The cars in the Audi range today can trace a heritage back more than a century to the Horch Motorcar Company, named after the founder August Horch. However a mere eight years after the first Horch car was rolled out the founder was bought out of his own company. After a court case determining whether the founder could retain his family name for a new company, Horch was denied. It was at this point that Audi was born; horch meaning listen in German and Audi meaning listen in Latin.
The early stages of the Audi development saw a range of cars that excelled in the motor sport arena. Predominantly the cars relied upon six and four cylinder engines licensed from Peugeot. At the beginning of the Nazi period Audi formed a company made up from the original Horch manufacturer, DKW and Wanderer, naming it Auto Union. It was at this point that the four rings emblem that we see on the Audi range today was born. During the war the company was instrumental in the war effort manufacturing armoured cars and light transportation vehicles.
After the war Auto Union was broken up due to factories and headquarters lying in different parts of the now divided country. DKW became the most powerful of the four during the next decade until Volkswagen was able to buy out all four brands of the union. At this point an executive decision was made to forget the two stroke engines that were characteristic of the DKW range in preference for more comfortable and efficient four stroke engines. Part of this move meant forgetting the DKW brand in favour of Audi.
In the modern era Audi finally became the brand it is today, separating itself from the various mergers throughout its history. At this time (1970) the company was introduced to American shores with a range made up of small and saloon cars. The most important of this new generation was the Audi 50, a car that is seen as seminal by many due to its obvious likeness of the later Golf and Polo models produced by Volkswagen.
Audi are probably most famous however for producing a car that revolutionised drive systems and the world of rally racing. It was in 1980 that the Quattro was introduced to the range, a coupe that utilised a turbocharged engine and a unique four wheel drive system. This car was unbelievably successful in rally racing at a time when most competitors had discounted the benefits of a complicated all wheel drive system. The doubters were soon silenced however as the Quattro went on to dominate the rally world until the rest of the pack caught up with the technological developments.
Despite this the Audi range has consistently been labelled with a 'grandfather image'. That was until the late nineties when a range of sporty models were developed. These cars captured a growing market for performance cars that could be used on a daily basis. The pursuit of performance however has not ceased since this time, the latest car to be developed by the company was the R8, an all out sports car of undeniable beauty and ability. This latest inception has been developed to compete with Aston martin, Porsche and other European manufacturers but at a price of almost sixty thousand pounds it is anything but affordable.
Audi today have advanced from humble beginnings to be one of the predominant car manufacturers in Europe. Predictions for this year estimate that more than one million cars will be sold showing that the company is going from strength to strength. Long considered to be the little brother of the German car manufacturing industry; this four ringed company has finally come into its own.
History Of Sports Cars
Sports Car may be defined as a car with a sporty look, meaning an automobile which is short in height as compared to other cars to the extent that it almost touches the ground, having a powerful engine and light weight. A typical sports car has two seats, two doors, rear-wheel drive and with high speed. It is in fact a speedy car that needs to be handled quite efficiently and accurately. There are a number of popular companies that manufacture a perfect sports car like Ferrari, BMW's mid-sized sports car, Porsche, Lotus etc. However a sports car consists of a light-weight powerful engine with ultra modern suspension and a firm chassis due to these features the sports car that is light weight performs more accurately as compared to heavy sports cars.
Initially the cars were just considered an important mode of transport for carrying people and goods from one place to the other, and were manufactured to provide its core utility of transporting the people with comfort. Later on these cars soon became a craze amongst the people and a great fascination to drive it with speed and race, apart from its basic usefulness. This was the new era to welcome the sports cars.
The trend of sports car started after the Second World War when a new class of sports car was introduced. Initially a very expensive luxury car meant only for the rich and the famous personalities was seen on race tracks are now available with road functionalities and with reasonable pricing structure. There were just a few cars in the historical phase but now these cars are easily obtainable to a normal individual.
Enzo Ferrari was the first person design the sports car, in 1929. Then he was followed by many other car designers who started a new age of Sports Car. Ferrari's entire unit used advanced technologies and modifications and emerged out in the whole world to create a history by manufacturing the Formula One Racing Car, which is an obsession now and will remain in future. The most eligible and fantastic drivers for formula one are Michael Schumacher and Alberto Ascari, who promoted the Ferrari Sports Car to success. Then came the F430 became quite popular due to its performance and affordable pricing structure, after which Superamerica became the most desired of all the Sports Cars.
Any individual is first attracted by outer looks and then by its performance, same applies for cars too, so the designers and the manufacturers with a lot of hardwork and efforts introduced a car for racing against its competitors, this further triggered the development of cars for the next generation. It was a great risk to manufacture a speedy car with powerful engine with advanced technologies to improve its speed performance. Highly powerful engine with great speed was fixed into the light weight body of the car which was a great risk to the drivers as it needed to be handled most efficiently. Then came the thought for its safety where the designers worked hard and adopted certain modifications to set limitations on the speed and things like emergency brakes and suspension restrictions were added. However with the advanced technologies and great techniques a perfect sports car was ready on tracks.
Day-by-day the possession for Sports Car has become a rising trend in the market. It may be due to one or all of the following reasons to drive a person to posses a Sports Car.
- Its Fabulous Looks: The trendiest design of the Sports Car may e one of the reasons that more and more buyers are going crazy for it.
- Functionality: Functionality and the car performance should be the most vital aspect to be considered while purchasing a Sports model. Sports Car is designed to give the best performance with regards to speed. Thus the experience a driver gets while driving a Sports Car is beyond words.
- Pleasure and Thrill: Driving a Sports Car is an amazing feeling as it gives you immense pleasure and the thrill you are craving for. The fun while racing a Sports Car is just incomparable with racing any other car.
- Status Symbol: Possessing a Sports Car often gives you an image of a high class status symbol, as it looks more of a luxury item than an automobile for transport. You seem to look like an adventurous personality who likes to explore new things.
- Depreciation Value: Any car when purchased decreases in its value with increasing time period but surprisingly for Sports Car this is completely opposite, the value of the Sports Car increases with increasing time period!
In simple words owning a sports car reflects the car owner's personality and also shows how adventurous and trendy you are.
Both Thomas Pretty & Jamie Hanson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Thomas Pretty has sinced written about articles on various topics from Formula One, Debts Loans and Interior Design. Car industry expert Thomas Pretty looks into the development of the and the cars that have shaped the brand image.. Thomas Pretty's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.
Jamie Hanson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Environment and Desserts. Want to look trendy with a sports car, know more about the Sports Car and its amazing development at . Learn about. Jamie Hanson's top article generates over 1500000 views. to your Favourites.