An ultra-rare car bearing the name of Audi’s “founding father” August Horch has won the top award in the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, very appropriately crowning the prestige car company’s 100 year Centenary celebrations.
This year sees a host of anniversaries for Audi, which is synonymous with the famous four rings emblem that also takes pride of place on this exquisite Horch. Sixty years ago this month, the brand began producing cars at its Ingolstadt plant in Germany. At the Frankfurt Motor Show 30 years ago next month (September), Audi presented its first turbocharged petrol engine. Ten years later at the same show in Germany, the 100 became the first Audi model to wear the now ubiquitous TDI badge denoting turbocharged diesel power.
The 1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet (pictured), owned by an American private collector, was named “Best of Show” at the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
In 1935, the Horch Company introduced the Horch 850 with a five-litre, straight-eight engine. The shorter wheelbase 853 model, which won this year’s “Best of Show” and featured coachwork by the Berlin coachbuilder, Voll & Ruhrbeck, was very popular among Germany’s rich and famous, offering luxury at a very competitive price. The last Horch road car was built in 1958. Owner Robert M. Lee, from Nevada, spent five years restoring the Pebble Beach winning vehicle to a show-worthy condition requiring specialised parts and information to be sourced from Germany.
