Audi is one of the world’s leading premium automobile manufacturer. And it has been almost more than a century that this company has been the leader in technological advancement and creative design in the automobile industry. With this, Audi has been synonymous with safety, high-speed, sophistication, and comfort at its best. And being one of the world’s most successful automobile brands, Audi has a long and fascinating history. And most of us will be surprised to find out that Audi is the union of four different companies, and one of them is named Audi. The first model of Audi came equipped with 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A. However, now recent models have VAG group 2.0 Diesel engines.
The Story Behind the Four Rings Logo Design
If you would take a look at Audi’s emblem, you will see that it has four rings. But, nothing is yet confirmed on what is the real inspiration behind the German automaker’s iconic logo. However, there are several assumptions and beliefs about it. Some say that the design was inspired by the Olympic rings. On the other hand, a lot of people strongly believe that the four rings represent the four company that combined as one to form Audi and these companies were Audi, Wanderer, Horch, and DKW. But during the first years of the Audi company, it had an upside-down triangle that has a stylized number one that symbolizes a gearshift elevating from behind.
It was in 1932 when the four independent car makers in Germany combined into one and formed the Auto Union AG. With this, the logo also got unified into one and the first solo Audi logo was materialized. In the past years, the Audi logo had undergone several minor changes but its final modification was done in 2009. It is the current logo that represents the car manufacturing company that produces the world’s elite cars and sports cars we know today.
The Shape of the Audi Logo and its Modifications
The shape of the Audi logo you can see on their cars today was created as early as 1932 when Wanderer, Horch, DKW, and Audie merged into one single company and became Auto Union AG. Their very first logo was made of four interwoven rings with their independent logo presented within the circles. It is said that it represented the cooperation and unity that the brands believe in.
Over the years, the logo gradually transformed and the logos of the four companies were removed from inside the rings. It was replaced with the phrase Auto Union. And finally, the Audi logo design just featured four interlacing rings without any names or words inside them.
It was in 2009, during the 100th anniversary of the company, when the Audi logo was given its last makeover. There were minimal changes in the design, except for the four rings that seemed to be more joined together and presented a better interlocking look than before.
The Legal Action Against Audi
As we mentioned above, some people think that the Olympic rings were the inspiration behind the Audi design. In fact, in 1995, the International Olympic Committee took legal action against Audi because of the resemblance of its four rings to the Olympic rings in which the committee said that it was not a coincidence but a planned out design.
The International Olympic Committee sued Audi in the international Trademark Court but the verdict fell into Audi’s favor. Despite the verdict being in favor of Audi, some people still believe that the logo design was really inspired by the five rings of the Olympics.
Audi is one of the most admired and respective automotive brand companies in the world and its emblem represents its brand in real sense. It will not be wrong to say that Audi’s logo is one of the best logos in the world.