Photo: Audi

Ingolstadt - Final preparations for the inauguration of the new Audi Forum Ingolstadt, which is due to open in the middle of December, are currently in full swing. Construction work on the approximately 77,000 square metre site, the company's new architectural "business card" outside the factory gates, has reached the final phase. Work is currently being carried out around the clock, including weekends, to complete the project. Audi has invested a total of some DM 170 million in the expansion and structuring of the area at the Ingolstadt plant.

"The Audi Forum Ingolstadt is designed to present the Audi brand world to all visitors and customers, and to forge a link between the history of the brand and its predecessors and the future and our visions," explains Dr.-Ing. Franz-Josef Paefgen, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. "At the same time the Audi Forum Ingolstadt demonstrates the close relationship we have with the cityof Ingolstadt and the region. We want to come closer to our vision of being the most attractive European on the world market."

The focal point of the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is the museum mobile which, after around 18 months under construction, has now entered the interior decoration and furnishing phase. More then 50 cars and 30 motorcycles and bicycles from the history of the Audi brand and its predecessors will be on display there.

The name museum mobile was selected with good reason - instead of a static historical display, visitors to the museum will experience constant motion: "moving walls", vehicles in a paternoster and interactive exhibits will trace the history of mobility in a fascinating and varied manner. This new form of presentation promotes both a technical understanding and an awareness of the company's heritage. It depicts correlations between the car, mobility and society and is an open forum. The museum mobile unites tradition and vision, and thus substantiates Audi's timeless claim to "Vorsprung durch Technik".

A key element of the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is the Audi Center, opened back in 1992, where Audi customers can collect their new cars. Here they receive a detailed introduction to their new car and can also set out on a factory tour. This customer centre was the first "hangar" building to be constructed in compliance with the new Audi corporate design concept. It served as an architectural model for all new Audi dealerships.

The office building Market and Customer for more than 600 Marketing, Sales and Public Relations employees was opened in September 1999. This building provides numerous services - from the insurance service VWV to the Audi Bank direct to a travel agent – for all Audi visitors, customers and employees.

Another completely new feature is the link building currently being constructed between the museum mobile and the Audi Center. This will house two Mövenpick restaurants "Marché" and "Avus" and a lounge (coffee and cocktail bar), as well as a wine shop and delicatessen.

At the centre of the Audi Forum Ingolstadt is a piazza, approximately 20,000 square metres in area, which will provide a stage for events, interaction and communication between the brand and visitors. The Audi Forum Ingolstadt is part of a comprehensive tourist concept which - together with the city of Ingolstadt and the Altmühl Valley Tourism Association - is designed to bring visitors and customers closer to both the Audi world and places of historic and scenic interest in the region.

The four rings of the Audi badge symbolise the brands Audi, Horch, DKW and Wanderer, which were later combined under the umbrella of Auto Union. Auto Union and NSU, which merged in 1969, made many significant contributions towards the development of the car. AUDI AG was formed from Audi NSU Auto Union AG in 1985. Together with the two traditional companies Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, Audi Tradition nurtures and presents the deep and diverse history of Audi.

(Nov. 20, 2000)