|
My Adventures in Germany
Audi Factory Tour in Ingolstadt
Germany Trip-2, February 1996
Audi Factory Tour (Ingolstadt)
It was still snowing lightly in Munich but I decided to go ahead and get the BMW 520i as I had planned. The rental car agencies had some Audi A4's but they all had the 1.6 liter engine. I opted for the 150HP 2.0 litre 6 cyl of the BMW. I would yearn for an Audi later in the trip for reasons (snow) to be mentioned later. I headed up the Autobahn to Ingolstadt with a video camera mounted under the headrest of the passenger seat to get some Autobahn footage. The roads were a little wet with melted snow so I was only able to drive 100-110 MPH over the drier sections. The rain and snow don't seem to slow down the drivers too much although the heavy traffic certainly did. Arrived in Ingolstadt and had lunch at McDonalds (Ich mochte eine Big Mac mit pomme frits und Cola bitte). Got a Stadtplan (map) of Ingolstadt and located the factory not too far away. As I got within a few miles of the factory, I noticed some Audi signs pointing the way. Despite the signs, I still got lost for a few minutes. Below is an aerial view of the Ingolstadt plant area.
Arrived at the beautiful Audi visitor's center around 11:30 and headed upstairs to the Check-In Counter. The Post Card images below show the wonderful architecture of this building and are courtesy of Audi AG.
There were many people at the upstairs counter who getting their license plates and making arrangements to pick up their new Audi. As you can see, they have a beautiful showroom downstairs that has many Audis lined up just waiting for their new owners to pick them up and drive them out the door. The Audi representatives explain all the cars features and controls to the new owners and then the owners drive the car out of the showroom through some automatic doors. They had the quattro race car of Michelle Mouton and Fabrizia Pons on display in this area. The nice (gorgeous) lady at the Check-In Counter went out of her way to get me an English version of the factory tour book as the tour was only conducted in German. She also "gave" me a hardcover copy of the 200+ page book "Audi, a History in Progress". This book is available from the same Audi publication company that provides the many Audi videos mentioned previously by someone in this email group. Upstairs overlooking the showroom area they had a cafeteria and several Audis, an A4, and a cabriolet near the Quattro boutique gift shop shown below.
The A4 Factory tour started at 1PM and we started in another building's lobby area that had some A8's on display. As mentioned before, the tour was in German so details are limited. We were given headphones and receivers and headed for the huge body part stamping area. We were taken past several of the huge (2-3 story high) hydraulic presses that punch out body parts starting with sheet steel using around 4-8 stamping operations for each part.
I saw the entire side piece of the A4 Avant station wagon being stamped out. We then went through the automated welding area that progressively moves the body through the thousands of welding operations done almost entirely by robots. The robots swing into action and look like insects nibbling on the car body as they weld all the pieces together.
We then walked what seemed like a half a mile down a corridor past the engine assembly area, unfortunately we did not get to see any of this operation. I did notice a huge rack of crankshafts waiting near the entrance though.
Here is a photo from the Audi AG tour book showing their engine test facility. Looks like a V8 undergoing a workout.
We were walked past an area were the bodies were rubbed down after they were primed. I noticed a funny looking body off to one side, it looked a Honda Civic on steroids. Someone on the tour noticed this car too and asked the tour operator what it was. The tour guide said "Ah drei" (A3) and then he seemed to hush his voice and laugh indicating the somewhat sensitive nature of what we saw. We then saw many different colored A4's coming out of the clear coating spray operation (very nice looking paint jobs). They had a A4 on display showing the different protection, primer and paint coatings that are applied to the car. We then moved to the final assembly area where the various trim and interior parts were being installed. This is a photo from the Audi factory tour book, showing a previous generation Audi being built.
The doors are removed the car after painting is completed and placed on a lift that apparently brings them back to the car after all the interior pieces have been installed. The windshield and rear windows were seen being installed in a few minutes by the people on the line as the car moved slowly by on conveyor. The body is then rotated on its side to allow the brake, fuel lines and other body and suspension mountings to be installed.
We then saw the entire running gear with suspension being installed by a team of 4 people who guided the whole assembly as it was raised from underneath. I noticed a pallet full of intercoolers with attached hoses for what I assumed was the 1.8T 5 valve A4 engine. The tour finished up shortly after seeing the running gear installed and lasted about 2 hours. Apparently there is a video available that shows much of the assembly line process. I noticed it listed in the back of the tour book but the gift shop was out of stock on them. In the lobby area I sat in the A8 they had on display, nicely appointed interior and very comfortable. As I walked back to the visitors center I noticed a gentleman carrying a poster board with different body color squares with an A3 emblem mounted on it.
Outside in the employee parking lot, I noticed a S6 Avant with the 4.2 liter V8.
I also noticed a nice S2 near the same area.
I picked up a few items at the Quattro boutique store and checked out a nice tornado red '84 Sport Quattro on display. I then made my way back to the Autobahn headed for Innsbruck Austria. I stayed just outside of Innsbruck in the town of Hall in Tyrol area of Austria. I think my next stop will be the town of Seefeld where Audi conducts their winter driving school. Audi factory photos courtesy of Audi AG.
Update for September 2003:
The Audi World Site has the following email address that can be used to contact the Ingolstadt Factory for tour information. Audi Ingolstadt Tour
I received this information via Email
"It´s possible to have english guided tours, but the costs are EUR 60.- for a group.
We can offer you german guided tours from Monday to friday at 10:30, 12:30 or 14:30. The costs are EUR 4.- each person. Please let us know what we could book for you."
Two other phone numbers that I received from Audi Ingolstadt Travel24 GmbH 85045 Ingolstadt Tel. +49 (841) 89-37575
Here is the original 1996 information on making reservations to visit the Audi factories.
You may want to email or call a week or two ahead of time and make reservations, as space may be limited during certain times of the year.
Make note of any German national holidays when the Audi production facility may be closed during your trip.
At the time I was there in Nov. 1994, there was an English brochure called "From Station to Station, Audi production at Audi" which provided further detail on the assembly process. This brochure may not be available anymore.
There was also a video available on the assembly process, with the same name, but I believe it was only available in German and with the European PAL video format. You can get the PAL format converted to the USA NTSC format.
When you call the Audi Factory in Germany, you can start the conversion with "Sprechen Sie Englisch? to try and speak to someone at Audi who speaks English.
The Alta Vista TranslationWeb Site can also be used to put together a few simple sentences to communicate in German.
For example: I am calling from the United States.
Ich rufe von den Vereinigten Staaten an.
I would like to book a reservation for a Factory Tour on March 10th.
Ich möchte eine Reservierung für eine Fabrik-Tour an März 10. anmelden.
There is a new Audi Museum near the Ingolstadt factory, that opened in late 2000
|
| About Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Links Customer Service Safety Information Home |
