History of Audi

Chronicle 1899-1914
Chronicle 1915-1929
Chronicle 1930-1944
Chronicle 1945-1959
Chronicle 1960-1974
Chronicle 1975-1989
Chronicle 1990+

1963 The Wankel Spider is the sensation at the IAA
The open-top two-seater on the NSU stand at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show was a sensation. Known as the Wankel Spider, this small two-seater had a single-rotor rotary piston engine at the rear. NSU had been working together with Felix Wankel on a new engine concept since the beginning of the 1950s: instead of a reciprocating piston, a rotor compressed the fuel/air mixture (rotary piston engine).

1965 The name Auid is reborn
All work on the two-stroke engine came to an end when Auto Union became part of the Volkswagen Group. A four-cylinder four-stroke engine developed previously under Daimler-Benz - known as the "medium-pressure" engine - was installed in the last DKW model F 102 and presented as an Audi in the summer of 1965.

1968 The Audi 100 is launched
On 26 November 1968, Auto Union invited dealers and the press to attend the presentation of the newly designed Audi 100 at the Ingolstadt City Theatre. This model, developed by technical director Dr. Ludwig Kraus, took Audi into the competitive market segment of the upper mid-size class for the first time. The Audi 100 quickly became a bestseller and formed the basis for a new Audi model series that ensured the future independence of the Audi brand.

The Audi 80 is launched
In the summer of 1972, the chairman of technical engineering Dr. Ludwig Kraus presented the Audi 80, the continuation of the model policy started with the Audi 100. This car used a four-cylinder OHC engine which was later also adopted by the Volkswagen Group, ultimately becoming the engine with the highest production volume at VW. The Audi 80 was a smash hit. Over a million of this model were built and sold within six years.