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“A good slogan sells the product. A great slogan becomes part of the language,” so the old saying goes. That sentiment rings especially true for Audi’s iconic three-word mantra: Vorsprung durch Technik.

First uttered into existence back in 1971, the enduring phrase – meaning progress through technology – has evolved to become far more than just a catchy tagline. In essence, it’s a guiding principle that champions technological excellence – and has underpinned more than five decades of next-gen innovation, pulse-raising performance and exquisite design at Audi.

But what does Vorsprung durch Technik mean to those behind the metal? Those at the coalface? Those who make Audi, well, Audi? To find out, Autocar visited the four rings’ headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany, to pick the brains of some of the brand’s leading designers and engineers.

In this first of four exclusive interviews, we speak with Audi royalty Frank Lamberty – the design extraordinaire behind the Audi R8 and all-electric Audi e-tron GT. Also in the series: aero chief Dr. Moni Islam; lighting expert Christoph Häußinger; and interior designer Ramon Bäurle.

Discover the all-electric Audi e-tron range

Introduce yourself and what you do...

My name is Frank Lamberty and I’m a team leader within the exterior design department at Audi. This means I head a small team of four or five designers who work in competition with other teams to come up with designs for the next generation of Audi cars. It’s a fantastic job.

What’s your personal interpretation of Vorsprung durch Technik?

In my opinion, Vorsprung durch Technik is an attitude. It is a mindset, actually.

More than 60 years ago, Audi [as we know it today] didn’t exist. It was part of Auto Union which was owned by Mercedes-Benz. Then it was bought by Volkswagen in the mid ‘60s who just wanted to use its factories here in Ingolstadt to build the Beetle.

But behind the curtain, a small group of people decided they needed to do something about this, and so they secretly designed a new car. When they showed it to the board, they were so impressed that it was immediately put into production. That car was the Audi 100, and it saved Audi. Not only that, but it was really progressive for the time because it was front-engined and front-wheel drive. 

When we hear this story, it gives a new meaning to Vorsprung durch Technik. It’s about realising when something is not right we have to take action. But it’s about more than that. It’s about really searching for the next level to improve. If there is something which is not going to be successful, we must find a new way, a new solution, a new idea.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

As designers, we are quite visual people. We look a lot. Not everybody can do this. Some people are more fixated on lists and numbers and figures; I’m walking through the world with my eyes wide open. I’ve always been like that. But it’s about more than just looking – it’s about understanding.

I personally take a lot of inspiration from nature. Animals, for example. Some are cool; some are funny; some are aggressive. But why is that? That’s when you start to analyse their characteristics, and I find many of these are transferable into car design. Ultimately, being a designer is about seeing something, grabbing it and doing something new out of it.

Cutting-edge exterior design has always been a core pillar of Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik ethos. How would you describe Audi’s design language?

This is a big question! To start, Audi design has always been about reduction. We try to be as clean as possible with our designs, and that all starts with the main architecture of the car. The main body has to be just right. It has to fit. If there’s a mistake in the overall proportions of the car, everything else falls apart.

But this is not easy. The cleaner and more reduced you get, the more perfect everything else has to be. Take the first-generation Audi TT (1998), for example. When you look at this car, it is so reduced, so clean, that if something was wrong with the proportions, even the smallest detail, you would realise immediately. 

Audi is also about being logical. The ‘logic of the lines’ is something I talk about. The creases. The volumes. The shut lines. There needs to be a clear logic and reason to all of them. Look at the e-tron GT (2021). The muscular blisters and creases on the rear haunch are there to symbolise the powerful quattro performance underneath. There’s a logic to them.

And then there’s the combination of form and function. The Audi 100 C3 (1982) is a good example. That car has a really long nose, which makes it incredibly aerodynamic. But it didn’t look sexy or cool, so we found a way to compensate for that and still create our own identity by carving away the corners of the car to create the illusion that everything was pointing towards the grille for this really dynamic look. 

But above all else, Audi design is about emotion. A car has to move you, it has to touch your heart. And this is what we’ve tried to achieve with the new e-tron family. [More on those in a moment].

