Maybach has a competitor – the new Audi A8L Horch sedan
Mercedes is using the Maybach sub-brand for a more luxurious version of the S-Class sedan, and now Audi is following the same path and resurrecting the now-forgotten Horch brand. Rumors about this have been circulating for several years, and it's good that Audi management decided to take this step anyway. But with a very important caveat: Horch is only re-offered for the Chinese market. Why? Because this is not only the main but also the priority market for the Audi A8 sedan: more than 60% of the cars produced are now sold in China!
The original Horch company was founded in Germany by engineer and entrepreneur August Horch (his biography deserves a separate story). He worked from 1899 to 1904, after which Horch opened a new company that bears his name, which began the production of cars. The Horch brand existed from 1904 to 1942, and in the 1930s it was worn by upscale cars with eight-cylinder engines. But in 1932, Horch merged with Audi, DKW and Wanderer to form Auto Union AG, whose logo was the four rings familiar to us from today's Audi.
From 1955 to 1958, Horch P240s were produced at the company's old plant in Zwickau, but after the remnants of Auto Union became the property of Daimler-Benz, the use of the historic brand had to be abandoned. In 1964, Auto Union was bought by Volkswagen, after which the new owners revived the Audi brand. The Horch brand remained owned by Daimler until the 1980s, but even after it was sold to Volkswagen, it remained dormant. To this day.
The new Audi A8L Horch sedan has already been developed as part of the restyled a-eighth family, so new headlights with additional angles at the bottom and another front bumper will soon appear on the lower versions (the first equipment of the updated model will take place very soon). But original 20-inch wheels, a grille with vertical slats and rich chrome trim are hallmarks of Horch. More “H” logos on rear doors and wheel hubs.
The main feature of the top version is a body lengthened by 130 mm along with a wheelbase. The length of the sedan reaches 5450 mm against 5469 mm for the new Maybach S-class. But if the Mercedes flagship also modified the rear door openings and the rear roof pillars, then the creators of Horch limited themselves to “stretching” the existing doors and did not remake the pillars. Already “in the base” – laser-fluorescent headlights, a panoramic roof and much more.
Of course, the Horch is only offered with the most expensive interior option: split rear seats (powered, ventilated and massaged), huge center tunnel with cooled cup holders, touch screen console, expensive leather and wood veneer.. “A-eighth”: for example, such a richly equipped sedan recently took part in an Autoreview comparison test. And with original features – perhaps with additional soft pillows and numerous inscriptions “Horch”.
Unfortunately, the hopes for the W12 engine did not materialize. And even Horch won't have a V8 yet – Chinese buyers aren't very interested in such engines. So, at the moment, the Audi A8L Horch sedan has been announced only with a turbocharged 3.0 V6 petrol engine with a capacity of 340 hp. The transmission has an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive. However, in China and Mercedes-Maybach, it is sold in the initial version of the S 480 with a six-cylinder engine with 367 horsepower.
Horchs will be built at Audi's home plant in Germany. Sales in China will begin after a public display at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November.
