Audi Type E

Open Touring Car 1913–1914 ~35–40 PS Petrol

The Audi Type E was the largest and most powerful model in the pre-war Audi type-series — the 18/40 PS flagship that demonstrated August Horch's engineering ambition at its fullest extent before the First World War ended the classical era of German touring car development.

~40

Horsepower (~40 PS)

~28s

0–100 km/h (est.)

~95km/h

Top Speed

1913

Year Introduced

Overview

The Audi Type E, produced from 1913 to 1914, represented the upper limit of August Horch's pre-war engineering programme at Audi — the most powerful and most ambitious model in the original type-series. With an engine of approximately 4.1 litres and an output of around 35–40 PS, the Type E occupied a position in the market above the sports-oriented Type C Alpensieger (which focused on competition performance) by offering a large, imposing touring car for buyers who wanted maximum refinement and unhurried power delivery rather than the Type C's competition-derived urgency. The Type E's 18/40 PS designation — indicating 18 fiscal horsepower for German tax purposes and approximately 40 PS actual output — placed it in direct competition with the most substantial touring cars from Horch, Mercedes, and Benz.

The brief production window of 1913–1914 means the Type E is among the rarest of all early Audi models. Its introduction in 1913 gave it only a year of peacetime sales before the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 dramatically disrupted both production and the customer base. The war's industrial redirections meant that the large-engined luxury touring market essentially ceased to function, and the Type E was never resumed after 1914. In commercial terms, the Type E was a technical statement more than a high-volume product — a demonstration that Audi could compete at the top of the quality touring car market alongside established manufacturers with decades of heritage. The Type C's Alpensieger victories proved Audi's sporting capability; the Type E proved that the brand could build a large, refined automobile befitting the most demanding professional-class buyer.

The Type E's historical significance today is almost entirely as a heritage artefact and as evidence of August Horch's systematic approach to building the Audi model range from the bottom up. Each successive type — A, B, C, D, E — represented an escalating commitment to larger engines, more power, and more market coverage. The Type E at the apex of this sequence showed that within just four years of founding the brand, Horch had established Audi as a credible producer of large, quality touring cars across the full spectrum of the pre-war German automotive market. Any surviving Type E example would be among the most historically significant early Audi artefacts in existence — representing the absolute pre-war peak of the type-series that founded the brand.

Type E in Pictures

Visual references for exterior styling, cabin design, and key details. Images fall back gracefully on load error.

The Audi type-series era — the period from 1910 to 1914 during which August Horch established the brand's reputation as a builder of quality touring cars. The Type E represented the upper limit of Audi's pre-war engineering ambition, with the largest engine in the early type-series range.

August Horch — the engineer behind the early Audi type-series. By the time the Type E was introduced in 1913, Horch had already established Audi's credentials through the Type C's Alpensieger victories in the Austrian Alpine Trial, and the Type E represented the culmination of his pre-war engineering programme for the brand.

The Audi factory in Zwickau, Saxony — where the entire pre-war type-series was produced. By 1913, when the Type E entered production, the Zwickau plant had expanded significantly from its founding year and was producing a range of models from the modest Type A to the performance-oriented Type C and the large-displacement Type E.

The four-ring Auto Union emblem — the legacy inherited from the pre-war type-series era. The Type E and its contemporaries established the engineering culture and quality reputation that made Audi a valuable partner in the 1932 Auto Union merger, and which ultimately endures in every modern Audi bearing these four rings.

Key Specifications

Body: Open Doppelphaeton touring car — large 5-seat open touring configuration, coachbuilt bodywork on Audi chassis
Engine: ~4.1L inline-4 — approximately 35–40 PS; 18/40 PS German tax designation; largest engine in the pre-war Audi type-series
Gearbox: 4-speed sliding-mesh manual — double-declutching required; the larger engine and greater torque benefit from the additional gear ratio compared to smaller type-series models
0–100 km/h: approx. 28 s | Top speed: approx. 90–95 km/h — impressive performance for a large 1913 touring car
Suspension: Semi-elliptic leaf springs front and rear — heavier specification than smaller type-series models to accommodate the greater weight of the large touring body and engine
Drive: Rear-wheel drive via shaft final drive to live rear axle — shaft drive standard on the larger Type E rather than the chain drive used on some earlier smaller models
Brakes: Four-wheel mechanical drum brakes — rod and cable operated; four-wheel braking was essential for safe stopping of the Type E's larger mass
Production: 1913–1914 | Manufacturer: Audi Automobilwerk GmbH, Zwickau | Significance: Largest and most powerful pre-war Audi; apex of the founding type-series range