Which Audi models throughout history stand as milestones in design for you, especially through the lens of Vorsrung durch Technik?

I mean, there are so many amazing cars to choose from. I have to say, looking back, the original TT was the car that actually made me come to Audi in the first place.

I was a student at the time and I remember thinking ‘Wow, how can you design a car like this?’. But it was more than just a car. The reduction. The cleanness. The coolness. The Bauhaus inspiration. To me it was halfway between car design and product design, and this is what really amazed me. It was totally my style and to this day I love it.

But thinking about Vorsprung durch Technik specifically, there have been many milestone cars that have championed innovation. The Audi A2, for example. This car was really, really clever in its design. It had a fantastic footprint: really small on the outside, really big on the inside. It was also incredibly aerodynamic and very lightweight – something we’ve come to appreciate more and more in the electric era.

And then there was the A6 Allroad, a personal favourite of mine. This was in response to the growing demand for SUVs in the premium market, and at the time Audi didn’t have an SUV. So, Audi decided to take its best, most versatile car and combine it with the features that buyers were looking for in SUVs: off-road capability, chunky design and a higher driving position. For me, it’s still one of the greatest cars Audi has ever made and a clear example of Vorsprung durch Technik thinking.

Electric mobility has changed the game for car design. What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages? How is Audi overcoming these?

This is a question we’ve been trying to answer for 15 years, ever since car design began to split between regular combustion cars and electric cars.

At first, we all said ‘Horray!’. The big, lumpy engine was gone and so we thought it would give us more freedom to design exactly how we wanted. But it didn’t turn out quite that way.

But, let’s start with the advantages. First, the added weight of electric cars means big, wide wheels are needed to carry everything, and designers love big wheels. Second, because the batteries are in the middle of the car, it means the wheels can be pushed out to each corner, which means shorter overhangs. Now Audi design has typically been about having long overhangs, but this shift in technical layout has given us some exciting opportunities in the design department, especially when it comes to finding the perfect proportions of a car.

However, there are some challenges. The first and main challenge also stems from the batteries. Having them in the floor means the car naturally wants to sit higher off the road. In SUVs this isn’t much of a problem, but in sports cars like the e-tron GT it’s tricky. But this is another example of Vorsprung durch Technik. The engineers have created a very clever, very expensive type of modular battery that isn’t just a big brick. It can be fitted together in such a way that it allows us to keep the floor of the car very close to the road, and therefore the e-tron GT is one of our most beautiful electric cars.

And then there’s the aerodynamics side of things. Aero is so important for electric cars in order to achieve good efficiency and a longer range, which is why you can see each of our e-tron models are so aero-focused.

What are your design highlights for each of Audi’s all-electric e-tron models?

As I mentioned, the e-tron GT is, for sure, one of our most beautiful electric cars. I remember back when we started designing this car we said we wanted to create a really dynamic, emotional car. It has a nice long wheelbase, a sporty silhouette, a really nice floating roof arc, muscular wheel arches and perfect overall proportions. For me, it’s pure sculpture.

The Q6 e-tron is, to me, the SUV brother of the e-tron GT. It has a really strong, prominent front end, a really wide wheelbase, and a beautiful aerodynamic flow to the bodywork. Round the back, it has the same muscular haunches as on the e-tron GT. Overall, I’m really proud of this car because I think it's one of the most beautiful SUVs.

And finally the A6 e-tron. This is really special for us, because this is the first electric Avant. The overall ethos here is that the A6 has been designed even more smooth than the e-tron GT and the Q6 e-tron because we wanted to show the airflow around the car. One sign of this is the single crease running all the way down the side of the car. 

I also like the fact it has different proportions to a regular combustion engine Avant. It has a shorter nose and a really long, elegant, stretched body with a really sharp roofline. It’s a really fluid car. I love it!

Where do you think Vorsprung durch Technik will take Audi in the future?

It’s interesting. I think Audi is in a transitional period at the moment, and the future isn’t crystal clear in terms of the cars we will be making in years to come. But I know with our Vorsprung durch Technik mentality we will always strive to do things better, improve, try new ways, explore different paths, and this will always lead Audi to success.

Discover the all-electric Audi e-tron range