Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 115

A SEAT press kit in
the style of a Vaillant
comic book was
compiled specially for
the presentation
at the Geneva Motor
Show.
The prominent “V” on the helmet
is the hallmark of the true fan.
Dr. Franz-Peter Hudek began his career in jour-
nalism as Sports Editor at “auto motor und
sport”, where he was also responsible for motor
racing (including Le Mans 24 Hours, Indiana-
polis 500, DTM). He also worked at AUTOFOCUS until mid-
2006, when he then joined the Motor Klassik editorial team.
CULTURE: COMIC AND DESIGN
113AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
Donckerwolke shows a few design details of
the matt blue wonder-car that are not obvious at
first glance: “First we removed all light edges
and rubbing strips from the body, including
on the tailgate – and even the door handles.
Then we made the wheel arches four centi-
metres wider on each side. They were the only
features to be given a prominent light edge. The
front wheel arches taper into narrow vent gills
adjoining the flared sills at their base.” Finally,
the B-post in glossy black provides an interesting
contrast.
The technology of the Ibiza Vaillante has been
adopted in part from the SEAT Leon Cupra R:
the track-widening suspension and the uprated
1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine, now
developing 177 kW (240 bhp). This gives the
1,050-kilogram Spanish model a racy top speed
of 250 km/h and enables it to accelerate from 0
to 100 km/h in six seconds.
The standard SEAT Ibiza in the petrol-engined
Cupra version* likewise delivers an unrestrained
132 kW (180 bhp). It is the fastest car in the com-
pact segment, at 229 km/h. It touches 100 km/h
after only 7.3 seconds. Michel Vaillant has made
a good choice – even in the normal SEAT Ibiza
Cupra he would race away from his challengers.
The Ibiza Vaillante took five weeks to create, and
simply had to be ready for the Geneva Motor
Show. That is why it also proudly sports the name
Ginebra – the Spanish for Geneva.
An interesting footnote to the story is that this
compact car itself spent some time travelling
between the real and the fantasy worlds, as
Donckerwolke reports in amusement: “There
was a version with a second Vaillante V on
the front radiator grille, likewise positioned be-
neath the headlights. We did away with it imme-
diately – that Ibiza looked like something out of
Dracula.”
* fuel consumption figures at the end of the Annual Report