The new 2019 Audi A7 marks a new chapter for the folks at Ingolstadt. Not only have they released a new model packed with technology, but they have done all of this out of their brand-new design center. Here, we look at the 7 most interesting things that we learned about the new design center and the new A7.
It was designed in the new Audi Design Center
The design division at Audi used to have it quite easy. Before the 90s, its model range consisted of a handful of vehicles, requiring relatively little manpower and floor space for design development. Fast-forward to today and Audi offers a total of 15 models, from the humble A1 to the evocative R8. This increase in model range has pushed Audi to build the aforementioned new design center in Ingolstadt, which houses new design technologies and philosophies.
Enter the building and you immediately notice the shear amount of natural daylight. This was pivotal in the design of the center. According to the architects, the building was designed to allow as much natural daylight in as possible. To this end, three atria flood the inner sanctum of the building with light, and exterior walls are clad in glass.
Not only do designers feed off good lighting for their work, but the view of a rolling German landscape offers a boost to their creativity–apparently. To allow ample light in but to keep prying eyes out, Audi used one-way glass that reflects the image of the surrounding sky from the outside, but seems perfectly clear on the inside.
Situated on the roof of the building is the outdoor display area. It was used for the world premiere of the A7, but is also used to get models and prototypes into pure natural light for analysis by top designers before sign-off. Another interesting point about the design of the building is that the main design room is open-plan and has around ten CNC clay milling machines. This way, various models can be developed within eyeshot of others, offering a flow of creativity and co-operation from the various teams.
It is based on the Prologue Concept
The Audi Prologue concept was revealed in 2014 at the LA Auto Show, and it gave us a taste of what was to come from Audi. The new A8 took cues from the Prologue concept, and the concept was also used as a basis for the design of the A7. In fact, the Prologue provides the design principles for the new A8, A7, and will also feed into the next A6. Head of exterior design Andreas Mindt spoke about the importance of the Prologue, and how the design ideas can be split for differing underlying principles. For example, the A8 uses the Prologue as a basis, but offers an air of the ‘Superior’, whereas the A7 goes down a more ‘Sportiv’ path.
This was achieved with a systematic tweaking of interior and exterior features to give the A7 a sportier dynamic. For example, the touch surfaces in the A8 are democratically divided between the driver and front passenger, whereas the A7 has the control center angled towards the driver, providing a more driver-focused environment. Additionally, the edges of the interior door trims are curved in more than they are in the A8, giving the impression of a tighter, athletic cockpit.
Its design philosophy is inspired the theme of “effortless propulsion.”
To understand the basic philosophy behind the exterior design of the new A7, Sebastian and Andreas, talks about how they started by taking inspiration from reference images that they believe personify the values of the A7. An image of a female model in a flowing dress represents the avant-garde, whereas a yacht embodies a feeling of luxury and the sensation of smoothly gliding along. This theme of effortless propulsion was key for the exterior design experts, who also took inspiration from zeppelin airships. These core ideas translate to initial, but tangible design ideas.
It was designed through a modern, computer-assisted process
Not only was the 2019 A7 designed in an entirely new building, it was done using completely modern techniques. Traditional techniques used to involve the painstaking manipulation of clay models based upon rough sketches of free-thinking design geniuses. This has now changed.
Computational techniques are implemented at the earliest stage of the process to help push automotive design well into the 21st century. A blue-sky sketch of a few flowing lines is input to computational modelling software, where a design engineer can extrude out a rough 3D shape. This extrusion can then undergo digital ergonomic testing. A human figure is superimposed into the vehicle to see if ergonomic and spatial requirements are met, which basically comes down to “will his head fit under the roofline?” and similar questions. Soon after this stage, the design can be tweaked in CAD software before being sent to a CNC milling machine to slowly chip away at a life-size clay model. At this point, the team has a tangible model in front of them, where they can employ traditional clay sculpting techniques to further their vision.
Audi has its own supercomputer cluster
The reliance of Audi’s new design process on CAD modeling and 3D image manipulation required it to up its computing power. To this end, Audi commissioned its own supercomputer cluster for the design center.
It is used throughout the design process, but mainly to generate photo-realistic models of designs for environmental superimposition. Designers can load a photo-realistic model of their current design into any background environment, allowing them to evaluate its appearance in different lighting situations.
Want to know what the car would look like in Mexico at dusk, surrounded by plant pots? No worries. Want to see what it looks like from a three-quarter angle parked on a rooftop in Germany? Don’t sweat it. Any environment and lighting can be simulated.
This might sound like a bit of a gimmick, but it is a powerful tool. Delicate curves and creases in a car’s body reflect different light in various ways, some of which look stunning, some of which don’t. This is where this tool is used to its potential.
It includes the new role of a multi-modeler
Once a clay model has been rough-cut by the milling machines, each square inch of the model is meticulously finished by what Audi call a “multi-modeler”. Whereas previous techniques involved a tactile manual worker developing a clay model and a CAD engineer to develop computer models, these roles are now merging. A multi-modeler works carefully by hand on the clay model with traditional tools, then uses optical imaging techniques to scan the clay model, transferring the real-world model into a CAD environment. This updates the milling machine on the current design model, and allows the multi-modeler to play with the shapes in CAD software.
The entire process is called “ping-pong” by Audi engineers, and is invaluable to streamline and develop the design process further.
Its lights are inspired by a panther
Audi has always been somewhat of a pioneer in the automotive lighting arena. It was the first automaker to showcase all-LED lighting with the R8 V-12 TDI concept, and more recent models have presented progressive turn signals and laser headlights. We can safely say that Audi didn’t let us down with the new A7, the headlights of which were apparently inspired by the eyes of a panther. Cesar Muntada, head of lighting design, broke down how the unique slotted lighting idea came to be. The idea came from the binary nature of the digital world, where 1s represent on and 0s represent off. This amalgamation of an anthropomorphic eye, and binary slotted headlights is Audi’s take on their ‘analogue meets digital’ design philosophy.
The rear light bar was an idea carried over from the A8. However, understated adjustments were made to make this rear light cluster unique to the A7. The animation upon waking or sleeping the car is playful and almost Tron-like in nature. And for good reason—the new A7 certainly stands out in its field thanks to the exterior lighting innovations.
It seems that automotive designers are finding new ways to express themselves, with overall body shape or even lighting ideas.
Source: AutoMobileMag