From quattro to e-tron
The success story of AUDI AG in motorsport Victories and titles since 1981
Audi positions itself as the sportiest manufacturer in the premium segment and has a perfect basis to do so: motorsport. Sportiness, advanced technology and emotive design are the basis for the success of the Audi brand. The genes for this have their origin in racing, since 1980.
The success story began with the Audi quattro Excluding the era before the Second World War that included the legendary Auto Union Grand Prix race cars in the 1930s, the motorsport history of AUDI AG began with the Audi quattro. The dominant victories and two manufacturers’ and two drivers’ titles achieved with the “original quattro” in the World Rally Championship between 1982 and 1984 were an important factor in the market success of the quattro drivetrain. quattro victorious in circuit racing as well After Audi had turned rallying upside down and stormed up Pikes Peak (USA) with the Sport quattro in record time on three successive occasions, Audi also made the quattro drivetrain fit for circuit racing: initially with the Audi 200 quattro and the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO in the United States, in 1990 and 1991 with two championship titles for the Audi V8 quattro in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM), and ultimately also with the A4 in the production-based super touring cars. In 1996, the Audi A4 quattro won the championship titles in seven countries. Between 2012 and 2016, the all-wheel drive system returned to the race track as the e-tron quattro. Audi R8 most successful Le Mans sports car in present-day racing After the dominant quattro drivetrain was banned from touring car racing, Audi switched to sports prototypes and also underpinned its slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” in this motorsport category for 18 years. Audi, on making its debut at Le Mans in 1999, the toughest endurance race in the world, immediately managed the leap onto the podium, finishing third overall.
Year by year: The most important successes of Audi in motorsport
1981 3 victories in the World Rally Championship (Audi quattro) 1982 Winner manufacturers’ classification World Rally Championship (Audi quattro) 1983 Winner drivers’ classification World Rally Championship (Audi quattro) 1984 Winner drivers’ and manufacturers’ classification World Rally Championship (Audi quattro) 1985 Winner Rally San Remo (Audi Sport quattro S1) Winner Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race (Audi Sport quattro S1) Winner Rally Hong Kong–Beijing (Audi quattro) 1986 Winner Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race (Audi Sport quattro S1) Winner Rally Hong Kong–Beijing (Audi quattro) 1987 Winner Safari Rally (Audi 200 quattro) Winner Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race (Audi Sport quattro S1) 1988 Winner TransAm Series (Audi 200 quattro) 1989 7 victories IMSA GTO Series (Audi 90 quattro) 1990 Winner German Touring Car Championship (Audi V8 quattro) 1991 Winner German Touring Car Championship (Audi V8 quattro) 1993 Winner French Touring Car Championship (Audi 80 quattro) 1994 Winner Italian Touring Car Championship (Audi 80 competition) 1995 Winner Italian Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) Winner Touring Car World Cup (Audi A4 quattro) 1996 Winner Super Touring Car Championships Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and South Africa (Audi A4 quattro) 1997 Winner Central European Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 1999 3rd place Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8R) Winner German Super Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2000 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) 2001 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner European Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner Speedvision GT (Audi S4 Competition) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2002 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring
The traditional NSU brand and the Audi Neckarsulm site: 150 years of innovation and transformation
In the anniversary year of 2023, Audi Tradition will bring out a number of NSU highlights from AUDI AG’s historical vehicle collection for events. Ten-part series with classic and exotic cars from NSU’s product history
The traditional NSU brand is celebrating its birthday. In 1873, Christian Schmidt and Heinrich Stoll founded “Mechanische Werkstätte Schmidt & Stoll” in Riedlingen for the production of knitting machines, which later evolved into NSU Motorenwerke AG and ultimately into today’s Audi site in Neckarsulm. Even NSU’s name is closely associated with Neckarsulm, as the company name is derived from the city on the Neckar and Sulm rivers. NSU impressively demonstrates the development of mobility – from bicycles and motorcycles to automobiles. For its 150th anniversary, Audi Tradition is bringing out a number of NSU highlights from its historical vehicle collection. The special exhibition “Innovation, audacity and transformation”, a cooperation project between Audi Tradition and the German Bicycle and NSU Museum (Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum), is also under construction. The exhibition will be on display at the Audi Forum in Neckarsulm and at the German Bicycle and NSU Museum in Neckarsulm starting on June 14.