Variant Comparison

Variant	Engine	Power	Drive	Best For
Type E Standard (18/40 PS)	4.1L inline-4	~40 PS	RWD	Maximum performance touring — the 18/40 PS standard specification represents the Type E at its most capable; the choice for buyers who want the full engineering expression of the pre-war Audi flagship
Type E Touring	4.1L inline-4	~35 PS	RWD	Comfortable extended touring — the detuned touring specification trades a small amount of outright performance for greater mechanical longevity and more relaxed engine operation; appropriate for the buyer who values sustained comfort over maximum pace
Type E Doppelphaeton	4.1L inline-4	~38 PS	RWD	Open-air touring elegance — the Doppelphaeton body is the definitive large pre-war Audi configuration; the most visually impressive and historically representative Type E expression

Competitor Snapshot

Model	Strength	Compromise
Horch 35 PS (1913)	The Horch 35 PS (1913) offered the established prestige of the Horch brand — the marque August Horch had founded and built before creating Audi — with comparable engine size and performance in a package carrying greater badge prestige in the German market	The Horch was positioned above the Audi Type E in the market hierarchy and was correspondingly more expensive; the Type E offered comparable engineering quality at a lower cost, making it the more rational choice for buyers who wanted quality without the Horch premium
Mercedes 18/45 PS (1913)	The Mercedes 18/45 PS offered the most prestigious German brand name available and the engineering authority of a manufacturer with over two decades of automotive experience — a combination of prestige and heritage that Audi's four-year-old brand could not match	The Mercedes was more expensive than the Audi Type E and positioned at a higher market level; its greater prestige came at a cost that buyers in the Type E's target segment were not necessarily willing to pay when Audi offered genuine quality at a more accessible price
Benz 18/45 PS (1913)	The Benz 18/45 PS offered similar displacement and output from a manufacturer with the longest history in German automotive production — dating back to Carl Benz's very first automobile — giving it engineering authority and brand recognition that predated the automotive era itself	The Benz's more conservative engineering approach produced a less focused car than Horch's engineering philosophy; Audi's Type E benefited from the more progressive technical thinking that had also produced the Type C Alpensieger victories in sporting competition

Cost-of-Ownership Estimator (Azerbaijan)

Annual distance (km)Fuel consumption (L/100km)Fuel price ($/L)Annual service budget ($)Annual insurance ($)Annual tires ($)

Annual fuel use: 36 litres
Annual fuel cost: $23
Total yearly estimate: $21023
Monthly average: $1752

The Audi Type E is an extreme-rarity pre-war automobile of the greatest historical significance; with a production window of just one peacetime year (1913), surviving examples are essentially unknown outside of institutional collections, and any claimed Type E requires the most rigorous possible authentication before any consideration.
The Type E's large four-cylinder engine presents unique restoration challenges — parts are unavailable commercially and must be fabricated from period technical specifications by specialist vintage engineering workshops with specific expertise in large pre-war German inline-four engines.
Operation of a Type E requires all the precautions applicable to early type-series Audi cars — ethanol-free petrol, period monograde oil, pre-use chassis lubrication, and connection with the most knowledgeable pre-war Audi specialists available; the Audi Museum Mobile in Ingolstadt is the primary resource.

Maintenance & Service in Azerbaijan

Large four-cylinder engine oil with SAE 30 monograde mineral oil — the Type E's ~4.1-litre engine requires period-specification lubricant that does not contain modern detergent additives incompatible with non-hardened bearing surfaces; change every 1,000 km or annually.
Valve adjustment for the large four-cylinder — the Type E's engine requires precise valve clearance maintenance; given the large swept volume and the consequent mechanical loads, valve timing verification is especially important and should be performed annually by a specialist pre-war engine expert.
Cooling system maintenance — the Type E's large-displacement engine generates more heat than the smaller type-series models; annual cooling system flushing with distilled water is essential to prevent scale accumulation, and thermostat or cooling circuit condition should be verified before any extended operation.
Carburation and fuel system maintenance with ethanol-free petrol — the Type E's large carburettor is calibrated for period fuel specification; modern E10 petrol degrades the carburettor components and fuel delivery system. Source only ethanol-free classic car or aviation fuel for operation.
Chassis and drivetrain lubrication — the Type E's larger mass and higher torque place greater demands on chassis joints, wheel bearings, and transmission components than the smaller type-series models; all grease nipples and oil cups must be serviced before every use without exception.

