Design Of The Times: 60 Years Of Audi

Motoring editor Jeremy Taylor ponders Audi’s design classics with Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby.

60 Years Of Audi

JT – The two most striking architectural designs in the Basque region of northern Spain are the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the spectacular Marques de Riscal Hotel, both created by American genius Frank O Gehry.

JT-P – A great place to show off the design of any automotive brand. What’s the story with Audi?

Well, it’s 60 years since the marque we know today was brought back to life. Auto Union was the forerunner to Audi – a combination of four large German car-makers: Audi, DWK, Horch and Wanderer. Hence the four rings of the Audi badge. 

So, what happened next?

Audi made the posh cars, but almost disappeared after WWII. It wasn’t until Auto Union was taken over by Volkswagen in 1965 that they decided to revive the luxury car business and brand it Audi again.

Did you drive any of those classic cars in Spain?

I made a beeline for the oldest car – a 1968 Audi 80 Variant. Possibly the coolest estate I’ve ever driven. Column gearstick, wind-up windows and big, squidgy seats to soak up the Spanish potholes.

Audi 80 Variant

And what does the ‘80’ stand for?

That’s 80bhp – other versions were named accordingly. The ‘Variant’ bit means estate. With a four-speed manual gearbox, the car was good for 94mph and 0-62mph in a leisurely 14 seconds.

Audi has designed plenty of other stylish cars over the years: the RS8, original TT quattro and the rally-winning 1980s Audi quattro, as featured in Life on Mars.

They were all in Spain, too, highlighting how Audi’s ‘Vorsprung durch technik’ slogan (‘progress through technology’) has shaped the models we drive today.

Audi Quattro

Which models were your favourites?

The 1980s quattro is legendary. A high-performance coupe, it used Audi’s ground-breaking quattro, all-wheel-drive system to serve up incredible road holding. That also helped the car win countless rallies.

Anything else?

Yes, a 2018 R8 sports car with rear-wheel drive. Sounds a bit geeky but, up until that model, the R8 was all-wheel-drive only. Rear-wheel drive is for old-school drivers who grew up with that drivetrain configuration.

Erm, like you?

Yes! We prefer to call ourselves purists though. Controlling a 5.2-litre V10 engine at speed requires a special concentration…

Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby is Director of Programmes at London College of Fashion, studying for a PhD in sustainable e-textile design.