Audi Tradition Celebrates 100th Birthday in 2009

Audi Tradition will take part in more than 50 events in 2009 to celebrate Audi’s 100th birthday.

On July 16th, exactly 100 years after the company was established, Audi will host a commemorative ceremony in Ingolstadt; Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel has already agreed to attend. Another event not to be missed by every enthusiast and friend of the Audi brand is this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, where Audi will be putting in a special appearance as featured marque.

When Lord March invites guests to his country estate in East Sussex July 3-5, Audi Tradition will bring along just about every car built by Audi that has played a significant role on the world’s racetracks during the past 100 years. This is the first occasion on which even the company’s ‘family silver’ will be brought out from the Audi museum mobile: the Auto Union Type C Streamline, a unique, authentic replica of the car in which Bernd Rosemeyer attempted to break the world speed record in 1937, reaching over 400 km/h on an ordinary road. Also on static display at Goodwood will be the first-ever Audi competition car, the Audi Type C Alpine Cup winner dating from 1919. Vehicles in action on the circuit will be Auto Union Type C (1936) and Type D (1938) Silver Arrows, the legendary Audi Pikes Peak (1987) and IMSA GTO (1989) cars, the R8 and R10 sports cars that were victorious in Le Mans and various STC and GTM championship contenders.

In 2009, Audi Tradition will also be entering classic European historic-car rallies such as the Mille Miglia (May 13 to 17), the Silvretta Classic (July 2 to 5), the Ennstal Classic (July 15 to 18) and the Gran Premio Nuvolari (September 18 to 20). A very special highlight awaits visitors to the historic Grand Prix in Berne, which takes place from August 21 to 23. For the first time after more than 70 years, an Auto Union Type C racing car will be seen on the former Swiss racing circuit.

Audi Tradition is principal sponsor of the Danube Classic in Ingolstadt (June 18 to 20), the Heidelberg Historic (July 9 to 11), the Audi Eastoric in Hungary (August 27 to 30) and the Eifel Classic Rally held at the Nürburg Ring (October 1 to 3). And of course the AUDI AG department responsible for historical matters will also be attending the world’s largest classic-car fair, the Techno Classica in Essen (April 2 to 5), which this year features the Audi brand as its main topic.

‘100 years of Audi’ – the brand’s centenary has naturally influenced the special exhibitions organized at the Audi museum mobile in Ingolstadt. There will be three of these, starting on March 12 with the earliest Audi vehicles still in existence. Visitors will be able to see no fewer than twelve of these Audi models dating from the company’s early years, including the only surviving Type A – the very first Audi model – built in 1910 and loaned to Audi Tradition by the National Technical Museum in Prague. From the end of July to the end of November 2009, there will be a ‘family meeting’ of legendary rally cars from the memorable Group B period in the 1980s. This stationary display will be the first encounter between the world-champion Audi Quattro vehicles and their rivals since that time.

Last but not least, a special exhibition entitled ‘Family Silver – the Era of the Silver Arrow Grand Prix Cars’ will be staged from the end of November 2009 to the end of February 2010. It celebrates yet another highlight: the 75th anniversary of the Silver Arrows. As a result, these priceless racing cars will not only be on display at Audi Tradition events but will also be given a show of their own at the Audi museum mobile. Six Auto Union Silver Arrows will be seen together – more than at any time since the 1930s. They will be accompanied by their former ‘brothers and sisters’ from that great era when supercharged cars raced against one another. Audi Tradition is looking forward to welcoming historic racing cars entered by its then rivals, Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo.

[Source: Audi AG]