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December 25, 2014
Audi's Front Grille | Audi
Audi
Audi's Singleframe Grille
A car's front grille is one of its key design elements, instantly identifying its origin and playing a crucial role in defining the brand's image. This is evident in iconic designs like BMW's kidney grille or Lexus's spindle grille. Audi's front grille is known as the Singleframe grille. The Singleframe grille, as seen in the car presented at the...Paris Motor Show 2012 , introduced a new expression.Crosslane Coupe incorporated new expressions.Report from the Concept Design StudioFollowing the report from the Concept Design Studio, Fumio Ogawa investigated Audi's new front grille.
Text by OGAWA Fumio
What is a Front Grille?
Audi's front grille enters a new generation. Unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in autumn 2012, the "Crosslane Coupe" features a sculptural and uniquely bold grille design. What was the background behind its development?
The front grille, as its name suggests, was originally designed to protect the radiator, which cools the engine, from damage by stones. Once purely a functional component, it began to acquire symbolic meaning from the 1930s onwards, taking on a new role as the brand's "face."
In recent years, the trend of emphasizing brand identity through front grille design has become stronger, with Audi being a pioneer in this area.
During a recent press briefing for journalists at Audi's Concept Design Center in Munich, focusing on future design strategies, Wolfgang Egger, Head of Audi Design, stated, "The Audi front grille is more than just decoration. It's the starting point for design and will become an important component in the near future."
Audi
Audi's Singleframe Grille (2)
History of the Audi Grille
Audi revolutionized front grille design in the late 1990s with the split grille on the "A8." By beautifully designing and emphasizing the grille, it hinted at the powerful engine within the engine bay. The intention was to impress upon the viewer the presence of the meticulously engineered and assembled engine (and the drivetrain, including the quattro system).
It is also noteworthy that by adopting this design concept across its entire lineup, Audi established its family identity, emphasizing advancement through technology.
The 2003 Audi A8 L
The Audi A3, introduced in Geneva in 2012
In the 2000s, the design adopted a large grille known as the Singleframe. This vertically elongated grille was also a successful historical reference, evoking the 16-cylinder Grand Prix cars that Audi's predecessor, Auto Union, raced before the war. Simultaneously, the grille was flanked by headlamps and auxiliary openings, forming what Audi calls the "5-element motif."
The latest Audi models have evolved the Singleframe, now featuring a hexagonal grille with the top corners cut off. Designers refer to this as the "optimization of the Singleframe."
Audi
Audi's Singleframe Grille (3)
The Genesis of Beauty
"There's no need to change the symbol," says Wolfgang Egger, Head of Design at Audi.
"The presence of the Audi grille is very strong. We won't drastically alter it. However, it's important to refine the design to align with the times and our philosophy. That's why we've adopted the third generation of our front grille, following the double grille and Singleframe, in the Crosslane Coupe."
According to Egger, the Crosslane Coupe's front grille is "no longer just an outline." This signifies a departure from the flat, applied-to-the-front appearance. Egger describes its characteristic feature as "sculptural."
He handed me the actual front grille to examine, and indeed, its three-dimensional form was refreshingly novel.
"It possesses an aesthetic beauty that makes you want to display it as an object on a table, doesn't it? But more importantly, we imbue this grille with such significance that it serves as the starting point for the entire car's design. As demonstrated by the Crosslane Coupe, the front grille, like a structural element, holds profound symbolic meaning for a design where the chassis's space frame is integrated with the body."
It's sometimes said that designers have national characteristics. For instance, when asked to design a car, Americans might start sketching, while Germans might arrive with stacks of documents. Listening to the explanation of Audi's new-generation grille, even though one might think design needs no words, I found myself frequently nodding in agreement. The background from which beauty emerges. It was an insightful interview.