Have you ever wondered?
Of course, if you are an expert automotive world or among your circle there is a hyper-intellectual person, then you know that the rings on the German brand mean four brands automotive group Auto Union, which we know today as Audi. These brands were Audi, DKW, Wanderer and Horch. And now, it seems, Audi has decided to revive the once famous brand Horch, setting up under this name the release of special exclusive models Audi A8, which will compete with the Mercedes-Maybach S-class.
It is easy to guess that in Volkswagen Group(owner) must have noticed the failure Mercedes-Benz who tried to turn brand Maybach into a separate independent brand. Therefore, most likely, the Horch brand will not be singled out in a separate company, but will be an addition to the existing luxury models Audi.
Horch was a famous and respected German brand in the early 20th century, competing with Mercedes cars and Benz (before the two brands merged into one company). The Horch brand was founded in 1904 and was completely independent until 1932. But when the Great Depression swept the whole world, Horch decided to team up with three more car brands.
It may seem strange that Audi chose the Horch brand from the quartet for the revival, since the English name Horch does not sound very nice. For example, the Wanderer brand sounds much better. But Audi decided to revive the Horch brand for a reason. The fact is that it is Horch that has very interesting connections with Audi, unlike Wanderer.
And the thing is, August Horch not only founded car brand Horch, but also Audi. In 1909, Horch was taken out of the company by the board of directors. But he was the kind of person who couldn't sit still. As a result, in 1910 he founded new company, which he named Audi Automobilewerke.
But why did Horch name the new company Audi? The thing is that Audi is the Latin translation of the German word "horch", which means "listen!". By the way, English word"hark" comes from the same root.
So, as you can see, it is ironic that both companies founded by Horch will soon be back together. Although, as we have already said, most likely, the Horch brand is unlikely to soon become a separate brand from Audi. However, the long-dead August Horch would be pleased today with the revival of his brand 100 years after he was banned from using in the name of the company Audi brand, as a result of which he had to create a new company with a Latin name.
Horch-850. Car of Walter Schellenberg January 27th, 2013
Schellenberg performed by Oleg Tabakov arrives at the Tempelhof airfield. As his car real car Schellenberg Horch-853A. In the background is an AN-2 with German identification marks applied to it.
Walter Schellenberg
August Horch
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the creation and production of automobiles became a prestigious business that brought money and fame. Automotive firms appeared by the hundreds, but went bankrupt by the hundreds. Their names, like the names of the owners, are now forgotten by almost everyone, and only a very few managed to leave a noticeable mark on the history of the car. One of those few was August Horch.
He was born on October 12, 1868 in Winningen, on the Moselle, in the family of a blacksmith. At sixteen, he got a job at a car building plant in Heidelberg, where he was engaged in more than a prosaic business - with sledgehammer blows, he pressed steel bandages onto the wheels. However, already in 1900 he was the owner of his own automotive company, which, changing and renaming, has become the current Audi brand. But today our story is not about him, but about a car named after him.
The crown of creativity Horch and considered to be a car Horch-850. This car was created as a car for Hitler. But Hitler preferred the 770th Mercedes. However, despite this, the rest of the German leadership - and Goering, and Bormann, and Himmler, and Ribbentrop, used this particular car. Moreover, if you not only watched the film “Seventeen Moments of Spring”, but also read the book of the same name by Yulian Semyonovich Lyandres, better known under the pseudonym “Semyonov”, then you remember that the book Stirlitz, unlike the movie one, did not drive a Mercedes- 230, namely Horch e. Indeed, Horch in those years, it cost from 13 thousand 900 to 20 thousand 850 Reichsmarks, depending on the type of body, and the salary of the Standartenführer ranged from one and a half to four thousand, depending on the place of service. The then Reichsmark is equal to the current 10.39 dollars. So Stirlitz, if he weren’t a miser who, out of stinginess, didn’t even have mistresses, he could well afford not a mass-produced “gelding”, but a luxurious Horch, however, most likely only in basic configuration. Otherwise, his boss Walter Friedrich would have looked askance at him Schellenberg, who himself then - in the late 1930s - was not yet a brigade, but a standartenführer. At the time of the publication of the first Horch a 25 year old Schellenberg was only a regirungsrat, which in Germany roughly corresponded to the pre-revolutionary Russian rank of collegiate assessor. A Horch Schellenberg purchased in April 1939 for 18,250 Reichsmarks.
