Audi 2012 Annual Report Download - page 110

Lively discussions: The trend receivers don’t judge
every idea exactly the same way as the designers.
But their feedback often provides new impetus.
See here how the Audi quattro
concept showcar is created.
motorsport today that will one day be
used in everyday driving. “And we are
not going to stop thinking about the
future in the future either.”
Then designer Markus Klug enters
the contest with his Audi Grid, a sports
car with two separate cockpits. Its main
attraction: landing flaps of sorts in the
wheel wells that lift when the car is on
the verge of fishtailing. “They provide
a warning as soon as things get dicey.
The car trains the driver, instead of
taking responsibility away from him,”
Klug explains the concept, which is
intended above all to convey driving
pleasure. Surprisingly, this elicits the
strongest reactions from the women
in the group. “A car that communicates
with me. Like a horse that pricks up
his ears and tightens his muscles
before breaking into a gallop,” says
an enthusiastic Birgit Schaldecker. In
the design language of the Audi Grid,
by contrast, she sees very little in the
way of communication. “I would have
expected something a bit more subtle,”
says the innovation manager.
As the discussion intensifies, Claus
Pottho is listening in the background.
“This feedback is very important for
our work,” says the Head of Design
Strategy/Communication at AUDI AG.
With collaborative projects such as
these, involving market research and
design, it’s not so much about evaluating
individual models as it is about getting
outside feedback on new ideas. “Design
mustn’t be created in an ivory tower.
Only if we continually ground ourselves
can we build cars for people.” But
people sometimes see things dierently
than the designers, as Juan Carlos
Huerta Martinez must admit: Although
the teardrop form of his quattro
PowerSpace certainly does elicit enthu-
siasm – there is even mention of the
word “art” – none of the trend receivers
see a family car in it, despite the inte-
grated ski and bicycle tunnel. “For me,
it’s more a vehicle for the business
sector,” says Dr. Jan Oliver Schwarz, who
works in the Corporate Development
division of a large insurance company.
Surprisingly, the vehicle study elicits
completely dierent associations than
first
assumed. But then this is precisely
how
it provides the desired impetus. «
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