Audi R8 Microsite Wins Deutscher Designer Club's 'Good Design' Competition






With the R8 launch, Audi is setting new standards on the Internet. Following the unveiling of the new sports car at the Paris Motor Show, the online presentation is now also getting underway. The R8 is to feature in a spectacular 3D film on the microsite (www.audi.com/R8). What sets this computer-generated film apart is that it is based exclusively on CAD data and was produced totally digitally on a computer. Thus the real Audi R8 never once had to touch the road. At a ceremonial gathering in Frankfurt last Saturday, the Deutscher Designer Club e.V. (DDC) awarded gold to Audi R8 microsite in the digital category of its 'Good Design' competition.

Rainer Gehrisch, CEO of Gehrisch und Krack Filmproduktions AG and member of the DDC, presented Dieter Kopitzki, Head of Online Marketing at AUDI AG, with the gold medal and praised above all the futuristic manner in which Audi R8 was presented in the form of an interactive 3D film. AUDI AG also received the DDC Grand Prix, the highest accolade granted by the DDC for outstanding work in the fields of design, communication, internet design and brand management.

Furthermore, in October the microsite was bestowed with the title 'Site of the Month' at the Favorite Website Awards, one of the world's most famous innovative web design competitions, thereby making it one of the hot favorites to win Website of the Year.

The film, Dimension R8, forms the emotional heart of the microsite. 3D animations masterfully depict Audi R8 tearing round the racetrack, through the city and along coastal roads. Each 3D-rendered film sequence is assigned one of three chapters: Innovation, Design and Performance. In between sequences, the film fades into interactive slow-motion scenes, during which the user can access information about the different topics.

After a brief overview of the motor-sport origins of Audi, the Innovation chapter zooms in on the technical innovations of the R8. In the Design chapter, users discover the design philosophy behind the Audi R8 and can admire various exterior and interior views. In the third section, entitled Performance, more of the vehicle's technical details are marked out, alongside its performance figures.

After the interactive film, users are taken directly into a 360 degree view of the vehicle, where they can assemble their own personalized Audi R8 using a paint and wheel rim configurator and select different perspectives from which to view the vehicle. The online presentation is rounded off with a download area offering wallpapers, screensavers and mobile-phone applications. In its first six weeks, a million people have registered on Audi R8 microsite worldwide and 40,000 have already used the download options.

This fusion of the best of cinema and the best of the World Wide Web guarantees equally impressive product results. Dr Marc Casar, Project Manager of Online Marketing at AUDI AG, appears suitably satisfied: "Our first entirely computer-generated film production has been a complete success. In a short amount of time we have produced a wonderful result. CAD data is the way forward for future vehicle launches."