Audi 'deeply' into design revamp

[The Pretender]

http://cdn.images.autocar.co.uk/612x408FFFFFFF/Car/Audi/Audi-251111111056125031600x1060.jpg

Audi is working on a range-wide revamp of its design language to establish a greater variety of design cues for its expanding range of saloons, SUVs and sportscars.

Speaking to Autocar last night at a design event in London, Audi design director Stefan Sielaff said the company was already deeply into the project, which will closely define a set of individual themes for each of the three major model families.

Under the acronym ‘AQR’, where A stands for Audi (saloons and hatches) Q for Quattro (SUV models) and R for sports cars, Sielaff’s team are specifiying new design values, like the slope-back angle for the grille on the three types of models, headlamp shape and body surfacing.

“We know that some people think our saloons look too alike and are well into a project to change that,” he says, “we will mainly do that with the proportions of those cars”.

The AQR system, for example, will ensure that all Audi’s saloons will have a more sloped-back grille, while the Q models will feature more upright grilles.

“And it will mean differences, say in the way the headlights meet up with the grille; the design details will be different,” says Sielaff.

What Audi won’t compromise, however, is the company’s brand value. “That comes form the board down. In the luxury market brand always comes first. We can’t change that.“

Audi is also going through a major project to define how its electric e-tron cars will look in the future.

So far the e-tron concepts have followed the proportions of traditional, IC-engined cars. But Sielaff says there is a view that the EV’s styling should reflect the different nature of the powertrain.

“Some people are saying we don’t change the styling for a diesel and petrol car. But there is another view that, for example, a steam locomotive looks very different to an electric one. We’ll have to see how this one works out,“ he says.

Julian Rendell

Source: Autocar.co.uk

[tailpipe]

This is the most interesting thread I've seen in some time on RS6.com. I can't believe I'm the first person to respond to it. Come on, guys, where have all the die-hard Audi fans gone?

Anyway, here are my thoughts on the topic of Audi design and styling.

Grille. I was very unconvinced by the single frame grille when it first appeared. As it began its morphology, the shape seemed to change from one form to the next in a clumsy and uncomfortable way.However, with the latest iterations, which chop off the top corners and shrink the overall size, the appearance has become elegant and striking. The A1 looks great, as does the A6 and revised A4. I can see the grille returning to the Auto Union shape of the 1930s and becoming a modern rendering of the classic oval shape. So far so good.

Proportions. Overall, i like the proportions of Audis very much. All models seems to achieve and excellent balance between the glass surround of the cabin and the body. Audi glass areas do seem to be very well resolved and attractive.

Wheels. Audi wheel designs are also very good, although I prefer the twin-shaft seven-spoke alloys of the B7 RS4 to the latest single shaft five-spoke turbine effect wheels on the RS3.

Detailing. Sometimes I find Audi adds too many fussy details that spoil the overall clean effect of its cars' lines. I am not sure I like the pronounced shoulder crease you now find on all models. it seems very heavy handed, or at least a bit overdone. I preferred the much more subtle squared-off effect of the A2 and B6 A4 shoulder lines. A noticeable perversion among all car designers is an obsession with large headlight clusters. it's the unacceptable face automotive detailing and an aspect I particularly dislike. I guess it has a lot to do with bling culture and the view that headlights are like car jewellery. Luckily, i see a new trend where LED systems reduce the height of headlight units to achieve a much more subtle, almost minimalist effect. This was beautifully demonstrated by Lotus' many concepts last year.

Bauhaus as a symbol of Germany and German design? When the TT first appeared in 1995, it seemed as if Audi was starting to embrace a modern version of classic Bauhaus design and I loved that. It was immensely strong, unmistakably German and very appealing. It made me feel proud to drive a German car. Somehow, the promise of that design language wasn't fulfilled by subsequent designs. Walter da Silva seemed to take the brand in a different direction. I simply love the work of Apple's Jony Ive. His less is more approach to reducing things to the most simple of shapes is just brilliant (he's a great fan of the Bauhaus movement as was Steve Jobs).

Overall, Audi design is extremely elegant and well finished. Unlike BMW, Audi has retained the many elements that contribute to its overall styling language. For me the biggest problem is that with so many different models now, all of Audis cars look the same. It is a kind of cookie-cutter, Russian doll approach to design. While it creates a very strong overall effect for the brand, individual models have lost their individuality. So a re-think was definitely necessary.

When you look at what Chris Bangle did at BMW, and now, almost as bad, Gordon Wagener's work at Mercedes-Benz, I am thankful that I drive an Audi. Traditionally, Audi was always understated. I like that and find the latest add-on plastic appendages you get on a BMW M-Car awful. Porsche design is also elegant and understated, the problem is that it has become so familiar. I'd love to see Weissach progress as Ferrari has. What scares me about modern car designs is a preference for an increasing amount of detailing. It is sometimes as if several departments have been working in isolation and the final design for a model is what you get when all their ideas are put together. They say that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. I'd say that many modern car brands are automobiles designed by focus groups. Give me the talented, difficult, genius of a designer any day. Forgive the stereotyping, but such people tend to be Italian. Somehow, the italians get car design in a way that no-one else does. Just look at the new Lamborghini Aventador: sex on wheels.

When I look back at recent car shows, I haven't seen a design that has truly excited for for a while - apart from the R4 concept that became the Quattro concept. That was amazing and could only come from Audi.

Having said all that, this is a highly subjective area. Hopefully, i have now said enough to inflame opinions and generate fierce debate. Whatever, I am very interested to learn what others think about Audi design (Erik, Benman, Pretender, Joker, JavierNovolari, TheRS6, and Kreso). I guess Qisha and his colleagues will look forward to hearing what we think too.

[The Pretender]

I became a Audi fan from the day the Ur-quattro came along.
And in the years that past there are not that many Audi's i really liked.
The list is short: Ur-quattro, sport quattro, V8, A2, TT RS and quattro concept.
The rest of the Audi range are nice cars but not world shocking.
Interior wise i don't like most of them to busy to many switches, the quattro concept interior is much more to my liking.

[The Pretender]

New A3 rendering with a different shaped grill.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oFFTDb6w5KQ/TsPxPY51mbI/AAAAAAAAAWA/OCkXU8AM8Cc/s1600/Audi+futur+design.jpg

[tailpipe]

Is this a random rendering of an alternative grille or does it suggest the new direction Audi will be taking? My understanding was that the grille that appeared on the R4 and Urban Concept represented the ultimate shape Audi wished to achieve. This shape has strong echoes of Ford.

[hlbeckley]

you rendered a Ford ST there....the Audi A3 concept is hot i think and if we do get a 5 cylinder 4 seater sedan that would be my choice of future Audi's
I like the idea of the new RS3, but its look and interior worry me, but boy what a car. S7 impressed me, like the design details and love the interior. Better in the flesh

[The RS6]

Well, a first step would be if Audi hired new photographers. Most new Audis don't impress me in pictures (new A6 for example, I was quite dissapointed), but in real life is a whole other story. Somehow they all look dull in press releases.

About changing the complete design...

Well, something has to change and I like the evolution where it's heading, and I don't have a problem with A4,6&8 looking similar. Maybe because I'm driving a 4 :) , but if I had money for an A8, I probably wouldn't care if anyone noticed which car I'm driving as long as I feel great in it.