Audi A8 "Horch" Could Reboot An Old Name For A Super-Luxe Sedan

Audi will push even further into the luxury car space, with a new flagship version of its A8 sedan that resurrects the old "Horch" name, it's reported. The upcoming top-spec A8 will take on cars like the Mercedes-Maybach, offering an even more luxurious take on the executive four-door car.

Horch has long slipped from the memory of most car buyers, though it's actually an important part of the Audi story. It was established in 1899, named after co-founder August Horch; after legal issues with the company's chief financial officer, Horch formed a second company ten years later. As he didn't hold the registered brand for "Horch" he used "Audi" instead: the Latin translation of his name, from the German word "horchen" or "listen!"

Eventually, as part of the Auto Union group, Horch and Audi were reunited. In 1964, Auto Union was acquired by the Volkswagen Group, but Daimler-Benz retailed the Horch brand trademark rights until the mid-1980s. It transferred that to Audi in return for an agreement around the name "Silver-Arrow" on racing cars.

Now, Audi plans to finally bring the Horch name back out of the history books. It'll be reserved as the indicator of a top-of-the-range model, Automotive News reports, first on a new flagship A8. That could happen within the next 2-3 years, at the car's mid-cycle refresh.

Wary of repeating Daimler's disastrous Maybach experience in the early 2000s, where the automaker attempted to create Maybach as a standalone brand, Audi will take a more cautious approach with Horch. Indeed, it sounds more like a trim level than a brand in its own right. Horch cars will have new logos added alongside, rather than replacing the traditional Audi four rings, probably on the car's C-pillar or sides.

It will also offer different wheels, and the most powerful engines. Initially that's expected to top out at a V8, though Audi is known to have prepared a W12, twelve-cylinder version of the car. Though said to be market-ready, Audi has apparently opted not to launch it at this stage.

Audi's caution is likely sensible. Daimler has no brand above Mercedes-Maybach to worry about cannibalizing; in contrast, Volkswagen Group has Porsche and Bentley, cars from which an Audi A8 "Horch" could potentially overlap with.