SFV A4

I have loved Audi's subtle and classy styling ever since the first A4 in 1996. The current A4 is a winner and the new A8 is a work of art. But after seeing the wide-mouth grille on the new A6 today, I have to feel like I have lost a dear family member. It is freakin HUGE! Like three times the size of a traditional grille. It's an open gaping hole! What is graceful and classy about that? I hope Audi isn't going to take the BMW attitude of, "we have to be different (odd) with our styling to get sales." BS. (IMHO, Chris Bangle ruined BMW). Audis sell because they are sleek and beautifully scuplted, not overdone, there are no tacky gimmicks, and they exude quality. If they apply that new front end to the next A4, this may be my last Audi sorry to say. What do you guys and gals think? Is it just me? Or do you like the direction Audi is heading toward? For reference, there is a picture of a production A6 in the latest Automobile magazine.

ramprat

I think I heard the 05 A4 will have this front end.

Mike@Ikon Motorsport

is the heritage in design.

The popular trend right now is to take a past legend and smooth over the lines and add polycarbonate headlights, and you're finished. Instead Audi is going in a different direction by designing a car that looks very modern but adding subtle cues from the past.

Now, in the case of the A6, I can't say whether or not it will work since I haven't seen one. A few things could be smoothed out, but overall I like the direction.

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/naias/pikespeak/pp001.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/naias/pikespeak/pp003.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/geneva/nuvolari/nuvolari01.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/geneva/nuvolari/nuvolari07.jpg">

Mike

Mike@Ikon Motorsport

This looks horrible, it's not even a decent photochop. Will be interesting to see what the actual car looks like.

<img src="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/pfe88c36161d4c0122c3b5117c42d668b/fc65e860.jpg">

Mike

sj audi

i wasnt blown away by the spy shots of the a6 i saw at first, i thought it looked bad too. but after seeing the nuvolari i have confidence in what they're gonna do. i'm sure they wont **** it up.

but if they do, bmw did worse first... heh

Mike@Ikon Motorsport

LOL, the thing with BMW is that I see potential in the Z4 and 5. If the fenders of the Z4 removed the contouring and the tailights were better designed the car wouldn't be too bad. The 5 needs a different nose and tail, and judging by how quick the 7 is getting it's re-design it probably won't be long before it does.

Mike

SFV A4

Doesn't that defeat the hole purpose of letting air in anyway? Moreover, there are too many lines bisecting each other up front. On the current A4, vertical lines (of the grille) stop where they meet the horizontal lines of the bumper. It's a clean and simple look. Having lines cutting through each other in all directions looks busy and sloppy. And finally, this retro thing is WAY WAY out of hand. Retro is an excuse. It's an easy way out for automakers. The way of thinking behind retro is this..."we aren't advanced enough to make cars of the future that are cutting edge." In other words, instead of creating the next best thing, they are going back to something already done. Where is the "progress" in this way of thinking? It is stepping back, not forward in car design. And retro cars are nitorious for selling well the first model year, then dying off quickly soon after. Why? Because we've all seen the look before (40 years ago maybe?). It's unoriginal and therefor becomes boring quickly. If retro designs keep going as they are, we will all be driving brand new 400hp Model T's in the year 2030. Case in point, the Mustang didn't get to be lengendary by going retro all those years. Now Ford has run out of modern ideas so they are going retro on it. Same with the T-Bird. No progress, no forward-thinking, no new standard to emulate, and no sales. Hot damn and holy sh*t! Give me a Tylenol. =)

Mike@Ikon Motorsport

I don't believe Audi is following the retro trend with the new concepts. Instead of the thunderbird, which is obviously a knockoff of the original. Audi designed both to be very modern looking cars, but if you pay attention to the lines they do have heritage. I don't think a company should be limited by designs of the past, however creating a family lineage can be beneficial. Look at the grill on the MB, BMW, Alfa, Bentley and Rolls, they all follow a theme but look great, except for the new Rolls which BMW destroyed with those headlights.

Which car are you refering to? The Nuvolari grill is not open, there is actually a black bar, where you would normally see the bumper in other Audis. I'm really not seeing what you mean by intersecting lines. The front bumper is very similar to that of the A4.

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/02/new_s4/2003s4002.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/naias/pikespeak/pp001.jpg">

<img src="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/geneva/nuvolari/nuvolari01.jpg">

Initial DTM

It's different, but its not too bad....the photoshop is trash, though..I don't like it on the A3

kyan

The new Rolls looks like something frm. the Soviet Union.