Established in the German city of Zwickau in 1909, when Horch set up a manufacturing plant, Audi's first product offerings appeared not long after. Audi won early acclaim with three consecutive successes (starting 1912) in the annual International Austrian Alpine Run - an long distance motor event that was regarded as one of the most challenging around.
The company then continued to innovate - producing quality vehicles (and even the first left had drive car) until the majority shareholding was acquired by a third party and Audi was merged into the Auto Union company.
It wasn't until much later, decades in fact, the Audi re-emerged as a brand in its own right. By time the 60s were drawing to a close, Audi's star was in the ascendant, with the Audi 100 going on to become massively successful and ensure the future of the marque.
Vorsprung durch Technik is now synonymous with Audi - a bold advertising slogan in that it's not only in German, it also uses vocabulary outwith the Ja, nein and Guten Morgen available to most non-German speakers. Pronounced four-shproong- doorch-teknik, it now encapsulates what many value about Audi - its ability to innovate, or as the slogan would have it "advance through technology".
In the next instalment of this occasional series we'll take a look at some of the models the company produced during the 1970s and 80s.
