Mercedes is using the Maybach sub-brand for the most luxurious version of the S-Class sedan. And now the Audi company has gone the same way ― and revived the already forgotten Horch brand. Rumors about this have been circulating for several years, and it is good that the Audi management still decided to take this step. But with one very important caveat, Horch is revived only for the Chinese market. Why? Because this is not just a large, but a priority market for the Audi A8 sedan: more than 60% of the cars produced are now sold in China!
The original Horch company was founded in Germany by an engineer and entrepreneur August Horch (his biography deserves a separate story). It worked from 1899 to 1904, after which Horch opened a new company named after himself, which took up the production of cars. The Horch trademark existed from 1904 to 1942, and in the thirties, it was worn by high-class cars with eight-cylinder engines. But back in 1932, Horch merged with the firms Audi, DKW, and Wanderer to form the Auto Union AG concern, whose logo became the four rings familiar to us as a modern Audi.
From 1955 to 1958, Horch P240 cars were produced at the company's old factory in Zwickau, but after the remains of the Auto Union concern became the property of Daimler-Benz, the use of the historic brand had to be abandoned. In 1964, Auto Union was bought by Volkswagen, after which the new owners revived the Audi brand. The Horch brand remained in Daimler's ownership until the 1980s, but even after being sold to Volkswagen, it remained dormant. Up to this day.
The new Audi A8L Horch sedan has already been developed as part of the a-eighth restyled family, so new headlights with additional corners at the bottom and another front bumper will soon appear on the younger versions (the full premiere of the updated model will take place very soon). But the original 20-inch wheels, a radiator grille with vertical bars, and rich chrome decor are the features of Horch. Plus H logos on the rear doors and wheel hubs.
The main feature of the top version is the body stretched by 130 mm along with the wheelbase. The length of the sedan reaches 5450 mm against 5469 mm in the new Maybach S-class. But if the Mercedes flagship has also changed the rear door openings and the rear roof pillars, the creators of Horch limited themselves to "stretching" the existing doors and did not change the pillars. Already "in the base" there are laser-phosphor headlights, a panoramic roof, and much more.
Of course, Horch is offered only with the most expensive interior option: separate rear seats (with electric drive, ventilation, and massage), a massive central tunnel with cooled cup holders, a console with a touch screen, expensive leather, and wood veneer ... And from the original features ― perhaps the additional soft pillows and numerous inscriptions: "Horch".
Alas, the hopes for the W12 engine did not come true. And even Horch will not have a V8 yet: Chinese buyers are not very interested in such engines. So for now, the Audi A8L Horch sedan has only been announced with a 340 hp V6 3.0 petrol turbo engine. The transmission has an eight-speed automatic and four-wheel drive. However, in China Mercedes-Maybach is sold in the initial version of the S 480 with a six-cylinder engine for 367 forces. Horch will be produced at Audi's "native" plant in Germany. Sales in the PRC will begin after a public screening at the November Guangzhou Motor Show.
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