CarBrandLogos archive · Horch · 1933
The V8 that made a luxury marque affordable enough to survive the 1930s.
Discover the storyPhoto: Cezary Piwowarski · CC BY-SA 3.0
The story
Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Horch 830, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.
01
After the twelve-cylinder failure, Horch needed a car that wealthy buyers could still justify. The 830 of 1933 was that car: a side-valve V8 of just 3.0 litres in a chassis sized for full luxury bodywork, offered as a roadster, cabriolet or limousine with two or four doors and a four-speed gearbox with optional overdrive.
Horch 830 · Lebubu93 · CC BY-SA 3.0
02
Small capacity for the class was the whole idea. German taxation and running costs were based partly on engine size, and a compact V8 let Horch keep the smoothness expected of the marque while bringing the car within reach of professionals and senior officials rather than only industrialists. The engine grew through 3.25, 3.5 and eventually 3.8 litres as demands increased.
Horch 830 Pullmann Gläserne-Manufaktur · Rainerhaufe · CC BY-SA 4.0
03
It worked well enough to become the volume Horch, produced at Zwickau until 1940 in far greater numbers than the twelve, and many of the most admired surviving bodies, particularly the Gläser cabriolets, sit on this chassis. Within Auto Union it did the essential job of keeping the luxury brand solvent while the racing programme absorbed the attention.
1936 Horch 830BL Cabriolet rear left, Classic Remise · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0
At a glance
Produced
1933–1940Units built
1940Engine
3.0 Technical specification
Badge at launch
This is the marque emblem that accompanied the Horch 830's era. The full identity timeline is documented in the brand archive.
Explore the logo history →From the journal
Lineage
Contemporaries from the 1930s
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