Chemnitz is currently on everyone's lips as the European Capital of Culture. The city owes this status not least to its roots as the Saxon Manchester and the associated technical skills that still form the backbone of Saxony's third largest city today. Part of this heritage is also Chemnitzer Zahnradfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, which, at the center of Saxony's mechanical engineering industry, develops and manufactures special gear units for a wide range of customers from all areas of mechanical and plant engineering.

Recently, however, the long-established company has been confronted with a very special challenge. Not far from Chemnitz, in Zwickau, August Horch, the later founder of Audi, built the Horch 14-17, his first car ever, at the beginning of the 20th century. “14 to 17” stood for the estimated horsepower.

Since not a single original vehicle has survived the turmoil of time, the August Horch Museum in Zwickau decided to revive a copy of this heritage and to rebuild the masterpiece in painstaking detail. Based on an historical photograph, a catalog from 1904, some construction sketches and a disassembled original engine, the classic car has now been faithfully recreated and brought back to life over twelve years of painstaking restoration work.

As one of many local supporters of the project, Chemnitzer Zahnradfabrik also contributed its expertise and manufactured all the transmission parts and the drive shaft for the manual transmission. Since summer 2024, the replica has had a place of honor in the collection of the August Horch Museum in Zwickau.

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