                             Profit                                             1.409 billion (2005)                                             Parent                                             Volkswagen Group                                             Subsidiaries                                             Lamborghini S.p.A.,

SEAT,

Cosworth Technology

                                            Slogan                                             Vorsprung durch Technik

Truth in Engineering (America)

                                            Website                                             Audi corporate website

 

The company traces its origins back to 1899 and August Horch. The first Horch automobile was produced in 1901 in Zwickau. In 1909, Horch was forced out of the company he had founded. He then started a new company in Zwickau and continued using the Horch brand. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement and a German court determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company. August Horch was forced to refrain from using his own family name in his new car business. Horch immediately called a meeting at the apartment of Franz Fikentscher to come up with a new name for his company. During this meeting Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father - audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?". "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "listen", which is "Audi" in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.  It is also popularly (but incorrectly) believed that Audi is an acronym which stands for "Auto Union Deutschland Ingolstadt".

 RALLYING

 

 

Audi Sport Quattro S1 

In 1980 Audi released the Quattro, an all wheel drive turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. 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. Many critics doubted the viability of all-wheel-drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was to become a successful car. Leading its first rally it went off the road, however the rally world had been served notice AWD was the future. It won competition after competition for the next two years.[citation needed]

In 1984 Audi launched the short-wheelbase 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. 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. Audi also received rally honors in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the first female WRC driver to win a round of the World Rally Championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the S1 and raced in the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. 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. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his Ford RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, and left the track into the crowd of spectators on the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22.

 

[edit] Motorsports in the USA

In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new Pikes Peak record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1 which he retired from the WRC two years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested 5-cylinder turbo charged engine and generated over 600 hp (447 kW). The engine was mated to a 6-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous all-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this beast, Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and the female driver, Michèle Mouton. The Audi S1 enjoys a 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 2.3 s. This Audi S1 started the S-series of cars for Audi which now represents an increased level of sports options and quality in the Audi line-up.

As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose to move first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988.

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.

 

[edit] Touring cars

In 1990, having completed their objective to market cars in the United States, Audi returned to Europe turning first to the DTM series with the Audi V8, then in 1993, being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they turned their attention to the fast growing Supertouring series, which took place nationally, first in the French Supertourisme and Italian Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switched to the German Super Tourenwagen (known as STW) and then to British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) the year after that.

The FIA, having difficulty regulating the quattro system and what impact it had on the competitors, would eventually ban all four wheel drive cars from competing in 1998, by then Audi switched all their works efforts to sports car racing.

By 2000, Audi would still compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the quattro all wheel drive was superior and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title but a newcomer, Cadillac with the new Omega Chassis CTS-V, gave them a run for their money. After four victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance. Namely, added ballasts and Champion Audi deciding to go with different tires and backing off the turbos boost pressure.

In 2004, after years of competing with the TT-R in the revitalized DTM series, with privateer team Abt Racing/Christian Abt taking the 2002 title with Laurent Aïello, Audi returned as a full factory effort to touring car racing by entering two factory supported Joest Racing A4s.

 

[edit]

 

Sports car racing

Beginning in 1999, Audi built the Audi R8 LMP to compete in sports car racing, including the LMP900 class at the 24 hours of Le Mans. 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. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing. 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. 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.

At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. 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. On average, the R8s were about 2-3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo-Judd. 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. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GT's in 1967. This also ends the long era of the R8; however, its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10, was unveiled on December 13, 2005.

The R10 employs many new features, including a twin-turbocharged diesel engine. Its first race was the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it later went on to win. Audi has been on the forefront of motorsports, claiming a historic win in the first ever diesel sports car at 12 Hours of Sebring. Audi has achieved the title as the most dominant motor sport power since the start of  the 21st century, continuing its long and storied motor sport heritage. See Audi Super Cars

 

audi

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years ago

 

Audi AG is a German Cars manufacturer and one of the world's leading performance-luxury marque with headquarters in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, and has been an almost wholly-owned (99.7%) subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group since 1964. The company evolved from VW's takeover of both Auto Union, and NSU, the former having incorporated the historic Audi company which was founded in 1910.

Audi's corporate tagline is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advancement through Technology" or "Head Start through Technology". This German-language tagline is also used in other European countries, including the UK, and in other markets, such as Latin America, Oceania and parts of Asia,Japan. The American and Canadian tagline is "Truth in Engineering". 

 
 
   
  
   
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

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