the Sedan (TT: 164.4 in. long; 98.6-in.
wheelbase). He shows a drawing of
three roofines: "The longest silhouette
is the A4 and the shortest is the TT. The
A3 Sedan is well balanced in the middle
position. It fts between the classic
sedan and the sporty coupe."
And speaking of the roofine of the A3
sedan: "We didn't want to make a four-
door coupe. It is a very true sedan: The
roofine is in three segments, it's not
just a falling line."
(About that French-Canadian accent.
Yes, he works for Audi in Ingolstadt.
He's worked for the company for 14
years. But he was born in Montreal.
He received an MA from the Royal
Academy of Art in London in 1990. He
worked at Honda's European design
studio in Germany, then decided to
make a return to Quebec, where he
went to work at Bombardier, designing
things like Ski-Doos. After a few years
there, he decided to make a return to
automotive, and he joined Audi.)
Garand says that a big infuence on the
way that designers at Audi execute is the
early 20th century Bauhaus aesthetic. It
is rational and functional. There is little
extraneous. "It gives a timeless quality
to Audi design," Garand says. He says
that one consequence of the Bauhaus
approach is the way the overall volumes
are laid out, with the cabin representing
one third of the overall body.
"But Bauhaus is a little cold, a little
frigid in some respects. We need to
p While other markets are more accepting of hatchbacks, for the U.S.
market it was determined necessary to produce a classic three-box
sedan. The Audi A3 Sedan is the frst model specifcally developed
for the U.S. market. For those who like hatches, however, the Audi
Sportback will be coming to the U.S., as a plug-in hybrid.
t The Bauhaus school of design, which ofcially operated from 1919
to 1933 in Germany but continues to resonate among architects and
graphic and product designers, is highly infuential on the design of
Audis, says Dany Garand. It is clean, rational and functional in its
approach. Audi designers, he says, add some sensuality to what
might otherwise be somewhat cold. (Image: Bauhaus-dessau.de)
AD&P; > May 2014 > FEATURE > Designing the 2015 Audi A3 Sedan > Gary S. Vasilash > gsv@autofeldguide.com
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