Made in Germany: History of the German Car Industry

1980 – The Quattro

Audi, the famous car brand, had a lot of success during the 80s when it moved towards making sports cars. They launched two popular models – the Coupe and the Quattro. The Quattro was a high-performance car with four-wheel drive, which was great for driving in tough conditions.

The idea for this car came from one of Audi’s engineers, Jörg Bensinger, who noticed that military vehicles made by VW were better at handling difficult roads than smaller cars. The Audi Quattro became very popular and won many rally competitions in a row.

1985 – Ford relies on German engineering for its flagship model

In the 70s and 80s, many people preferred front-wheel drive hatchbacks or family saloons. Ford changed its car designs to fit these preferences, and in 1985, it replaced its popular Granada car with a new model called the Ford Scorpio.

To make this car, Ford chose to use their factory in Cologne instead of the German plants they had been using. At first, the Scorpio was only available as a hatchback. Still, it became very popular across Europe, so Ford started making other versions like a saloon and estate model in the 90s.