One of the four companies that joined together to create Audi  DKW is celebrating its centenary. The company from Zschopau in Saxony originally planned to build steam-driven vehicles, yet ultimately rose to fame courtesy of its two-stroke engine. DKW is an abbreviation the abbreviation of the German word for steam-driven vehicle (Dampfkraftwagen).

As the experimental fuel cell cars only waste is steam I wonder if Audi ever puts a fuel cell vehicle into production (they have the A2H2 test car at the moment) it would be nice if they  used DKW as part of the name as a tip of the hat to their forbears?

Audi  is marking the anniversary of its famous predecessor brand by entering DKW classic cars in a whole host of events, including the Mille Miglia and the Gran Premio Nuvolari in Italy, the Concours d’Elegance in Bergerac, France, the Silvretta Classic and Ennstal Classic in Austria, and of course the “100 Years of Rasmussen” festival in the town of Zschopau on 26 August.

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, which were later combined under the umbrella of Auto Union. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. AUDI AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985.

Together with the two traditional companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, Audi nurtures and presents the deep and diverse history of Audi. The Audi museum in Ingolstadt is open daily from Monday to Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Another interesting fact is that the Trabant in East Germany continued to use the DKW pre-war engines to the early 1990’s. Also  DKW’s where pioneers in the use of front wheel drive which has continued to be used to this day by Audi.

Check out Audi world for a longer article on audi history and the DKW centenary.