First serial Horch-850 walked out of the factory gate Horch-Werke in Zwickau (the same Zwickau, in which Trabants will later be made) on June 18, 1935, and its first series was immediately sold out by the German rich, who had been waiting for its appearance for almost half a year, because on February 11 its pre-production sample was presented at the Berlin Motor Show. By the way, then this pre-production copy was in an accident, after which it was converted into a fire truck.
The executive car, equipped with a Glaser convertible body with a bold fender line and headlights the size of a human head, looked very majestic. Horch-850 had a length of 5 meters 35 centimeters, and his radstand, as the Germans call wheelbase, was 3450 mm. The width of the car reached 183 centimeters, which was rare in those days.
A dense awning, a powerful stove and a ceiling lamp for interior lighting created comfort in a convertible that is quite acceptable even by modern standards. The comfort in a limousine from the Erdmann & Rossi bodywork company could well compete with that in cars of our time. Of course, it did not have those bells and whistles that are present now, but the softness of the seats and the smooth ride made the trip pleasant and not tiring.
The car was equipped with a radio, a bar, a folding table, as well as a set of several travel suitcases and an umbrella with an engraved on the handle corporate logo of four rings, like the Audi. It differed from the Audi logo only by the inscription "Auto Union".
The car was equipped with a 4944 cc inline eight-cylinder engine. cm. The diameter of its cylinders was 87 mm. Piston stroke - 104 mm. Initially, its power was 100 hp, but in 1937 it was increased to 120. This modification was called Horch-853A. This is the car I bought Schellenberg.
Horch of one of the St. Petersburg collectors
Ironically, it was this car that played itself in the movie. Remember frame when Schellenberg meets SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Friedrich Otto Wolf who arrived from Germany? This event actually took place on March 16, 1945. At the Tempelhof airfield, two cars were waiting for Wolf at the same time: one was a prison car with armored doors and three thugs from the guards of the Gestapo underground prison. The role of this machine was played by the Soviet UAZ-452 . In another car sat SS Brigadeführer, Reich political intelligence chief Walter Schellenberg. And three thugs in black, with degenerate faces, and an intelligent, handsome man, dressed for this occasion in a dandy general's uniform Schellenberg. A ladder was rolled up to the door of the landing Dornier, and instead of handcuffs, Wolf's hands clenched his fingers Schellenberg A. The jailers in this situation did not dare to arrest Wolf - they only followed the car Schellenberg A. The SS Brigadeführer took Wolf to the apartment of General Fegelein, the husband of Eva Braun's sister and Himmler's personal representative at the Fuhrer's headquarters.
So, this very car was Horch-853A, previously actually owned Schellenberg y. Shortly after the event described above, Soviet troops took Berlin on May 1, and on May 3 Schellenberg flew to Copenhagen to negotiate peace through the mediation of the head of the Red Cross, Duke of Västerbotten, Gustav Adolf Bernadotte. On the 6th of May he flew to Stockholm with official authority to conclude a truce in Scandinavia. However, the British command rejected the mediation of the Swedish Red Cross, and Schelenberg's last mission failed.
After the surrender of Germany, Schelenberg lived for some time at the Villa Bernadotte in Sweden. However, already in June 1945, the allied command achieved his extradition as a war criminal. During the trial, all charges were dropped from him, except for membership in criminal organizations, as well as involvement in the execution of prisoners of war. April 11, 1949 sentenced to six years in prison. In December 1950, he was released on parole for health reasons. After that Schellenberg lived in Switzerland and then was forced to move to Italy for liver surgery. However, on the eve of the operation on March 31, 1952, he died suddenly without finishing his memoirs.
