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Cornering Kingpin
Audi TT Sculpture Travels to Beijing
- Spectacular design icon at the heart of the capital
- Sculpture provides showpiece for the Chinese market
- Audi very successful in China
Beijing. The unique sculpture made its debut at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and its next port of call is an equally spectacular setting: on 18 November Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, will unveil this outsize version of the current Audi TT on Chang’an Avenue, the Chinese capital's great east-west art
During the "Auto China 2006" motor show (19 to 27 November) the sculpture will underline the Audi brand's presence on this ever-dynamic car market. Audi is enjoying great success in China: between January and October 2006 a total of 66,634 cars sporting the four-ring badge were sold here, some 60 % up on last year.
A place on Beijing's main thoroughfare
However, the sculpture stands for more than the Audi brand's dynamic performance on the Chinese market – it also represents the future of Audi design. After all, the model, which stands 10.20 metres long, 4.50 metres wide and 3.25 metres high, bears the unmistakable features of the Audi TT – a TT in XXL format or, to be exact, 2.5 times the size of the original car. Its shoulder line is a whole two metres high, so pressing your nose up to the window is no mean feat, even for the tallest among us.
In a city of 15 million people, Chang’an Avenue, the Avenue of Eternal Peace, is the busy main thoroughfare leading to Tiananmen Square, the Square of Heavenly Peace with the Great Hall of the People and the Forbidden City of imperial times. The avenue will be home to the largest Audi of all time for around four weeks, where it will stand in front of the Oriental Plaza, a magnificent new commercial complex in the heart of the city. This houses the Audi Forum Beijing, a showcase for the brand in China with space to exhibit vehicles and hold events.
A top snapshot in Berlin
The public had their first glimpse of the sculpture on 6 April in Berlin: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn and Germany's Vice Chancellor Franz Müntefering unveiled "The Automobile" just in front of the Brandenburg Gate as a contribution from AUDI AG to the initiative "Germany – Land of Ideas" promoting German industry during the Football World Cup. For weeks the sculpture stood as a symbol of the automobile – one of the greatest inventions to come out of Germany and one of the country's most important industries. In front of the Brandburg Gate and in its later location at the foot of the Victory Column, the sculpture became one of the capital's most photographed features.
Following its brief tour of Berlin, the sculpture took up temporary residence at Munich Airport between Terminals 1 and 2, before continuing on its voyage to the Far East. Whereas an "ordinary" abnormal load movement with police escort was sufficient for the journeys to Berlin and Munich, for the flight to Beijing an aircraft with dimensions to match those of the sculpture had to be chartered...
Full Article: http://www.fourtitude.com/news/publish/Audi_News/article_2699.shtml
