Horch was the popular name for high-performance luxury motor cars manufactured in Germany by the company, August Horch & Cie, at the beginning of the 20th century.

Founder

The company was established by August Horch, a former production manager for Karl Benz, and a partner on November 14, 1899 with a capital of 30,000 Goldmark at Ehrenfeld, near Cologne. Horch was also later the founder of the German automaker, Audi, which is named after the Latin translation of his surname (Latin word for the regional Saxon expression, horch, which is the imperative form of “horchen” - "hark" or "listen" in German).

Initial cars

The company initially began producing 5 and 10 hp twin-cylinder engine automobiles near Cologne in 1901.

The first Horch had a 4.5 hp engine, with an alloy crankcase, a unique achievement in those days. It had an open-body design, with lighting provided by lanterns with candles in them. In contrast with the powerful cars of later years, the first Horch could barely reach a top speed of . It was significant at that time because it used a friction clutch, and also had a drive shaft to power the wheels.

The firm soon ran into financial troubles, not surprising considering the pioneering nature of the automobile business at that time. Horch had to seek new partners.

The company was moved to Reichenbach im Vogtland in March, 1902, where it produced a 20 hp four-cylinder car with a shaft drive. Horch cars were considered much advanced and superior to those being then built by Mercedes or Benz (who were then separate manufacturers).

By 1903, Horch had built a car with a four-cylinder engine. In March of the following year, he introduced his new car at the Frankfurt Fair.

In 1904, Horch was forced to convert the firm into a joint-stock company, A. Horch & Cie. Motorwagen-Werke AG, an action that he was to later regret.

On May 10, 1904, he moved the new corporation to Zwickau, a city to the southwest of Chemnitz, in the eastern German state of Saxony.

The first six-cylinder Horch appeared in 1907.

Audi connection

In 1909, the supervisory board (German equivalent of the Board of Directors) of this corporation forced out Horch. Horch went on to found Audi, Audiwerke GmbH, which became effective on 25 April 1910. The name was a solution to the legal dispute with his old company over use of the Horch brand.

In 1928, the company was acquired by Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen, owner of DKW (which comes from the German word, Dampfkraftwagen = steam engine vehicle), who bought the same year the remains of the US automobile manufacturer, Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for eight-cylinder engines.