The car outlived its owner for a long time: being among the trophies of the Soviet troops. Soon the famous Soviet ace Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin became its owner. However, for Pokryshkin
he turned out not the only car. In 1950 he was given ZiM, and in 1959 he moved to the Volga GAZ-21. Unused Horch stood in the garage for a long time, until in 1968 Pokryshkin donated it to the Mosfilm film studio. And so, during the filming of "Seventeen Moments of Spring" this car played itself.
Production Horch ov stopped in February 1940. A total of 768 copies were produced. Only a few have survived to this day, and one of these units is a car. Schellenberg.
He made a significant contribution to the development of the automotive industry, including the use of cardan transmission, heavy-duty steels, and proposed the location of the driver's seat on the left side of the car body.
Biography
Horch was one of those who perfectly understood the advertising value of motor racing. At the competition, the well-known German motorist Dr. Stoss and the designer himself sat behind the wheel of a car. When the model appeared in 1906 ZD with a four-cylinder (5800 cm 3) 40 hp engine, a torpedo sports body was built on its chassis. The car raced for the Prize of Henry of Prussia, but, alas, unsuccessfully.
This failure had serious consequences - it reinforced Horch's already accumulated disagreements with shareholders, who increasingly declared that his designs were "adventurous". Horch, for example, even in those years advocated the creation load-bearing body, citing as an example the bodies of horse-drawn carriages, many of which were indeed load-bearing. But at the beginning of the century, this idea seemed absolutely fantastic. But the stubborn, proud Horch did not know how to compromise. And on June 19, 1909, the founder of the company had to leave it. The designer was paid a ridiculous compensation - 25 thousand Reichsmarks, while the Horch-ZD cost 15 thousand.
But August Horch was not one of those who submitted to circumstances. Within 4 weeks in the same Zwickau, he founded new firm- August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH! But the first company founded by him was called "Horch", so its new owners filed a lawsuit and won the case. I had to think of a different name. In the house of one of Horch's companions, there was a heated debate about this. Legend has it that the owner's son was learning Latin in the next room at this time. And when one of the shareholders exclaimed: "Listen to the other side!", the boy either jokingly or quite seriously loudly translated this phrase into Latin: "Audiatur et altera pars!" It was then that the surprised debaters realized that "horch" (in German- "listen, listen") is translated into Latin as "audi". The new company was named Audi Automobilwerke GmbH.
“I under all circumstances strove to build only large and good cars made of first class material,- said Horch, turning things around at the new firm. And indeed, the plant began with a fairly solid and powerful machines. Since 1910, the Audi-AU/22 has been produced. The cylinders, as was customary then, were interlocked in pairs. A four-cylinder engine with a working volume of 2612 cm 3 developed 22 hp. The firm advertised itself with large posters with the word "Audi" and a picture of a huge ear. Thus, one of the most famous car brands to this day appeared.
1911 was the year of birth and models D And E- a design typical for Audi of that time - a four-cylinder engine with upper intake and lower exhaust valves, double ignition from magneto and accumulator. The fuel pump was running using exhaust pressure.
The last pre-war Audi-G8 / 22 had a 2071 cm 3 engine with a power of 22 hp. Relatively inexpensive model buyers liked it - until 1926, 1122 of these machines were built. In 1914, the team prize of the Alpine races was won on the company's cars.
Both brands, which owe their birth to Horch, are by no means forgotten. Horch vehicles are among the most famous cars 30s. Brand Audi is still alive, although her cars are not built in Zwickau, but in Ingolstadt. Modern Audi have an excellent reputation all over the world - and this is the best memory of Horch - a talented designer, whose name will forever remain in the history of the automotive industry.
The history of the German company AUDI for the production cars goes back to the beginning of the last century. The company has a rich history. Today it is part of the Volkswagen concern, headquartered in Ingoldstadt.
So who appreciates the exceptional German quality, is obliged to know some details from the family tree of his swallow - "Audi". Otherwise, what kind of master are you? Read - remember! Know who's driving you.
Audi was founded in 1909 by August Horch. Its roots go back to the now defunct, but no less famous company Horch (“Horch”), which shone in the German sky during the Third Reich. It's time to remember the best Soviet films about the war, where new cars of Soviet brands were disguised as "horch".