“There are so many stories to tell from the long history of NSU,” said Tobias Fräbel, an employee at Audi Tradition responsible for the corporate archives of the Neckarsulm site and the NSU brand. “Since we can’t tell all the stories in just one text, Audi Tradition will offer stories and background information about the company, its products, its involvement in racing and much more throughout the year.” These posts can be found on Audi Tradition’s Instagram channel and in the Audi MediaCenter. There, Audi Tradition will launch a ten-part series. From March to December, one NSU model will be introduced every month – from the brand’s classics, whether they have two or four wheels, to prototypes and exotic models.
Audi museum mobile celebrates its 20th birthday
34 vehicles from the company's history are new to the permanent exhibition Rally, DTM, Le Mans: motor sport history - an exclusive on the paternoster Now icons such as the Audi TT, Audi RS 4 and Audi A2 are in the museum
It will soon be twenty years since the Audi museum mobile first opened its doors on 15 December 2000. Over the first twenty years of the new millennium, Audi AG has added many chapters to its success story. During that time automotive classics have been created and new milestones in technological development set. To mark the museum's 20th anniversary, this gap has now been closed, giving visitors to the Audi museum mobile a better understanding of the more recent years in Audi's history. From 15 December, 34 new historic vehicle exhibits await visitors to the Audi museum mobile.
As part of this, the huge paternoster will be a delight to behold for all motor sport fans. From now on the history of motor sport at AUDI AG will be taking a ride where previously exhibits for particular topics regularly exchanged places. With the exception of the Auto Union Silver Arrows which will remain in their traditional spot on the third floor of the museum, everything which, since the 1960s, has made Audi into the sporty brand it is will be presented on the revolving platforms which accompany visitors on all four floors. This will lend a completely new quality to the motor sport exhibition. Instead of the present five exhibits, there will now be fourteen. These include the Audi A4 DTM winner from 2007, the Audi Le Mans R8 LMP prototype from 2002, the Audi A4 STW from 1996, an Audi Rally quattro Group 4 from 1980, the Audi Sport quattro Rally Group B from 1985, the NSU 1300 TT "Jägermeister" from 1975 as well as the DKW F11/64 touring car from 1963. This restructuring has made it possible to redesign the previous motor sport exhibition area on the second floor and equip it with more recent Audi icons.
Audi welcomes US DTM initiative
Plans for new US race series with DTM racecars Possible new fields of competition for the Audi RS 5 DTM Development Boss Wolfgang Dürheimer: “Of interest to Audi”
A new and promising opportunity in motorsport opens up for Audi: as announced at a press conference today in New York, the organizers of NASCAR and GRAND-AM plan a US based race series for DTM racecars like the Audi RS 5 DTM.
To this end, a dedicated platform for the spectacular DTM cars should be in place in the USA by 2016. The responsible parties of the ITR have concluded a corresponding cooperation with their partners in America. It complements a previously existing and similar agreement with the Japanese Super GT Championship organizers. “As a consequence, the opportunity arises in the future to race the Audi RS 5 DTM not only in Europe, but also in Asia and North America in premium championships,” says Wolfgang Dürheimer, Member of the Board for Technical Development at AUDI AG. “As a globally active company, this is exciting and interesting for Audi.” Scott Keogh, President of Audi of America: “Audi has a strong and spectacular history in US motorsport. We are currently looking for options that will allow the four rings to be more visible again on the race tracks throughout the USA. It’s fantastic news that there could soon be a US DTM. The Audi RS models are very popular in America. I’m convinced that our customers will be delighted to see the Audi RS 5 DTM in action.” Audi has been active for more than 30 years in motorsport and was frequently successful in the USA during this period. In the 1980s, the brand with the four rings triumphed three times in succession at the Pikes Peak hill climb in Colorado. In 1988, Audi won the Trans-Am Series, in 1989 the Audi 90 quattro was the dominant car in the IMSA GTO series. Audi won the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) championship title nine times in succession between 2000 and 2008.
Facts on the victory of Audi in the Nürburgring 24 Hours
Audi R8 LMS ultra: second Nürburgring victory in three years New distance record in the Eifel ‘marathon’ Sixth overall victory of the GT race car in a 24-hour race
Just one week following the victory of the Audi factory team in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the brand celebrates a triumph in its customer sport program as well. Phoenix Racing won the Nürburgring 24 Hours with the Audi R8 LMS ultra.
