Anniversary remake: The feat was repeated in 2005 when an Audi A6 4.2 quattro climbed the Kaipola slope.

Part 2: Technology

0 y e a r s o f A u d i 0 y e a r s o f V o r s p r u n g d u r c h Te c h n i k. A steep ascent: From the first eight-cylinder engine to the first LED daytime running lights. In the second part of our anniversary series, we look b a c k a t k e y t e c h n i c a l m i l e s t o n e s i n t h e s t o r y o f t h e f o u r r i n g s. By Hermann J. Mller
Eighty percent gradient, snow-covered piste: Nothing out of the ordinary at a ski jump. But this time its about going up, not down. In 1986, rally driver Harald Demuth climbs the Pitkvuori ski jump in Kaipola, Finland, in a production Audi 100 CS quattro, the star of one of the most impressive commercials of all time. Incredulous spectators think its a trick, but it isnt. The magic word is quattroand the progress through technology guaranteed by four permanently driven wheels is at least as imposing as the jump tower itself. At the same time, the rst ascent of Pitkvuori ski jump in a car marked the beginning of a further series of technological rsts which have distinguished cars from Horch, DKW and Auto Union since the 1920s. Whether its eight or twelve-cylinder engines, front-wheel drive or midmounted engines: Even the predecessor brands to todays Audi were ahead of their time, and their designersabove all Paul Daimler and Ferdinand Porscheenjoy a legendary reputation to this day. Those who followed in their footsteps are doing their best to emulate that success. The debut of the quattro system in 1980 continued the Ingolstadt tradition of innovation, and further highlights followed: We take you through some of them on the following pages. >>

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Horch eight-cylinder engine
Sixty horsepower from 3.2 liters, spread over eight cylinders. What seems like a printing error today was a technical sensation 83 years ago. Paul Daimler developed this sophisticated engine for the Horch works in Zwickau. In line with the high standards of the marque, it set a new benchmark for smooth, quiet running. The impressive in-line engine, which powered the Horch 8 Type 303 from 1926, also proved to be a trendsetter in terms of power yield and elasticity for many years to come and oered technological treats such as twin overhead camshafts driven by a vertical shaft. With this beauty, Horch established itself as the first manufacturer of eightcylinder cars in Germany.
2009 Slightly more displacement, but six times the power: The 350-horsepower V8 FSI in the Audi A8
2009 Six cylinders fewer, but still in the middle: The powerplant of the Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro

DKW front-wheel drive

The automobile was almost 50 years old when the rst front-wheel drive models hit the road. The reason was not a lack of imagination on the part of development engineers but technical feasibility. It was only in the 1920s that universal shafts came onto the market, making frontwheel drive possible. DKW chief Jrgen Skafte Rasmussen was one of the rst to see the potential. And he made it happen. Rasmussen got engineers from Audi, incorporated into DKW two years earlier, to develop the DKW FA 600 in 1930. With an 18-horsepower 600-cubic centimeter two-stroke engine, it was the rst production front-wheel drive car on the market in 1931 and played a key role in the spread of this drive system.
Auto Union mid-mounted engine
Fitting the engine between the axlesthe idea is actually quite logical. The handling advantages of concentrating the largest amount of mass close to the vehicles center of gravity and spreading the weight as evenly as possible over the two axles make sense even to a lay person. Designer Ferdinand Porsche was the rst to put the theory into practice. The decision by the Auto Union board to get involved in automobile sport from 1934 red the starting pistol for a project which began as the P-Wagen and evolved into one of the most successful racecars in history: Between 1934 and 1939, Auto Unions mid-engined racecars, powered by impressive V16 and V12 engines, won 83 major races. >>

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Audi quattro

Permanent drive via all four wheelsthe idea was not completely new. Young engineer Ferdinand Porsche had already designed an all-wheel-drive vehicle in 1900 for the Vienna-based royal carriage manufacturer Lohner, which was powered by a gasoline engine and four wheelmounted electric motors. But it was Porsches grandson Ferdinand Pich who brought the principle to production maturity. The then Audi head of development was looking for something unique and unmistakable for his cars at the end of the 1970s. He found it with permanent all-wheel drive. After its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1980 in the Urquattro, the new technology was introduced into other Audi models. It was decisively enhanced in 1986 with the torque sensing Torsen dierential. Two years later came the next step in the Audi V8, with an electronic differential lock providing highly intelligent distribution of the drive power, a system that was continuously enhanced in the course of time. But all quattro models share key advantages: better traction during acceleration, improved vehicle dynamics and greater safety thanks to exceptional roadholding.

