Audi believes its new A6 Avant, which fits into a class associated with maximising practicality, will appeal to buyers as much for its striking design as its large boot.
One of the key team members behind the shape of the 2018 estate is Helmut Jung, the A6 Avant's exterior designer. We catch up with him to gauge his thinking behind the model's look.
What were the inspirations for the car?
“The Quattro is clear to see – especially on the wheel blisters and across every new car we launch. It is our reference point now. For ‘wow’ factor I looked at the 100 Avant. Then we had the prologue concept, which really pointed us in this direction. The goal was really to make a little bit of the drama of an RS model available for everyone.”
Audi A6 Avant unveiled with ‘dramatic’ new look
Were there areas where your designs needed reining in?
“This is a more expressive car. The goal was to ensure that it looks good for ever more; not just capture the imagination now and age badly over time. We are a progressive brand, not a brash one.”
Why are the sensors so prominent at the front of the car?
“We wanted them to be that way, to emphasise the technology available on the car. We had two choices: to try to hide them, which would not have been entirely possible, or to make a feature of them. We opted to make a theme out of it rather than try to tuck it away.”
Audi still has a familiar family look, though...
“It does, and it always will. There is increasingly more differentiation between models, but every car has its own interpretation of the Quattro themes, and in details such as the grille you will always be able to appreciate that one of our cars is part of the Audi family, even when some of the themes – such as the details around the grille, or the shape of the vents – are different.”
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'Lifestyle' ... eh?
Nice looking car; for those that almost need an estate ... but not quite.
This is pathetic - 'more
This is pathetic - 'more expressive car', 'bold styling' - such meaningless generalisations describe nothing specific.
Or maybe this Helmut Jung has nothing to say.
Audi is going the BMW route - 'repeat with minor variations'. Except that Audi goes downhill from a higher plane. May take years for Audi to reach BMW's level of awfulness designwise.