Photo: Audi
Back when Auto Union wasn’t even a thing, Horch was one of the go-to automakers for luxury cars in Germany. Integrated into the group in 1932, after which Audi took over control, the brand founded by August Horch is expected to return on the A8.
Citing Audi insiders, Automotive News reports “the most powerful version of the A8 will be available with Horch badging when the car is freshened in two or three years.” Will it be the W12 or the twin-turbo W12 in the Bentley Continental GT, heaven only knows. Confusing as it is, one source even went as far as suggesting “the Horch line would also work with the [4.0-liter twin-turbo] V8.”
Similar to what Maybach represents for Mercedes-Benz, Horch isn’t expected to bring forth standalone models, a lesson learned from the commercial failures known as the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62. Automotive News also understands that “Audi doesn’t plan to expand the name beyond the A8,” but we’re having second thoughts regarding this outcome.
The GLS-Class will be refreshed next year, and not long after the start of production, the Mercedes-Maybach lineup will welcome the full-size luxury SUV with ultra-luxury appointments. Even the G-Class has spawned a special edition with Mercedes-Maybach branding, which leads us to believe that Audi will Horch-ify the Q7.
“Audi has toyed with the Horch name in the past two decades, and gone as far as creating design mockups, but the projects were never seriously pursued for production.” On the subject of almost has-beens, did you know the Audi 100 from 1968 was developed by remnants of Auto Union who wanted but couldn’t slap the Horch badge on the front grille because of the higher-ups at Volkswagen?
East Germany claimed the rights to Horch during the communist period, and even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Audi couldn’t make a case for bringing back the brand. After World War II, the founder became a university professor and the Horch plant in Zwickau ended up producing the Trabant.
It remains to be seen if Audi will go forward with the plan, but on the other hand, can you imagine how big of a challenge is to pronounce Horch correctly? Someone at Audi will spend plenty of green dollar bills on an extremely specific marketing campaign, that’s for sure.
Similar to what Maybach represents for Mercedes-Benz, Horch isn’t expected to bring forth standalone models, a lesson learned from the commercial failures known as the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62. Automotive News also understands that “Audi doesn’t plan to expand the name beyond the A8,” but we’re having second thoughts regarding this outcome.
The GLS-Class will be refreshed next year, and not long after the start of production, the Mercedes-Maybach lineup will welcome the full-size luxury SUV with ultra-luxury appointments. Even the G-Class has spawned a special edition with Mercedes-Maybach branding, which leads us to believe that Audi will Horch-ify the Q7.
“Audi has toyed with the Horch name in the past two decades, and gone as far as creating design mockups, but the projects were never seriously pursued for production.” On the subject of almost has-beens, did you know the Audi 100 from 1968 was developed by remnants of Auto Union who wanted but couldn’t slap the Horch badge on the front grille because of the higher-ups at Volkswagen?
East Germany claimed the rights to Horch during the communist period, and even after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Audi couldn’t make a case for bringing back the brand. After World War II, the founder became a university professor and the Horch plant in Zwickau ended up producing the Trabant.
It remains to be seen if Audi will go forward with the plan, but on the other hand, can you imagine how big of a challenge is to pronounce Horch correctly? Someone at Audi will spend plenty of green dollar bills on an extremely specific marketing campaign, that’s for sure.
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