Under threat of being sued for trademark infringement from his former business partners, founder August Horch was unable to use his own name when he formed a new motor car company in 1909. ‘Horch’ means ‘listen’ in German - which translates to ‘audi’ in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union. Audi factories were dismantled by the Russians in 1945, forcing Audi executives to move operations to Ingolstadt, Bavaria, where they manufactured pre-war DKW models until 1949.

The modern success story that is Audi can be traced back to 1969 when Audi finally became a separate brand for the first time in the post-war era. The Audi 100 of 1968, and 80/Fox of 1972 ensured ongoing success as the cars were praised around the world for their modern design, reliability and handling characteristics. With the Audi Quattro of the early 1980s, the company had a world beating rally car that dominated competitions around the world. The modern legend was born.