With a new exhibition at the Audi Forum Neckarsulm, Audi Tradition is presenting a special chapter in the history of Audi: the rise of the four rings in the upper mid-size class with the Audi 100. Until April 30, a total of 17 exhibits from eight model generations of the C model series, starting with the Audi 100 from 1968, await guests on the second floor of the Audi Forum.
Over its four model generations, the Audi 100 wins the "Golden Steering Wheel" five times, the "Car of the Year" title twice and is once named "World Car of the Year" by automotive journalists. A total of 3.2 million Audi 100s sold underline the success of the model series.
The premiere of the first Audi 100 in 1968 was preceded by an exciting story, as its development began in secret. In the mid-1960s, Volkswagenwerk AG took over Auto Union GmbH and prohibited the Ingolstadt-based company from developing new models. Ludwig Kraus, then Technical Director of Auto Union, ignored the requirement to only support existing models. He wanted to add a mid-range model to the Audi brand, which had only been reintroduced in 1965 with the first Audi after the Second World War. At a time when VW Beetles were rolling off the production line at the Ingolstadt plant, Kraus saw this as the only chance of survival for an independent Auto Union.
His courage is rewarded and he gets the green light from Wolfsburg for his Audi 100 study. Production starts in 1968 and within a very short time the capacity limits in Ingolstadt are reached. The Audi 100 is therefore manufactured at the Neckarsulm plant from 1970. The company sells 800,000 cars from the very first series. Three further generations follow and prove Audi's claim of "Vorsprung durch Technik" with numerous innovations - such as the fully galvanized body, optimized aerodynamics and highly efficient engines.
The Audi A6 has been continuing the success story of the Audi 100 since 1994. Nine variants of the Audi 100 and eight of the Audi A6 can be seen in the exhibition. An Audi RS 6 Avant GT1 from 2024 rounds off the exhibition. According to curator Stefan Felber, each of the 17 exhibits is characterized by a special feature. In addition to the "first one", which founded the line of ancestors, the public will get to know a globetrotter, a space miracle, a long one, a sloping one, a networked one and a maximum one - the latter is the Audi RS 6 Avant GT, which concludes the almost 60-year history of the model series in the exhibition. But as we all know, the ninth generation of the successful model will soon continue - the new Audi A6 Avant will celebrate its world premiere on March 4 at 2 pm...
