The Audi car emblem contains four interlocking rings.
The rings represent the 1932 merger of four German automobile manufacturers: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer. Together, they formed Auto Union, whose corporate symbol became four linked rings. The individual companies continued producing vehicles under their own names for a time.
Audi revived the four-ring symbol after Volkswagen acquired Auto Union in the 1960s. The emblem is often confused with Olympic rings because of its circular, linked design, but it has four rings rather than five and has no connection with the Olympic movement.
The four rings remain Audi’s best-known visual identifier, although the company has also used simplified two-dimensional and monochrome versions for digital applications.