Welcome to the final of our four-part interview series where we’ve been finding out what Audi’s iconic slogan – Vorsprung durch Technik, or progress through technology – means on a deeper, more personal level to people at the cutting edge of Audi design and engineering. 

Here we sit down with Ramon Bäurle, the interior design expert behind the cockpits of the new all-electric Audi A6 e-tron and the Q6 e-tron.

Also in the series: Exterior design extraordinaire Frank Lamberty; head of aerodynamics and aeroacoustics Dr. Moni Islam; and lighting designer Christoph Häußinger.

Discover the all-electric Audi e-tron range

Introduce yourself and what you do…My name is Ramon Bäurle and I'm an interior designer at Audi. There are lots of elements to my job. When coming up with a new concept, we start with a completely blank piece of paper, which is exciting because we are literally coming up with the future of Audi’s cars.

We’re constantly working in competition with other designers to make sure Audi selects the very best sketches or designs.

What’s your personal interpretation of Vorsprung durch Technik?

To me, personally, I would split Vorsprung durch Technik into two pieces. First, Vorsprung, which means being ahead, or leading. But not just leading, you really have to be ahead when you translate it from its German meaning. But this in itself is challenging, because leading is hard to plan, you know?

You can try to set it as a goal, and you can motivate yourself to reach this goal and always work hard to fulfill it, but there's no guarantee that you’ll manage it. But for me this in itself is motivation – having a clear goal which you want to achieve, which will basically make you better than everything else.

And then the second part, ‘through technology’, is basically what we do at Audi which is to always question whether there is a better solution, a better way of doing things. In the design department we have implemented new technologies in the quest for better results. We transitioned from physical modeling to a more digital process. We also now use virtual reality glasses to evaluate early-stage designs. All of this is to ensure the customer has the best experience possible inside their Audi.

Where do you find inspiration for your work?

As a designer, I see inspiration basically everywhere – it doesn’t matter what it is. It can be fashion, it can be architecture, it can be other products. Everything has its own design aesthetics and uses different materials, which makes them interesting to analyse.

And sometimes you’ll see something random and you just can’t forget it. You think: ‘Why have they designed it like this? How has it been manufactured? Could I achieve something similar? Why is this particular product higher quality than another?’. These are all very interesting and important questions that go through a designer’s head.

What makes for good interior design?

A good interior is a combination of several key elements that make up a perfectly balanced product. First, a good interior needs strong technical clarity. All the features need to be integrated in a way that’s not distracting, helps the driver and passenger, and has a strong, clear theme. A good interior also gives strong weighting to both the driver and the passenger, because the passenger is an essential person.

A good interior also has to match the essence of the car, whether it’s a car that’s more angled towards the driving experience, or a car where you’re more connected to your surroundings through connectivity features – a car designed for long distances, for example.

And a good interior has to use the right materials. High-quality materials can make a huge difference in both physical and perceived value, so it’s important that all the touchpoints close to the driver and the passenger are of the highest possible quality.

Exquisite interior design has always been a core pillar of Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik ethos. Which Audi’s from the past were milestones in this regard?

I think it's very difficult to say because there have been so many. Right now, I think the latest generation of Audi TT has an amazing interior. It has amazing details. The digital air vents with the indication in the display are great both from a technology and a design point of view.

Looking back through history, the Audi 100 had a very nice dashboard. Its wrap-around design is something we still see in our cars today. Its dashboard was also trimmed in wood material, which was kind of unique for a car like this back in those days. 

And I have to say the R8, no matter which generation, has this really strong, almost monoposto (single-seat), architecture where the steering wheel is very much the centre of attention to create this really sporty race-car feeling – it’s fantastic.

The Audi Q6 e-tron and A6 e-tron share the same overarching interior design ethos. What was the vision before pen had even touched paper?

The initial vision when we started with the interior design for the Q6 e-tron was to have a strong design theme which is very, very clean. One which combines all the digital elements seamlessly and in a way that doesn’t distract the driver at all. We also had a strong vision to create a sort of 360-degree wrap-around architecture which combines the dashboard with the door.

Both the Q6 e-tron and A6 e-tron have a completely new interior philosophy which channels Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik spirit. What are the highlights?

The overall design philosophy in both interiors is driven by what we call aesthetic intelligence. This is made up of four key pillars which define the overarching ethos.

The first pillar is human centric. This is all about how the driver and passengers feel inside the car. The comfort. The connection to what’s happening immediately around them. To achieve this, we’ve designed the architecture of the car in such a way that it feels like it’s completely surrounding you. This is what we call a soft-wrap design, where the dashboard and door come together as one seamless entity.

The second pillar is the digital stage, and this is where Audi’s Vorsprung durch Technik philosophy really shines through. This incorporates all of the digital elements of the interior, including the interaction light on the dashboard which gives you notifications via ambient lighting. The curved panoramic touchscreen which has been designed for maximum size and clarity while also being easy to operate for the driver. The passenger touchscreen which, for the first time ever, allows the passenger to interact with the setting of the car. And the augmented reality head-up display which makes driving easier and safer.

The third pillar is visual clarity. Ensuring that every element of the interior is integrated beautifully and comes together in one seamless sculpture. This soft-wrap architecture also plays a big part in this.

And finally there’s the material-driven design. This isn’t just about ensuring the interior uses high-quality materials, but also emphasising the look and feel of the materials with shapes and lighting. We use three dimensional shapes which catch the light in certain ways. On the top, we have areas which are more in the dark, so there's more shadow, which means the material is really presented in its best shape.

And then there are some features that appear in the A6 e-tron specifically, like the virtual wing mirrors. These were first introduced on the Audi Q8 e-tron, but customers told us that the interior screens were too low in the door, so looking at them didn’t feel natural. For the A6 e-tron, these have been moved up where traditional wing mirrors would be, making for a much easier user experience.

And then there’s the panoramic sunroof with switchable transparency, which allows you to control exactly how much light enters the cabin which gives a very nice look and feel to the interior.

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

I think our Vorsprung durch Technik philosophy means Audi will continue to always question and re-question the tools which it uses and the features which it offers its customers. For interior design this is particularly important because it is essential to offer the customer exactly what they want, and live up to their expectations of what an interior should be.

Discover the all-electric Audi e-tron range