Audi's Founder Was Banned From Using His Own Name
Eponym
14 views
Audi's founder was banned from using his own name.
In 1910 a German court ruled that the name "Horch" belonged to the company August Horch had left, so he translated it into Latin. Horch means "listen". So does Audi.
This is how Audi got its name: the true story of August Horch, the blacksmith's son from the Moselle who built some of the finest cars in Germany, signed his name over to investors, lost it in court, and founded Audi a few hundred metres from his old factory. Two of Audi's four rings were started by the same man.
In this documentary:
• Why Audi is called Audi, and what the name means in Latin
• How a car pioneer lost the legal right to his own surname
• Horch vs. Horch: the trademark case that created a new car brand
• The Austrian Alpine Rally wins that made Audi famous
• How Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer became Auto Union and the four rings
• The uncomfortable part of the record
• How the Audi name came back in 1965, and where Horch is today
CHAPTERS
0:00 Two of Audi's four rings, one man
1:15 August Horch, the blacksmith's son
2:37 Forty cars: the first Horch automobiles
4:08 The signature that cost him his name
6:40 Listen: why Audi is called Audi
8:51 The proof: Alpine rally wins
10:15 The cost: war, money and Auto Union
13:22 The return: how the Audi name came back
SOURCES
• Sächsische Biografie: August Horch (ISGV, S. Friedreich, 2010) — https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/2232
• German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), "Milestones": August Horch — https://www.dpma.de/english/our_offic...
• Stadt- und Stiftsarchiv Aschaffenburg, Dossier August Horch (2023) — https://aschaffenburgzweinull.stadtar...
• Audi Tradition, company history — https://www.audi.com/en/horch-310 · https://www.audi.com/en/the-beginning...
• Audi press release, "60 years since the first post-war Audi" (2025) — https://www.audi.com/en/press-release...
• Volkswagen Group, The History of Audi — https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/t...
• City of Zwickau, Zwickau cars — https://www.zwickau.de/en/industry/st...
• Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, Audi Typ C "Alpensieger" — https://www.flickr.com/photos/1095516...
• Audi Magazine, Audi A8 L Horch (2021) — https://magazine.audi.com.au/article/...
• JA Apparel Corp. v. Abboud, S.D.N.Y. 2008; 682 F. Supp. 2d 294 (2010) — https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/persp...
• Veikkos-Archiv, August Horch — https://veikkos-archiv.com/index.php?...
CREDITS
Archive photographs: Audi AG
Photographs of his family, his father's forge, his first workshops and workers, the Zwickau works and the 1914 Alpine rally, the 1896 Benz letter and the drawings of Winningen and Cologne: August Horch, "Ich baute Autos" (Berlin, 1937), digitised by TIB Hannover (public domain)
Audi Q8 and R8 photos: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Trabant animation: "DDR-Kultauto Trabant", ZDF / Terra X / Dr. Friedrich Scherer / Kawom! / Wolfgang Morell / Maximilian Heß, CC BY 4.0, cropped and colour-graded — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
1914 army trucks: "German War Film, 1914–1918", US National Archives (public domain)
The 1906 Herkomer winner: La Vie au Grand Air, 1906 (public domain)
Stadt- und Stiftsarchiv Aschaffenburg
Paintings, maps and motion graphics were made for this film. They are illustrations, not photographs.
Narration: synthetic voice (ElevenLabs).
Music (Pixabay): "Emotional Investigative Documentary Soundtrack with Slow Build" by DesiFreeMusic, "Historical Documentary Background. Timeless History" by SigmaMusicArt, "Steampunk Victorian Orchestra" by Luis_Humanoide, "Crimson Lies" by Hot_Dope, "Late Hours" by GuilhermeBernardes, "Conquerer of the Mountain" by SilentEcho, "Dark Emotional Music" by adiiswanto, "Orchestral Sadness and Acceptance - Eulogy" by DPatterson_Composer, "Empty Chair" by Surprising_Media
Sound recordings: Work With Sounds / La Fonderie — via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, edited — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Eponym — the people behind famous names. New stories on the channel.
