From Quattro to e-Tron, here's what Audi's 50-year old 'Vorsprung durch Technik' slogan means
Sanjay · Jul 12, 2021 08:00 AM
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Vorsprung durch Technik, following dramatic, bassy thumps that makes up its jingle, has been synonymous with Audi for quite a while now - 50 years in fact. But what does it mean, where did it come from, and what's next for the oft-mispronounced slogan?
Let's take a short jaunt into the past and peek into the future to answer these questions.
How things started
NSU Ro 80
In 1969, Auto Union GmBH and NSU Motorenwerke AG merged to form Audi NSU Auto Union AG. This new company's range of models spanned from air-cooled engines of the rear-wheel drive NSU Prinz series, the water-cooled four-cylinder engines of the front-wheel drive Audi 60 and Audi 100, as well as the rotary engines of the NSU Ro 80.
Noticing these diverse offerings, Hans Bauer, an employee in the Audi NSU advertising department, coined the now-famous three-word phrase in 1970.
Roughly translating to 'advancement through technology', the slogan made its inaugural appearance in 1971. Customers also saw it in Audi 100, Audi 80, and Audi 50 brochures too.
As the nature of advertising goes, the slogan was tweaked a couple of times over the years (such as the not-too-inspiring 'Audi. A nice bit of technology.'), but the brand returned to their original tagline shortly thereafter.
Two sides of the same crazy coin
When the Audi Quattro rolled along in 1980, the slogan's use was ramped up, including on Europe's largest illuminated advertisement at that time.
Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management of Audi AG for Technical Development certainly agrees that Quattro was the milestone that really hammered home what 'Vorsprung durch Technik' meant.
The Quattro is a permanent all-wheel drive (AWD) system
“The most important milestone for me is Quattro technology. Not only was it the foundation for our rally successes, it also represents the transfer of our experience from racing into serial production. Since then, Quattro and Audi go hand-in-hand."
"Equally important was the first Audi A8 with Audi Space Frame technology in 1994, which helps us finally cement our place in the premium segment," explains Hoffman.
From fuel-saving to planet-saving
Audi Sport Team Joest celebrating their 24H of Le Mans win in 2002 - the third in a row after 2001 and 2000
Moving along the future, the company marked the 'Decade of Audi' by dominating Le Mans in the early-2000s thanks to technologies such as FSI, Turbo-FSI, Ultra technology and hybrids. To date, Audi has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 13 times in 15 years of participation.
Weight savings were at the forefront - the A2 1.2 TDI tipped the scales at less than 900 kg
In 2001, the brand debuted the rather mythical Audi A2 1.2 TDI. Made almost entirely of aluminium and powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder diesel, the company maintains that this is the first and only car to return a fuel efficiency figure of 3 litres/100 km.
The e-tron
The company's next technological leap came in 2018, with the introduction of the Audi e-tron. Boasting a range of 400 kilometres on a single charge, it is the brand's first fully-electric (EV) car to reach serial production.
What's next for Audi? Sustainability is now a core company goal (it has been since the late 2010s), and the company are setting their sights on being carbon-neutral by 2050. In line with this, they've already announced that they'll be doing away with internal combustion engines in five years.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
