“It is the most beautiful car I have ever designed”. So said Marc Lichte, head of Audi Design, when the Audi e-tron GT Concept show car was unveiled in Los Angeles in autumn 2018. Two years later, the four rings’ first electric Grand Tourer is set to debut in its final form on 9 February. “A world premiere is always a magical moment. This applies to me personally as well as to the entire Audi Design team. The presentation of a new car marks the end of a development process that usually lasts four years.”
A successful design can be defined as one that meets both aesthetic and functional requirements: “The roots of the beauty of the Audi e-tron GT lie in its proportions: short overhangs and a long wheelbase, a sleek, streamlined cabin and a muscular body”. The e-Tron GT could mark the start of a new styling direction for Audi, although Lichte is waiting to see everyone’s reactions once the car has hit the road.
So what message does the e-tron GT communicate? “To be on the cutting edge of technology. In Audi’s history, there have been a few models that have totally fulfilled these ambitions. For example, the Audi A2, which is the epitome of efficiency, the Audi TT, which is design that becomes substance, or the Audi R8, which is the epitome of uncompromising performance. As for the Audi e-tron GT, the question is not whether it is a design icon, but how it expresses our identity. In other words, how you interpret the cutting edge of technology.
Efficiency as an inspiring design factor. How do you translate this principle into reality? “Reducing aerodynamic resistance means increasing range: in designing the lines of the Audi e-tron GT, we made this basic law of electric mobility an aesthetic principle. The form follows the function, the features are born from the search for efficiency and develop hand in hand. The design of the Audi e-tron GT ensures optimised flow and thus excellent aerodynamics.
