Audi · 1929–1932
Audi Type SS
The Audi Type SS was a large, eight-cylinder-powered sedan/saloon car introduced by Audi in 1929 in succession to the Type R "Imperator". Jørgen Skafte Rasmussen, the Danish-born entrepreneurial industrialist who had purchased Audi-Werke in 1928, had previously, in 1927, purchased the manufacturing plant of the bankrupt Detroit-based Rickenbacker business and shipped it home to Germany. He installed it in a factory he owned just outside Zschopau, near to Audi's own Zwickau plant. The plan was to build large, relatively inexpensive US-style "Rasmussen engines" for sales to other German auto-makers. The plan failed in that Rasmussen failed to secure any orders for the engines, so he instead produced a couple of models of his own which used them. The Audi Type SS (Zwickau) was one of these. The 5,130 cc straight 8 engine developed a maximum output 100 PS (74 kW; 99 hp) at 3,000 rpm, which was relayed using a four-speed transmission through to the rear wheels and converted into a claimed top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph). The car had two leaf-sprung solid axles and hydraulically controlled brakes which operated on all four wheels. The usual body configurations were available, including a four-door cabriolet and, with a manufacturer's recommended price of 12,950 Marks, a "Pullman-Limousine". Approximately 400 Audi Zwickaus were produced between 1929 and 1932, which for this size of car was a reasonable tally.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Audi Type R
All Audi Type SS data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Specifications
- name
- Audi Type SS
- aka
- Audi Zwickau, Audi 20 / 100
- Manufacturer
- Audi
- Production
- 1929–1932
- Assembly
- Zwickau, Germany
- Predecessor
- Audi Type M
- Successor
- Audi Type R
- Engine
- 5130 cc 8-cylinder , (design Rickenbacker)
- Layout
- FR layout
- Wheelbase
- 3500 mm
- Length
- 4965 mm
- Width
- 1780 mm
- Height
- 1870 mm
- Class
- Obere Mittelklasse
- sp
- uk
- Top speed
- 110 km/h
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q194125CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Type_SSCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1347931000 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Audi_typ_SS_-Zwickau-.jpgCC BY-SA 2.5 · Photo: Matěj Baťha · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.