Used Type E Buying Checklist

Authentication and provenance — a Type E offered for private sale requires comprehensive factory documentation, verifiable chassis and engine numbers, and corroboration with Audi Museum archive records; the 1913–1914 production window and wartime disruption make documentation especially challenging to verify.
Large engine condition assessment — the ~4.1-litre engine should be assessed by a specialist with specific experience in pre-war large-displacement German engines; compression, oil pressure, bearing clearances, and valve condition are the key assessment points.
Chassis integrity for a large touring car — the Type E's heavier construction imposes greater loads on the chassis joints and cross-members than smaller type-series models; specialist structural assessment is required to identify fatigue damage in a chassis that may be over 110 years old.
Coachwork condition — the Type E's large touring body uses substantial ash wood framing that is highly susceptible to rot, moisture ingress, and structural deterioration; specialist coachwork inspection is essential before any purchase commitment.
Completeness verification — the Type E is large enough that major components (engine, gearbox, axles) could have been sourced from other period vehicles; a Type E should be verified as using correct-specification components throughout, not assembled from multiple donor cars.
Import and registration in Azerbaijan — a Type E requires historic vehicle customs classification; the large engine displacement may attract specific taxation considerations; specialist historic vehicle insurance and registration are required before any legal road operation.

Type E FAQ — Azerbaijan Buyers

Q: Why was the Type E produced for only one year?

The Audi Type E was introduced in 1913 and produced into 1914, but the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 effectively ended the production of large luxury touring cars for the German civilian market. Germany's wartime industrial mobilisation redirected manufacturing capacity, raw materials, and skilled labour towards military production, making the continuation of expensive civilian models like the large-engined Type E commercially untenable. The Type E was never resumed after the war ended in 1918 because the economic conditions of the early Weimar Republic were very different from the prosperous pre-war era, and Audi's post-war model range (starting with the Type K in 1921) was designed for the changed market environment rather than reviving the pre-war flagships.

Q: How does the Type E compare with the Type C Alpensieger?

The Type C Alpensieger and the Type E represent two different aspects of Audi's pre-war engineering ambition. The Type C was primarily a sporting car, developed to win the Austrian Alpine Trial and positioned at buyers who wanted competition capability and performance-oriented engineering. Its engine (approximately 3.6 litres) was tuned for performance rather than refinement. The Type E, by contrast, was a larger, more refined luxury touring car — its ~4.1-litre engine was designed for effortless power delivery and comfortable high-speed cruising rather than competition acceleration. The two cars together demonstrated that Audi had mastered both ends of the quality touring car spectrum: sporting performance with the Type C and refined luxury with the Type E.

Q: What was the market position of the Type E in 1913?

In 1913, the Audi Type E occupied the upper-middle segment of the German quality touring car market — below the most exclusive and most expensive cars from Horch's top range and from Mercedes, but above the mainstream of middle-class motoring represented by Benz's more popular models and Wanderer. Its 18/40 PS designation placed it among the more substantial vehicles available and made it a competitor to similar large-engined cars from other established German manufacturers. The Type E's target customer was the successful businessman, senior professional, or aristocrat who wanted a quality German touring car capable of extended high-speed touring rather than the most exclusive and expensive vehicles available.

Q: Is there any documentation about Type E production numbers?

Precise production records for the Audi Type E are difficult to establish because the pre-war factory records were subject to the disruptions of the First World War, subsequent economic chaos, the Second World War, and the eventual loss of the Zwickau factory to East Germany after 1945. Historical research by Audi's heritage team suggests production was very limited — likely a small number of examples built to order over the 1913–1914 period, probably significantly fewer than 100. The Audi Museum Mobile in Ingolstadt holds the most comprehensive archive of pre-war Audi production data, but even these records are incomplete for the type-series era.

Q: What is the closest modern Audi equivalent to the Type E?

The Type E's role as Audi's largest and most refined touring car, positioned at buyers who wanted effortless performance and comfort over sporting performance, finds its closest modern equivalent in the Audi A8 — the brand's flagship saloon that similarly occupies the top of the Audi range and targets buyers who value refinement, space, and understated quality. Both the Type E and the A8 demonstrate that Audi's ambition has never been confined to the middle of the market — from the very beginning, the brand aspired to be taken seriously at the top of the quality automotive hierarchy. For buyers who want a large, refined Audi touring experience that the Type E promised but in a contemporary context, the A8 L with its long-wheelbase and available V8 is the direct inheritor.

Should You Buy the Audi Type E?

The Audi Type E is the pre-war apex of August Horch's systematic model range — a short-lived flagship that proved Audi could compete at the top of the quality German touring car market from just four years after the brand's founding.

For Azerbaijani automotive enthusiasts, the Audi Type E represents the ambition that has always distinguished Audi — the refusal to be content with the middle of the market, the drive to build the most capable car in the range rather than simply the most accessible. The Type E's story is also a cautionary tale about external forces that can interrupt even the best engineering programmes — the First World War ended its production just as it was proving its worth. Today, the appropriate way to engage with the Type E's legacy is through the Audi Museum Mobile in Ingolstadt, which documents the complete pre-war Audi range. For Azerbaijani buyers who want the contemporary expression of the Type E's proposition — a large, refined, effortlessly powerful Audi that is the best the brand produces — the A8 L delivers everything the Type E promised, built to 21st-century standards of engineering excellence.