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| Auto Union |
"Auto Union"
Along with Mercedes, Auto Union dominated motor racing in the 1930s, a period in which Adolf Hitler actively promoted track success and speed records as a means of demonstrating to the world the fruits of German design and engineering...
Auto Union was formed in 1932, an amalgamation of four companies: Audi, Horch, Wanderer and DKW.
Spurred on by the intense domestic rivalry, the company produced a revolutionary new racing car in 1934, designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The 4.4-litre, 16-cylinder engine was mounted behind the driver, and with an output of 300bhp it made a mockery of the new 750kg formula, introduced in an attempt to curb the manufacturers penchant for increasing engine size year on year.
"First win for rear-engined car"
At the 1934 German GP at the Nurburgring, Hans Stuck became the first man to drive a rear-engined car to victory in a championship race. Stuck was a favourite of the new German Chancellor; and although not in the first rank of drivers, he was good enough to cross the line first in the inaugural Swiss GP at Bremgarten, and at the Czech GP. Mercedes undoubtedly boasted the stronger line-up, prompting Auto Union to sign Achille Varzi. Varzi had a stellar year with Alfa Romeo in 1934 but didn't achieve the same heights with Auto Union. Victory in the 1935 Tunis GP was one of the highlights, but by 1936 his career was on the wane. However, Auto Union unearthed a new star. Bernd Rosemeyer claimed his first victory in the 1935 Czech GP, and a year later — his first full Grand Prix campaign — he won six races, including the German Swiss and Italian GPs, to become European champion, the most prestigious title in motor sport at that time.
"Death of Rosemeyer"
By the end of 1937, Rosemeyer had notched 10 wins in 31 Grand Prix starts. He was killed during an attempt to recapture the world speed record from Mercedes in January 1938, and as his replacement Auto Union signed the legendary Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari had wanted to join the team three years earlier, but it is said that neither Varzi nor Stuck wanted the greatest driver of the era alongside them. Nuvolari won the Italian and Donington GPs in 1938, while team-mate Hermann Muller drove an Auto Union to victory in the 1939 French Grand Prix.
As Auto Union's base was the East German town of Zwickau, it proved impossible to resurrect the marque as a racing outfit after the Second World War. Its legacy in the modern era is the four-ring logo —representing the merger of the original four companies — which Audi continues to use.