From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Auto Union was the joint venture of 4 German car manufactures Horch, Audi, DKW and Wanderer, mainly in the 1930s. Their sign were 4 Rings (not to be confused with the 5 Olympic rings), as nowadays used by Audi. The Auto Union racing team was the main opponent of Mercedes-Benz in 1930s Grand Prix racing, using unusual mid engined cars where the drivers sat in front of the engines. It took 30 years until this concept by famous constructor Ferdinand Porsche became generally adopted in motor racing, as the cars where hard to master. Using supercharged engines that produced well over 500hp, the Silver Arrows of these two teams dominated not only 1930s car racing, but set records that would take decades to beat. For example, it took Formula 1 Grand Prix until the early 1980s to reach these power levels again.
As Auto Union was based in Zwickau, which became East Germany, almost all of the original race cars were lost during or after the war. Audi has rebuild some cars recently based upon remaining parts, plans and knowledge.
