Audi wants to revolutionise the Goodwood Festival with an Auto Union Type C and a Wanderer Streamline Special

The various motoring festivals not only gather thousands of enthusiasts, but also every brand and its most iconic creations. Audi did not want to miss this 25th edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed and, as is customary, will attend with its best vehicles, not only from this century. The brand with the four rings will take the opportunity to show the world two of its most iconic models from the last 100 years: a 1936 Auto Union Type C and a 1939 Wanderer Streamline Special.

Audi is one of those brands that can boast an impressive past, which has been key to forging the steps that have led it to where it stands today. Both models were a revolution for the automotive world, as they featured technology and performance that were unheard of at the time.

The Goodwood Festival presents itself as the ideal event not only to unleash current models, but also those that laid the foundations for the brands. We must go back to 1936, three years before the Second World War began, when Audi – still known as Auto Union – unveiled the Type C to the world, a competition vehicle with which the German company won numerous titles in the racing sector.

Bernd Rosemeyer won the European Championship and the German Hill Climb Championship behind the wheel of the Type C, which brought great fame to this iconic model. However, the German driver’s skill at the wheel was not the only key element in Auto Union’s victories, as under the bonnet of the Type C lay a whole arsenal of technology.

This model had a 16-cylinder heart capable of producing an impressive 520 CV and reaching a top speed of 340 km/h, figures that were incredible both at the time and today. However, this was not the only model that will be present at Goodwood, as we must also make room for the 1939 Wanderer Streamline Special.

This vehicle competed in one of the most important and demanding rallies in the world, the Liège-Rome-Liège. In this competition, cars had to maintain a minimum average speed of 50 km/h over the 4,000 kilometres of the route, during which drivers only stopped to refuel. The harsh demands of this race meant that only a third of the participating vehicles reached the finish, among them the three entered units of the Wanderer Streamline Special.

Audi intends to commemorate not only both vehicles, but also the impressive achievements they accomplished at the time. The iconic Goodwood Festival of Speed has been the stage chosen by the German company to show the world the power of its past. While the Type C can already be considered a veteran of this event, the Wanderer Streamline Special makes its debut at the Festival for the first time, making this edition much more special.