At Le Mans (June 15) and at the Nürburgring (June 22), Audi won two 24-hour races within the space of one week this year. This was last achieved in 2012 – when the two victories were separated by four weeks. Two years ago, the R18 e-tron quattro and the R8 LMS had been the winning cars as well. René Rast and Christian Mamerow mounted the very top of the podium in the Eifel ‘marathon’ for the first time while Markus Winkelhock and Christopher Haase had previously been successful with Audi in 2012. The name of the Winkelhock family of race drivers can now be found on the winners’ list four times. Joachim Winkelhock, the uncle of Audi driver Markus Winkelhock, won the endurance race in 1990 and 1991. The tally of the Audi R8 LMS and the R8 LMS ultra in the Nürburgring 24 Hours since 2009 reflects five SP9 GT3 class victories (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014), including two overall victories (2012, 2014). The customer sport race car has celebrated six overall victories (Spa 2011, Zolder 2011, Nürburgring 2012, Spa 2012, Zolder 2012, Nürburgring 2014) and a total of eleven class victories in 24-hour races to date. At Le Mans, Audi has been holding the distance record since 2010. At the Nürburgring, the GT3 sports car has set a new best mark this year. The R8 LMS ultra, with chassis number 14 0611, completed 159 laps, equating to 4,035.102 driven kilometers on which the winners’ team achieved an average speed of 167.435 km/h. The previous record of 156 laps, equating to 3,958.968 kilometers, was set in the 2011 season.
Audi set on winning at the Norisring
Traveling to the Norisring as leader of the manufacturers’ classification More than 100,000 fans expected at season’s pinnacle event Dieter Gass, Head of DTM: “First victory of the season is the aim”
With six titles clinched in the past decade Audi is the most successful brand in the more recent DTM history. But a victory in its home round at the Norisring has been missing on its tally of success since 2002. Therefore, Audi Sport, the drivers and the teams are particularly motivated before the season’s pinnacle event and the only city street race on the DTM calendar to be held on the weekend of June 27 to 29.
From the second-longest to the shortest circuit on the calendar: Following the round in Hungary, the DTM, on racing in the heart of Nuremberg, is returning to Germany. The Audi locations Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm are only 80 and 140 kilometers away from the circuit, which makes the only city street race in the series a double home round for the Audi squad. As in the past years, far more than 100,000 spectators are expected to turn out on the weekend. The characteristics of the Norisring are unique in the world of race tracks. Two long straights, two hairpin turns, a chicane – all on a distance of 2,300 meters, surrounded by concrete walls and high grandstands made of stone. The circuit consists of streets normally used by public traffic and the surface alternates between tarmac and concrete. Time gaps of a few thousandths of a second in qualifying are equally typical for the Norisring as numerous overtaking maneuvers. The Drag Reduction System (DRS), with which the rear wing angle can be flattened by pushing a button on the steering wheel, assists the drivers in front of the Grundig turn at the end of the start-finish straight or when braking in front of the Dutzenteich turn. The last Audi victory in Nuremberg dates back twelve years. In 2002, Laurent Aiello in a privately fielded Abt Audi TT-R won the race after a gripping duel with Bernd Schneider.
Audi wants to win German finale of the DTM
Audi A4 DTM to fight for victory at Hockenheim New track version provides spectators with a special attraction Mattias Ekström still has a theoretical title chance
Round nine of the DTM at Hockenheim on October 17 (starting at 1:45 p.m. – local time – live on “Das Erste”) will see Audi make another attempt at fighting for the top on a new track layout after the most recent, unfortunate miss of a possible victory at Oschersleben.
A race with new circumstances: this year, Hockenheim – which has been the venue of the season opener and finale since the new DTM was launched in the 2000 season – will not mark the final event on the calendar for the first time. Instead Audi will be starting into the “German finale” of the season on this circuit before the two remaining rounds will be held at Adria (Italy) and Shanghai (China). Most recently at Oschersleben, Audi managed to postpone an early title decision in the DTM with a third-place finish by Mattias Ekström. Timo Scheider, who was on the verge of taking the lead on lap 34, lost ground due to a puncture. After two consecutive DTM title wins the 32-year-old Audi “factory” driver thus dropped out of the group of candidates for the title. Instead Ekström, in fourth place of the standings, assumed the ranking of the best Audi driver in the 2010 DTM. The Swede is separated from the leader of the standings, Bruno Spengler, by 26 points. “30 points are yet to be awarded in the remaining three races,” calculates Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Although the mathematical chances of postponing the decision once more are very small, we’re determined to give everything up to the very end. We fought for victory at Oschersleben and we want to do this again – but this time with a positive outcome for us. We want to end the season on a note of having shown the best possible single performances.”