The four rings of Audi
The story of the Audi brand began back in the 19th century with August Horch. In 1899, the mechanical engineer founded his own business: August Horch & Cie. He built two-cylinder and later four-cylinder cars. In 1909, after a difference of opinions with the board of directors, he left the company.
Consequently, Horch founded a new car company in the same year. Since the name Horch was already taken, and he was prohibited from using it, he translated his family name into Latin: ‘AudI’. In 1910, the new brand’s first car entered the market. Audi gained attention with its three consecutive victories at the International Austrian Alpine Rally between 1912 and 1914 – one of the most challenging rallies of its time.
The company Wanderer originated as a bicycle repair shop. Later on, they started building bicycles, then motorcycles, and in 1913, the company produced its first small car..
The fourth company was DKW, one of the largest motorcycle manufacturers of its time. The Danish founder, Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen, began experimenting with a steam-powered automobile in 1916. His attempts were fruitless and Rasmussen began developing two-stroke engines. A few years later, DKW was one of the most important motorcycle manufacturers of the pre-war years. DKW started building cars in 1928.
Due to the global recession in 1929, demand plummeted. The four car companies, who had been successful up until that point, ran into financial difficulties. The solution was the union of the four brands and Auto Union was born
When the Auto Union was formed, the four rings appeared as a symbol for the first time. Later, the brand name Audi took centre stage: first in brown, then in red. Starting in 1978, a black oval with white lettering characterised the brand identity. Since 1985, the company and its product have once again shared the same name: Audi. In the 90s, the Ingolstadt company once again concentrated on the rings, this time with a three-dimensional look.
More recently, the logo needed to work well not only on paper, but online as well. So the trend was to simplify, and in 2016 the four rings became two-dimensional.
Photos © Audi AG