Audi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 43

cycle. Gaspare Buono has been working
on the Audi production lines for 27 years,
but he too finds this an utterly new expe-
rience:
“Everything here is much calmer.
But at the same time you need to know a
lot more in order to keep up with the
processes going on here.” Johannes
Kind, mechatronics specialist, describes
it as “a simply fantastic place to work.”
And Hakan Solmaz, group spokes-
person, declares credibly: “It’s an honour
for me to be building this car. I get goose-
pimples every time I look at the R8.”
Part of this “tingle factor” are the 99
metres of weld seams, 782 punch rivets,
308 self-tapping screws and 113 weld
studs that go into every finished R8 body.
More than 5,000 different parts are
supplied for the Audi R8 by manufactur-
ers all over the world. After passing
through a grand total of 39 stations – 17
in the body shop and 22 in assembly
and final inspection – a new R8 is then
ready for shipping to the customer. A
total of around 250 workers are involved
in the process. Another unusual statistic
is that more than one-third of those
working in assembly are highly quali-
fied, experienced skilled workers with
an average age of over 40.
The two halls are modest in size, and
bear no comparison with giant industrial
plants. High-tech on a craft-shop scale.
In future, visitors will moreover be able
to have a look around. A new route will
take visitors on factory tours through
the R8 production shop.
Hands-on work in the R8 body manufacture:
the finishing of the outer skin’s surface is the
final production stage in the body shop.
41AUDI 2006 ANNUAL REPORT
>>
Upon touring this vehicle pro-
duction shop, the last word
that would occur to you to de-
scribe it is “hectic”. The atmosphere in
this low factory building is evoked much
more aptly with words such as “in-
formal”, “elegant” and “ultramodern”.
Daylight floods into the halls, and the
colours white and silver are dominant.
To emphasise the contrast, the few
robots are jet black. The workers, clad
in red overalls, come across as highly
focused yet relaxed. They are all proud
to be working in a place like this. Be-
cause this place, having the air of a
sanctuary amid an environment of
industrial-scale automotive production,
is where one of the most spectacular
products in the car sector takes shape:
the Audi R8*, the first Audi super sports
car with a 309 kW (420 bhp) V8 FSI mid-
engine.
For all concerned, being part of this
project is something truly special. The
R8 production shop is special in very
many respects: the car manufacturer
has invested 28 million euros into the
craft-scale production shop at the
Neckarsulm plant. The sports car has
been built here on a two-shift basis, un-
der the supervision of quattro GmbH,
since autumn 2006.
The rhythm of working life here is dif-
ferent: whereas there are just one and a
half minutes earmarked for each work-
ing cycle on an Audi A6, the R8 has been
allocated a luxurious 44 minutes per
* fuel consumption figures
at the end of the Annual Report