There's no question that Germany was at the forefront of automotive engineering in the 1930s. Ferdinand Porsche launched the seminal Volkswagen Beetle while Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union were dominating Grand Prix racing. Furthermore, companies like Horch and Mercedes-Benz were producing luxury cars that challenged the rest of the world with their advanced aerodynamic design. Such is the case with ...

To compete with the luxury cars of Mercedes-Benz and even some great French marques like Delahaye and Delage, the Auto-Union empire had Horch. After WW1, Horch represented the upper end of this conglomerate that also included Audi, DKW and Wanderer. The trend reached a peak in 1937 with the introduction of the 853A Spezial (or Special) Roadster.

Described as “a racing driver of genius” by Chris Nixon in the book Silver Arrows, Bernd Rosemeyer was one of the great pre-war race car drivers. He won 10 grand prix races in a very short time racing for Auto Union.

In 1937, the top model produced by Horch and all of the Auto Union conglomerate was the 853 A. It was a more powerful version of the 853 that was fitted with a 120 bhp version of the straight eight.