In 1899, the talented inventor and businessman August Horch founded the company Horch and Company in Mannheim, which moved to Zwickau 4 years later. In 1909, he built a new, but alas, very unsuccessful 6-cylinder engine, which almost brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. This, of course, did not please his companions at all and they decided to deal with the zealous inventor, expelling him from his own firm.
"Zum Teufel!" - said August and immediately founded another company nearby, which, of course, also bore the name "Horch". His former partners filed a lawsuit against Horch demanding that the name of the company be changed. The opponents won: according to a court decision, the new car company could not bear the name Horch.
"Zum Teufel!" - repeated August Horch and again found a way out. He translated his own surname, which means "listen", into Latin. It turned out AUDI. Thus, in 1909, the famous trademark was born and no less famous company"Audi".
The first car called Audi-A was produced in 1910. The following year followed Audi model-IN. Horch exhibited three such cars in June 1911 at the first Auto Alpenfarth race in the Austrian Alps, which replaced the famous runs for the prize of the German Prince Heinrich. In 1913, the most famous model- "Audi-S". In 1912, the first samples were seriously tested at the next Alpine races and achieved good results, for which the cars of the C series began to be called "Alpenziger", or "Conqueror of the Alps", one of the Audi website clubs tells us.
On such an AUDI, we would not have gone far. 4 cylinders with a 3.5-liter engine, which has crankshaft rotated on three supports and was slightly shifted to the side from the axes of the cylinders. A conventional cone clutch had a leather friction surface. The wooden body on the chassis with a base of 2900 and 3200 mm was open with an elongated and pointed rear.
During the years of the global economic crisis, Audi had to merge with another company. In 1928 the company was acquired by the German DKW (DKW), Audi owner became Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen. In 1932, a new economic crisis prompted a number of German firms to create the Auto Union concern (“Auto Union”). It included, along with DKW and Wanderer ("Wanderer"), former rival firms "Horch" and "Audi". The concern released two models equipped with front-wheel drive and Wanderer engines.
After World War II audi wars and other Auto Union partner firms were nationalized. They were transformed into a subdivision of the Association of People's Enterprises for the Production of Automobiles. In 1949, Auto Union was reformed by attracting a majority of the shares Mercedes-Benz. In 1958, Daimler-Benz AG acquired a controlling stake in Auto Union, but then sold it to Volkswagen. After the transfer in 1965 of a controlling stake to Volkswagen ("Volkswagen"), the name Audi was revived. Shortly after this event was released new car with front-wheel drive, and by the end of 1968 Audi returned to the market with a good range of models and enviable sales statistics. Four circles were retained as an emblem, symbolizing the 1932 merger of the four companies.
Model "100", which appeared on the market in 1968, as well as its followers, including the famous Audi Quattro, featured a sporty profile and 4-wheel drive, which was an advance in automotive industry Germany. Exactly Quattro model, which appeared in 1980, gave a powerful impetus to the development automotive industry and brought to Audi, subsidiary Volkswagen, world famous. In 1969, Volkswagen bought the Neckarsulmer Automobilwerke (" car factory in Neckarsulm, NSU). As a result, the name of the company changed, the company became known as Audi NSU Auto Union, and in the summer of 1985 the name of the company was transformed back into Audi AG. In 2000, the company opened its own museum in Ingolstadt, which displays 60 car models.
Today, Audi, which is integral part concern "Volkswagen", is experiencing a rapid rise. Such success was made possible thanks to the new developments of the company, including the Audi A8 model with a body that deserves the highest praise.
The multifaceted, eventful history of the famous car brand"Horch" has its roots in the 19th century. On November 14, 1899, the talented German engineer August Horch founded his own vehicle manufacturing company, Horch & Cie, in Cologne. Motorwagen Werke. A year later, the Horch brand saw the light, distinguished by design innovations. Subsequently, August Horch became one of the first famous automotive designers in the world.
August Horch
The future talented engineer and successful entrepreneur was born on October 12, 1868 in the city of Winningen, in the family of a blacksmith. The family of August Horch could not boast of prosperity, and therefore he had to work from the age of 13. Having changed several types of occupations, the purposeful and quarrelsome Horch was not inspired by any of them and in 1888 he decided to enter the Saxon Engineering School. Compensating for the lack of knowledge, the persistent young man successfully graduated from an educational institution and got a job first at a foundry, and then at the design department of a shipbuilding company, where he first encountered internal combustion engines.
