HORCH - Listen

August Horch (1868 - 1951), a German Engineer, was employed in the Engine factory of Karl Benz. In 1899, he quit Benz and started his own company and named it A.Horch & Cie. The first automobile made in 1901 was a 2 cylinder , 4.5 HP car -

In this car , Horch had a "shock-free" engine design - it was claimed that a 5 cent coin, standing on its side, will not fall when the engine is idling. He was also the first to introduce Aluminum alloy for the engine crankcase and transmission housings.

In 1904 Horch introduced  4 cylinder cars and in 1908  6 cylinder cars -

Horch recognized the importance of racing and was actively involved in various racing event , winning many. A 1908 Horch racer -

In 1909 August Horch quit the company after a tussle with the board of directors. After quitting A. Horch & Cie, August Horch created another company  called Audi, the latin translation of Horch - meaning "Listen" 

Horch continued to manufacture luxury cars with bigger engines. In 1923, Paul Daimler designed a 8 cylinder engine for Horch.

A 1938 Horch -

In 1928, Horch was acquired by another company called DKW. In 1932 , 4 companies got together and formed the Auto Union comprising of Horch, Audi, DKW & Wanderer.

After the war,  Horch manufacturing facilities in East Germany were controlled by Russians and manufactured Sachsenring P240 cars and later on the infamous Russian Trabant cars. A 1956 Sachsenring -

In 1964, Auto Union was acquired by Volkswagen group and later renamed as Audi.

Horch Logo -