Audi 2014 Annual Report Download - page 136

More about
Audi’s appearance
at the Design
Miami .
The side view is of even greater impor-
tance to Lichte, because that’s where
the Audi design can most clearly accen-
tuate “Vorsprung durch Technik.” He
reaches for a sketch – his favorite image –
drawn to illustrate how he wants his
new design to contrast with the classic
look of a rear-wheel drive prestige sedan.
“The classic prestige dimensions, with
a long hood, lots of metal between the
front wheel and door seam, a backswept
passenger compartment and emphasis
on the rear : They all shoot for this,”
Lichte says. “So that it’s visibly a rear-
wheel drive. Everything seems pushed
to the rear, like a tree blown backward by
a strong wind.” The chief designer’s vision
for Audi is just the opposite.
Ephemerā by mischer’traxler – Perrier-Jouët, Paris
Not di erent just for the sake of being
different. No, it’s to allow the new,
superior technical solution behind that
vision to be refl ected in the design too.
“We have our own sense of proportion.
We’re centered. We emphasize all four
wheels. That’s what quattro means to
me. The fi rst-generation TT showed the
way. In the future we will see that in
meet again, a harmonious duo – the
worlds of art and design. Just like
every year in Miami in the fi rst week of
December. This is a showcase for design
objects that lend character to interiors.
Where experiments become reality. And
visions become products. Technology
melds with functionality, without visually
shoving its way into the foreground.
every Audi. From the A to the A – but
each in its own form,” Lichte says,
referring to one of his favorite cars : the
Audi  quattro IMSA GTO. He considers
it the visualization of the quattro idea :
“So inspiring !” An e ect you also can’t
miss when viewing the car from above –
admittedly, an unusual perspective.
“The striking emphasis on the wheels,
between them the door area, narrower.
That’s where the car truly becomes
sculpture,” he says. This is where they
Art and
design in
dialogue
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