#Audi #AugustHorch #CarHistory #Eponym
Audi's Founder Was Banned From Using His Own Name
Eponym
14 views
Audi's founder was banned from using his own name.
In 1910 a German court ruled that the name "Horch" belonged to the company August Horch had left, so he translated it into Latin. Horch means "listen". So does Audi.
This is how Audi got its name: the true story of August Horch, the blacksmith's son from the Moselle who built some of the finest cars in Germany, signed his name over to investors, lost it in court, and founded Audi a few hundred metres from his old factory. Two of Audi's four rings were started by the same man.
In this documentary:
• Why Audi is called Audi, and what the name means in Latin
• How a car pioneer lost the legal right to his own surname
• Horch vs. Horch: the trademark case that created a new car brand
• The Austrian Alpine Rally wins that made Audi famous
• How Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer became Auto Union and the four rings
• The uncomfortable part of the record
• How the Audi name came back in 1965, and where Horch is today
CHAPTERS
0:00 Two of Audi's four rings, one man
1:15 August Horch, the blacksmith's son
2:37 Forty cars: the first Horch automobiles
4:08 The signature that cost him his name
6:40 Listen: why Audi is called Audi
8:51 The proof: Alpine rally wins
10:15 The cost: war, money and Auto Union
13:22 The return: how the Audi name came back
SOURCES
• Sächsische Biografie: August Horch (ISGV, S. Friedreich, 2010) — https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/2232
• German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), "Milestones": August Horch — https://www.dpma.de/english/our_offic...
• Stadt- und Stiftsarchiv Aschaffenburg, Dossier August Horch (2023) — https://aschaffenburgzweinull.stadtar...
• Audi Tradition, company history — https://www.audi.com/en/horch-310 · https://www.audi.com/en/the-beginning...
• Audi press release, "60 years since the first post-war Audi" (2025) — https://www.audi.com/en/press-release...
• Volkswagen Group, The History of Audi — https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/t...
• City of Zwickau, Zwickau cars — https://www.zwickau.de/en/industry/st...
• Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, Audi Typ C "Alpensieger" — https://www.flickr.com/photos/1095516...
• Audi Magazine, Audi A8 L Horch (2021) — https://magazine.audi.com.au/article/...
• JA Apparel Corp. v. Abboud, S.D.N.Y. 2008; 682 F. Supp. 2d 294 (2010) — https://www.arnoldporter.com/en/persp...
• Veikkos-Archiv, August Horch — https://veikkos-archiv.com/index.php?...
CREDITS
Archive photographs: Audi AG
Photographs of his family, his father's forge, his first workshops and workers, the Zwickau works and the 1914 Alpine rally, the 1896 Benz letter and the drawings of Winningen and Cologne: August Horch, "Ich baute Autos" (Berlin, 1937), digitised by TIB Hannover (public domain)
Audi Q8 and R8 photos: Vauxford, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Trabant animation: "DDR-Kultauto Trabant", ZDF / Terra X / Dr. Friedrich Scherer / Kawom! / Wolfgang Morell / Maximilian Heß, CC BY 4.0, cropped and colour-graded — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
1914 army trucks: "German War Film, 1914–1918", US National Archives (public domain)
The 1906 Herkomer winner: La Vie au Grand Air, 1906 (public domain)
Stadt- und Stiftsarchiv Aschaffenburg
Paintings, maps and motion graphics were made for this film. They are illustrations, not photographs.
Narration: synthetic voice (ElevenLabs).
Music (Pixabay): "Emotional Investigative Documentary Soundtrack with Slow Build" by DesiFreeMusic, "Historical Documentary Background. Timeless History" by SigmaMusicArt, "Steampunk Victorian Orchestra" by Luis_Humanoide, "Crimson Lies" by Hot_Dope, "Late Hours" by GuilhermeBernardes, "Conquerer of the Mountain" by SilentEcho, "Dark Emotional Music" by adiiswanto, "Orchestral Sadness and Acceptance - Eulogy" by DPatterson_Composer, "Empty Chair" by Surprising_Media
Sound recordings: Work With Sounds / La Fonderie — via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, edited — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Eponym — the people behind famous names. New stories on the channel.
#Audi #AugustHorch #CarHistory #Eponym