His life changed dramatically after he got into motorcycle racing in 1896. At that time it vehicle was a marvel of technology. Horch asked the mechanics a lot about motorcycles and by the evening decided to write a letter with detailed information about yourself and applying for a job in Benz. Not expecting a quick response, August was pleasantly surprised when he soon received the news that he had been accepted and should immediately begin work. The 27-year-old Horch was appointed assistant chief in the engine building department, but after four months, thanks to diligence, he was put in charge of car production.
Foundation of the company
Four rings - four brands
The innovative approach and constant search for new solutions of August Horch in the design of cars required constant financial injections. This did not please the shareholders in any way and led to constant disagreements. Horch considered participation in motor racing the best advertisement for trademark. The company's cars became regular participants in the competition, and the designer often got behind the wheel himself.
The world of speed requires constant investment and growth. So, in 1906, the company produces new model ZD. german car"Horch ZD" with a 5.8-liter engine and a light sports body was specially assembled for participation in the prestigious races of Henry of Prussia. Unsuccessful performance in competitions aggravated an already difficult relationship with shareholders, who were extremely dissatisfied with sales previous model Horch Z. The stubborn designer rejected any proposed compromises, fully defending his point of view. As a result, in the summer of 1909, under pressure from shareholders, Horch left the company he founded, but a month later, in the same Zwickau, he registered a new company, August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH.
Two firms with an almost identical name and practically on the same street outraged the owners of the previous company. After the trial, which Horch lost, the question of a new name arose. During a discussion about this at a friend's house, the owner's son, who was studying Latin, simply translated Horch from German into Latin. This is how the name Audi appeared, and subsequently the company Audi Automobilwerke GmbH.
Familiar today four AUDI rings appeared much later. Influenced by the economic crisis of the early 1930s, the four companies decided to merge into one concern, Auto Union AG. The association included Horch, Audi, Wanderer and DKW. The emblem in the form of four rings symbolized the union of these four companies and had to be present on all cars of the concern. Horch and Audi made the Wanderer - middle class, DKW - budget and small cars. There is an erroneous opinion that the Horch car is the same as the Audi, just renamed over time. The fact is that after some time, three of the four representatives of the concern ceased to exist. Only Audi remained, which inherited the emblem.
Most Popular Models
by the most popular models"Horch" are rightfully considered cars with four-cylinder engines medium volume. Sales volumes of cars with larger displacement engines (sports, executive) have always been lower for several reasons. The exception was the models produced from 1937 to 1940 (851/853/853A/855/951/951A). It was these solid representative cars that were remembered as a symbol of the Horch brand. The car (the 1939 photo below proves it) looked great.
In addition to the production of civilian passenger cars, Horch had considerable experience in the production of military vehicles. One of the most famous is the middle multi-purpose vehicle"Horch 901" off-road. This machine was produced from 1937 to 1940 under the target program of the Wehrmacht to equip the army four-wheel drive vehicles three types: light, medium and heavy.
Post-war decline of the company
Starting from the mid-1930s, the management of the company by August Horch was of a formal nature. He was increasingly involved in social activities, took whole line leading posts. After the war, the city of Zwickau remained in the territory controlled by Soviet Union. The enterprises were nationalized and became part of the IFA, although for some time cars under the Horch brand were still produced, for example, the executive model 930S.
Horch cars in chronological order
The model range of civilian passenger cars by years can be seen in the table below.
Release years | Engine and number of cylinders | Working volume, l |
|
10 M 20 (10/35 PS) | |||
10 M 25 (10/50 PS) | |||
Type 303/304 (12/60 PS) | |||
Type 305/306 (13/65 PS) | |||
Type 350/375/400/405 (16/80 PS) | |||
Type 420/450/470/720/750/750B | |||
Type 480/500/500A/500B/780/780B | |||
851/853/853A/855/951/951A |
Now you know the history of these amazing cars and their talented creator.