Audi TDI

Turbodiesel direct injectionits quite a mouthful, but its also another example of progress through technology. The three letters TDI have been a synonym for supreme performance, low fuel consumption and remarkably smooth running for 20 years. Audi engineers were the rst to make diesel direct injection in passenger cars acceptable, unveiling it at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show: A 120-horsepower ve-cylinder turbocharged engine on board an Audi 100 laid the foundation stone for a whole family of engines which to this day need fear no comparison in terms of eciency and smooth running. Even today, it remains ahead of its time; the new 3.0 TDI clean diesel already meets the requirements of EU 6, which doesnt come into force until 2014.
2009 New 3.0 TDI V6: Featuring tomorrows technology today

Audi duo

It was ahead of its time: Terms such as greenhouse eect and carbon footprints were still unheard of when the Audi engineers developed the forerunner of hybrid technology. In November 1989, they presented the Audi duo to the Bavarian Economics Ministryan Audi 100 Avant whose only unusual feature on the outside were the solar panels integrated into its roof. But beneath the

2009 The powertrain of the Audi Q7: Advanced technology for maximum traction 024 / drive / Audi magazine
metal was a technology whose time only came 15 years later: a 133-horsepower front-mounted gasoline engine to drive the car via the front axle on longer journeys, and a nine-kilowatt electric motor powering the rear axle on shorter trips. The motor is fed by a 200-kilogram stack of nickel-cadmium batteries that can be recharged either by the on-board generator or by plugging into a standard electricity socket. >>

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Audi Space Frame
Light yet strong was a requirement which had previously concerned mainly aircraft and racecar designers. For a long time, weight was not an issue for car manufacturersnot important enough to warrant getting seriously to grips with the high costs and elaborate technology of aluminum processing. Once again, Audi was the pioneer: At the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Audi ASF Concept shone out in polished aluminum and, a year later, the new Audi A8 made its debut with an all-aluminum body, known ever since by the brand name Audi Space Frame (ASF). The ASF is a high-strength aluminum frame structure integrating all panels such as fenders, doors and hoods so that they also perform a load-bearing function. As well as weighing less, ASF also provides high torsional sti ness and excellent crash protectionoering designers opportunities which would be impossible to implement with a conventional sheet steel design.
Audi Three liters, four doors
Small, stylish, slightthe key features of the Audi A2, which made its debut in 2000 and set a host of new records. The rst volume-produced ASF model weighed around 150 kilos less than comparable cars in its size category, oered incredible amounts of room for passengers and luggage despite being only 3.83 meters longand its drag coecient of 0.252 is still a record today. In one respect, it was too far ahead of its time. Nine years ago, the market wasnt yet ready for a full-edged four-seat, fourdoor car that consumed only 3 liters of diesel over 100 kilometers with its 61-horsepower TDI engine and still managed to look good in the process. Today, the Audi A2 is one of the most coveted used cars on the market.

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Audi LED daytime running lights
More lighteven Goethe wanted it. Audi answered his call. The Audi R8 was the rst car to hit the market with full LED headlights. All light functions, including the distinctive daytime running lights, are provided by LEDs. Light emitting diodes (or LEDs) produce a very bright, daylight-white light particularly suitable for attracting attention in daylight and contribute to a huge improvement in road safety. In addition, they save energy because they consume less electricity than normal headlightsand because the driver does not have to switch on the tail lights at the same time as the main lights as would normally be the case. Other advantages include much longer life compared with conventional light bulbs and completely new opportunities for designing with light. //

Discover even more innovative technology at www.audi.com/tv.
100 years of Audithe anniversary series

Photos: AUDI AG

2009 Only part of the overall concept: The frame structure of the Audi A/ drive / Audi magazine
Part 1: Motorsport The greatest moments in Audi motorsport history.
Part 2: Vorsprung durch Technik From mid-mounted engines to TDI. The key technical innovations.
Part 3: Leaders and thinkers Engineers, decision makers, drivers. People who have shaped our company.
Part 4: Design Concept cars, studies and models that became design icons.

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