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“That’s what I call luxury!”

Without him, there would have been no Audi brand: In 1909 August Horch established an automotive tradition that stretches back more than a century now. High time for an imaginary conversation with him about mobility today.

COPY/ANDREAS FINGAS/INA HÄMMERLING
COPY/ELISE PHAM

Mr. Horch, you once said: “I always tried to build only powerful, good cars using top-quality materials.” Has your wish been fulfilled?

August Horch: Of course! 70 years ago, the business of body manufacturing was a very different affair altogether. Precise drawings were a rarity and the individual processes performed by leatherworkers, coachbuilders and cartwrights were not clearly defined. Every working process involved handicraft. I like to regard engineering as a matter of craftsmanship, too. I believe that is a value that will survive, no matter how much technical progress we make. Today’s Audi R8 Spyder is a prime example. The V10 engine is largely assembled by hand. That gives a brand a very special quality.

But tell us, what was the maiden voyage in your very first car like?

H: My first self-developed Horch car set out from my workshop in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne in 1901. Workshop, however, is exaggerated. Strictly speaking, we worked in a former stable. And it was January, but despite the cold I could hardly wait to take a test run. Looking back, it must be difficult for you to imagine how I spent the maiden voyage with my teeth chattering. Today you simply switch on the heating, and even if it’s ten below outside you’re soon nice and warm. That’s what I call luxury! All the same, I relished every moment of the drive, and that car was ultimately the reason why I set out to build even better cars.

People often talk of “the Audi mystique.” What do you think is the key to it?

H: Something acquires mystique when it has both a past and an emotional pull. Major feats, or “top performances” as you would say today, are the source of mystique. Do you remember those silver, streamlined Auto Union racing cars? They are still a milestone in motor sport history. So they are part of the Audi mystique. As indeed are many other famous cars, such as the Urquattro and the Audi 100. But there is more to the Audi mystique than cars. It also includes outstanding personalities and pioneers such as Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, Bernd Rosemeyer and maybe myself too.

How important was motor sport to you, and what does it give Audi today?

H: A race demands everything of a car. With rather childlike spirit, the engineer wants to test the limits of how far he can push it. And ideally, he can take it beyond those limits. We started sending our cars out onto the racetrack very early on. We won the Austrian Alpine Run three years in a row: with the Audi Type B in 1912, and with the Audi Type C in the two subsequent years. And I did the driving – without a driver’s license. In fact, I never even took the test (laughs). What we learned from that experience was immediately translated into new designs. Just think how many innovations from the world of motor sport have found their way into production models, and vice versa. The basic unit for the diesel engine with which Audi won Le Mans in 2006 was a production engine. Conversely, the production version of the R8 is a direct result of Audi’s tremendous achievements in motor sport.

To what extent do findings from motor racing and decades of research influence our mobility?

H: The words automobile and mobility are of course related. “Automobility” means having more liberty to discover the world, and more time to enjoy it. This used to be a pleasure that was only open to the privileged few. At the beginning of the 20th century a Horch chassis cost around 9,400 marks – at least 100,000 euros in today’s money. But the truly important things in life are priceless. For 15 years I drove a convertible whose folding roof only protected you from above. So I was sitting outside exposed to the elements, and whenever I had a long journey I always hoped it wouldn’t rain. If you want to, you can still go driving today with only the sky above you, for instance in a beautiful A5 Cabriolet.

So do you think that what people expect from life has changed?

H: Yes, I do. People used to invest first and foremost in material possessions; today, they invest their time and money in experiences and enduring values. A car is no longer simply a means of transportation, it is also always an expression of personality. And I think that is a perfectly normal development in a world in which real luxury is the ability to realize your dreams and be at one with yourself.

Would you say that a compact car is compatible with the brand’s premium models?

H: Compact and premium are not a contradiction in terms! The A1 is an appropriate response to the challenges of today’s world, and has everything that is expected of a highquality car. I already pointed the way with the Horch 11/22 hp. In 1906 Dr. Rudolf Stöss drove it to victory in the Herkomer Run, which is acknowledged as the 20th century’s most important reliability test – even though it was the smallest car taking part!

So when it comes to cars, you believe luxury is not a matter of size or price. Do you apply the same maxim to your private life?

H: I come from a family of blacksmiths and had a simple upbringing. Of course I appreciate things of beauty. But for me, genuine luxury is about something else.

Why do you find the new A8 so exciting?

H: I have very fond recollections of Horch cars and, above all, the Pullman sedan. That was a truly classic example of opulent luxury. Those cars have become legendary, the stuff of dreams. They are our heritage, even if they are no longer right for today. And then you look at the new A8. What makes this car so special is its simple elegance. It has just a hint of the luxury of yesteryear. But it is reinterpreted in such a modern way that it fulfills the requirements of your present day. All those sophisticated materials are not just used for their own sake; they always have a specific purpose. It is always a sheer delight for an engineer to see a component’s function given top priority.

We’ve discussed the past and the present. How do you view the future? Will it be electric?

H: You mean electric drive? As far as I’m concerned, there is nothing new about it – it’s merely waiting to be rediscovered. Audi built the Audi duo back in 1989. That was a genuine hybrid because it was powered by both a 100 kW (136 hp) five-cylinder gasoline engine and a 9.3 kW (12.6 hp) DC electric motor. I think history often throws up intriguing ironies. The Audi duo was already a plug-in hybrid long before anyone had thought up that term.