A picture showing three historic Audi race cars side by side on a banked racetrack.

Motorsport history

The rich history of Audi in motorsport includes more than a century of success. From the early beginnings, roaring through the 30s with the silver arrows, to decades of race wins and titles on four and two wheels, revolutionizing rallying with quattro and taking that technology onto racetracks worldwide, endurance racing triumphs at Le Mans, DTM titles, electric racing in Formula E and winning the grueling Dakar Rally, the four rings represent success in competition.

World Rally Championship
4

world titles

DTM
12

drivers’ titles

Le Mans 24 Hours
13

overall victories

Dakar Rally
1

overall victory

Motorsport history of the four rings

Find out more about the over 100 years of history in the different eras of the four rings in motorsport.

The beginnings

A picture showing a Horch race car.

Origins of racing

The motorsport origins of the companies symbolized by the “Four Ring”, as well as NSU, go back to before the First World War.

A picture showing an Auto Union Type A Grand Prix race car on track.

The age of the Silver Arrows

Following the 1932 merger of the automotive companies Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer it was important to promote the new Auto Union name. Motorsport was the ideal platform.

A picture showing the back of an NSU TTS.

The success of NSU

NSU was already making a name for itself in motorsport in the early twentieth century. By 1967, the brand scored notable race victories and automobile races.

A picture showing a DKW Monza on track.

DKW in racing

DKW, founded by Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen in Zschopau, contested races successfully with two-stroke motorcycles from 1921. DKW touring cars began their motorsport career in 1929.

quattro in the world of motorsport

A picture showing an Audi quattro A2 rally car on gravel.

quattro in rallying

The Audi quattro revolutionised rallying with its four-wheel drive. In combination with the five-cylinder turbocharged engine, the new technology helped Audi to win four world championship titles.

A picture showing the Audi 200 quattro Trans Am race car on track.

quattro on the racetrack

Following its successes in rallying, circuit racing was the perfect next challenge for Audi and quattro four-wheel drive.

Racing into the new millennium

A picture showing the Audi R10 TDI race car on track.

Le Mans

Audi has characterised an entire era of the Le Mans 24 Hours. From 1999, the brand achieved 13 overall victories during 18 starts in the world’s most famous endurance race.

A picture showing the Audi A4 DTM race car on track.

DTM

With its return to the DTM, which was revived for the 2000 season, Audi built on its previous successes. The Abt-Audi TT-R, the Audi A4 DTM and the RS 5 DTM won a total of ten titles.

A picture showing a collection of six race cars from the history of Audi Sport customer racing.

Audi Sport customer racing

When Audi’s customer racing programme began in 2009, it was hardly foreseeable that the brand’s cars would one day win more than 500 titles on every continent in the world.

A picture showing an Audi rallycross car during a jump on track.

World RX

After Mattias Ekström became World Rallycross champion with his private team EKS in 2016, Audi Sport supported the programme with the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro for two years.

A picture showing an Audi Formula E race car on track.

Formula E

Audi continued its path of electrification in Formula E that it began at Le Mans. For the 2017/2018 season, the brand started a factory programme in the first electric racing series.

A picture showing the Audi RS Q e-tron during the 2024 Dakar Rally.

Dakar Rally

The Audi RS Q e-tron¹ in 2024 became the first car to win the Dakar Rally with an electric drivetrain², high-voltage battery and an energy converter.

¹Audi RS Q e-tron, pictured above: This vehicle shown here is the Rally Dakar vehicle that is not available as a production model.

²The Audi RS Q e-tron combines an electric drivetrain with an energy converter system based on the TFSI engine and a generator.

Audi Tradition

The history of Audi continues to live on thanks to Audi Tradition. Find out more about the history of the brand and current events.

A picture showing Audi Le Mans cars at Audi Tradition’s storage facility.

Audi Tradition

Audi Tradition brings the history of the company and the Audi brand to life to this day. Over 100 years characterized by the courage to innovation and change.

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A picture showing an Audi quattro on display.

Iconic models in the history of Audi

Innovative engines, technology, design: every Audi icon has written automotive history. This selection of pioneering models shows “Vorsprung” in all its facets.

A picture showing an old Audi factory.

The history of AUDI AG

This is how the company A. Horch & Cie, founded in 1899, became Audi, which today is known worldwide for ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’.

A picture showing two Auto Union Grand Prix cars in the paddock in Monaco.

Events

Motorrad, Serienautomobile, Motorsport – Auf den Veranstaltungen von Audi Tradition wird die Leidenschaft für die Audi Geschichte und Gegenwart gelebt.

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A picture showing Audi race cars on display in Neuburg an der Donau.

Vorsprung durch Motorsport

The four rings and motorsport: a legendary combination. Audi continues to prepare to enter Formula 1 in 2026, and Audi Sport customer racing models compete worldwide in the hands of customer teams.

A picture showing the Formula 1 showcar with the Audi launch livery.

Formula 1

Audi is preparing to enter the premier class of motorsport in 2026: Formula 1. In doing so, the brand with the four rings is tackling its most challenging motorsport project to date.

A picture showing the four race car models from Audi Sport customer racing.

Audi Sport customer racing

With race cars developed by Audi Sport customer racing, the brand with the four rings is represented worldwide by customer teams in GT3, GT2, GT4 and TCR competition.

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