1933 Horch 780

Horch, Audi, DKW, and Wanderer merged in June of 1932 to form Auto Union A.G. and birthed the four-ringed logo which is now associated with modern Audi automobiles. The formation of the Horch marque (Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG) dated to the beginning of the 20th century when it was founded in 1904 by August Horch. Before this, Mr. Horch had worked as a production manager for Karl Benz and had established his first business on November 14th, 1899, with business partner Salli Herz. In 1909, August Horch founded another company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. Since 'Horch' was already a registered brand and he did not own the rights to the name, he was forced to rename the company. He selected 'Audi Automobilwerke,' and in 1932 both companies - Horch and Audi - were part of the merger that became Auto Union.

Paul Daimler, son of Gottlieb, was hired in 1923 as Chief Engineer, and the first car to bear his stamp was the '300', which used a 3.2-liter, double-overhead-camshaft, straight eight engine. Horch would favor this type of engine throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Following Daimler's departure, Fritz Fiedler (later of BMW fame) took over the duties of chief engineer and designed a single-overhead-cam straight-eight, followed by a 6.0-liter V12 unit, and then a 3.5-liter V8 engine.

Horch produced four generations of luxury models equipped with inline 8-cylinder engines (Typ 8) from 1926 to 1935. The final version was introduced in 1932, shortly before Horch joined with Auto Union. The 720, 750, and 750 B models were equipped with Fritz Fiedler-designed in-line 8-cylinder engine with displacement sizes of 4,517cc. The Horch 780, 780 B and 500 B models were installed with a 4,944cc displacement size. Both versions had overhead camshafts and were paired with a four-speed manual gearbox.

The Horch 780 and Horch 780 B models were offered solely with two- or four-seater convertible coachwork with a wheelbase chassis size of 3,450 MM (135.8 inches). The Horch 500 B was longer at 3,750mm (147.6 inches), which accommodated larger coachwork, including a four-seater limousine, a four-door convertible, and a phaeton with seating for six.

Approximately 250 to 300 examples of the 780 were built before the end of production. Of these, approximately 83 examples were the later 780 B model with had a 30mm wider track.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2022