AutoWeek Design Forum: Audi studies details

Some say the devil is in the details, but the details are where Audi sets itself apart from the luxury field.

Achim Badstuebner, Audi's head of exterior design, says the maker of sports and luxury cars is always focusing on small things--such as door handles, the C-pillars and its familiar five-spoke wheels--for design demeanor.

"It should have the same power as that Audi DNA," he said on Thursday at the AutoWeek Design Forum.

Badstuebner also offered insight into the striking LED headlights that grace Audis and the sweeping design of their interiors. Stylists used the feel and texture of materials to help craft the layout of the cabins and dashboards of the A7 and A8, he said. "It's all about the details."

Audi also likes to create risks, Badstuebner said. To illustrate the point, he showed a picture of a "shooting brake" concept based on the TT that was shown in Tokyo. Audi designers simply taped a chair onto the back of the car and covered it to come up with the silhouette.

Audi further displayed its design stretch with a quattro spyder recently in Las Vegas.

"It took us 15 minutes, two cans of beer and a lot of music," he said.

By Greg Migliore