Audi 2013 Annual Report Download - page 75

WOW
WOW !
WOW !
5 – ACTION The dynamic handling area is an apt, but
almost too modest a name for the Audi racetrack right next
to the airport runway. It is located just a few hundred meters
from where passenger flights take o and land from destina-
tions all over the world. The thundering of jet turbines gives
you goose pimples. The air is filled with adrenaline.
In the quattro exercises, the trainer explains, the goal is to put
CLT participants in deliberately orchestrated, controlled limit
situations so that they can physically experience the eects of
the sport dierential and quattro technology for themselves.
Former police employee Alexander Pyrskiy’s eyes light up. In the
oval race, two participants drive against each other – one in
an A3 with quattro technology, the other in an A3 with front-
wheel drive – on a partially wet surface. In the first round, Alex-
ander climbs into the A3 with front-wheel drive ; he drives well,
but he doesn’t have a chance. The trainer’s voice crackles from
the walkie-talkie : “You can’t catch him now, don’t even try.”
Then Alexander is allowed to race around the oval in the quattro.
It goes without saying that he wins the return match. He laughs,
claps his hands, celebrates – an unforgettable moment. He
is certain that “the customer notices whether a sales adviser is
passionate about the product.”
And then the CLT participants get to test the latest Audi models
on a discovery drive as well – a short road trip takes them to
lunch at nearby Schloss Hohenkammer. Alexander smiles as he
steers the new A3 Sedan down the autobahn and along Bavarian
country roads : “Driving an Audi is always better than reading
about it.”
“
6 – GRAND FINALE The atmosphere at the Audi Training
Center is reminiscent of a summit meeting : There is a long
line in front of the auditorium entrance. The air is filled with
excited voices. Men with serious faces and radio earpieces
guard the venue. Since CLT participants will also be shown new
products at the final show which no one outside of the Audi
family has ever seen, plant security has cordoned o the site
and raised excitement levels to fever pitch. Then finally the
curtain is lifted, well actually the projection screen is lowered,
and the wild drive begins.
“We don’t simply want to pull a white sheet o the car,” is
how Christian Bauer explains the concept, “rather we want to
portray the brand’s claim of ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ in our
presentation as well.” A goal that is met. The audience sees
the new Audi models in motion on an enormous 3D screen.
Fast clips which make modern music videos look like meditation
films. The new Audi TT races through wild virtual worlds and
stops in front of a waterfall. Water jets spray the audience with
a fine mist – that’s 4D cinema, a new dimension. Then the new TT
drives onto the stage through a hidden door, and the real vehicle
and the animated sci-fi images meld together.
After 20 minutes, Maxim Chindyaskin leaves this drive-in movie
theater of a special kind, squints at the light and rubs his eyes.
He could rave about the design of the new TT, or he could report
on what he might tell his customers in Moscow about the future
of Audi. But all he says is :
WOW !
ACT INSPIRINGLY
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