Audi e-tron Spyder
Where the quattro Concept caused a certain amount of consternation for its brutal graphics and overt retro-ness, the e-tron Spyder draws subtle nods of appreciation – surely a more appropriate reaction to an Audi.
Rather against the expectation offered up by the potential of a compact mid-engined sports car, the e-tron Spyder (or R4 as many now refer to it) is a car that takes some time and exploration to appreciate – a refreshing change from the in-your-face obviousness served up by many. The e-tron Spyder has a beguiling subtlety that reveals itself in layers the closer you get.
Lead exterior designer, Wolfram Luchner, has created an incredibly technical-looking car that harks back to the reassuringly detail-obsessive Audi of a decade ago, yet its form language is also perfectly aligned with the technology-rich e-tron label. Its surfaces – the doors in particular – are sheer in a way that's reminiscent of the first-generation TT. It is on the verge of looking rather too solid, an accusation it averts by virtue of its expressive, yet wonderfully taut fenders.
If only its DRG were as restrained. We found ourselves blocking the e-tron's face with our hand in order to appreciate the rest of the car; such is its abrasive character. It is too aggressive for such a refined design, with the expression of a mechanical piranha. The mechanical aspect is an admirable visual identifier for 'e-tron', but the flesh-eating fish connotation is unpleasant. It's representative of a wider need to progress from the state we find ourselves in where extreme aggression is seen as positive. Here it is the exact opposite and is totally at odds with the car's character.
The interior design – the work of Ivo van Hulten – is another Audi triumph, with a design that is clean, technical and sophisticated, yet with a visual lightness that's entirely appropriate for a compact sports car. The instrument binnacle is particularly successful with its minimal instrumentation, touch-sensitive secondary switches and metal detail that we find repeated on the passenger's side of the IP.
The e-tron Spyder demonstrates Audi's most successful exploration of its e-tron aesthetic to date and also demonstrates a very welcome return to the marque's famed surface discipline that had begun to wander around like an A5's beltline. All it now needs is a more approachable DRG.
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Where the quattro Concept caused a certain amount of consternation for its brutal graphics and overt retro-ness, the e-tron Spyder draws subtle nods of appreciation – surely a more appropriate reaction to an Audi.
Rather against the expectation offered up by the potential of a compact mid-engined sports car, the e-tron Spyder (or R4 as many now refer to it) is a car that takes some time and exploration to appreciate – a refreshing change from the in-your-face obviousness served up by many. The e-tron Spyder has a beguiling subtlety that reveals itself in layers the closer you get.
Lead exterior designer, Wolfram Luchner, has created an incredibly technical-looking car that harks back to the reassuringly detail-obsessive Audi of a decade ago, yet its form language is also perfectly aligned with the technology-rich e-tron label. Its surfaces – the doors in particular – are sheer in a way that's reminiscent of the first-generation TT. It is on the verge of looking rather too solid, an accusation it averts by virtue of its expressive, yet wonderfully taut fenders.
If only its DRG were as restrained. We found ourselves blocking the e-tron's face with our hand in order to appreciate the rest of the car; such is its abrasive character. It is too aggressive for such a refined design, with the expression of a mechanical piranha. The mechanical aspect is an admirable visual identifier for 'e-tron', but the flesh-eating fish connotation is unpleasant. It's representative of a wider need to progress from the state we find ourselves in where extreme aggression is seen as positive. Here it is the exact opposite and is totally at odds with the car's character.
The interior design – the work of Ivo van Hulten – is another Audi triumph, with a design that is clean, technical and sophisticated, yet with a visual lightness that's entirely appropriate for a compact sports car. The instrument binnacle is particularly successful with its minimal instrumentation, touch-sensitive secondary switches and metal detail that we find repeated on the passenger's side of the IP.
The e-tron Spyder demonstrates Audi's most successful exploration of its e-tron aesthetic to date and also demonstrates a very welcome return to the marque's famed surface discipline that had begun to wander around like an A5's beltline. All it now needs is a more approachable DRG.
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