Developing the Audi Q7

Press Release

Page 1: Developing the concept
Page 2: Design
Page 3: Simulation and computing
Page 4: The "Strake"; Wind tunnel
Page 5: Electronics
Page 6: Test-driving; suspension
Page 7: A car for the senses
Page 8: Quality assurance

Virtual worlds and a car for the senses

• From "Pikes Peak" show car to start of Audi Q7 production in less than three years

• More intensive use of simulation technologies than ever before

• "Soft factors" such as sound, feel or odour played an important part

In the words of Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the AUDI AG Board of Management: "The Audi Q7 represented uncharted territory for Audi - both in its own product range and on the competitive scene. The market had no similarly sporty and dynamic, but also spacious, multifunctional vehicle with off-road capability to offer. To achieve this position was the special challenge our development teams had to face."

Almost 5,000 people work in Technical Development at AUDI AG. Since 2002, many of them will have been engaged to a greater or lesser degree on the project bearing the internal Audi number AU 716: the development of the Audi Q7. But in addition to the many technical departments, experts from Production, Toolmaking, Quality Assurance and Marketing were brought in from the first concept and design sketches onwards. There can be no doubt that creating a vehicle such as the Audi Q7 is one of the most complex tasks encountered anywhere in industry. So many of the tasks it involves can only be hinted at or described in brief here.

At Audi, the engineers, designers, mathematicians, physicists, industrial chemists, mechanics, shop-floor personnel, electronics and IT experts work in virtual computer worlds, on crash circuits, test rigs and other test equipment, in wind tunnels - or in worlds of the senses. But they have all contributed to a fine result: a third-generation sports utility vehicle (SUV).

Development of the concept

Not everything that seems ideal from a design standpoint can be implemented as a practical technical concept. When the designers start their work, therefore, their colleagues in Concept Development begin to realise the vehicle project at the same time. As Ralf-Gerhard Willner, Head of Vehicle Concepts at Audi, puts it: "We are to some extent the mediators between the various worlds." He defines his task as tracking down the best possible compromise between emotive styling, customer-relevant and legally permissible demands and the concept's technical feasibility.

One of the main tasks of Concept Development is to lay down the vehicle's principal dimensions and its architecture. The engineer Felix Biffar undertook this work for the Audi Q7 project: "From the very outset, the emphasis when the package was drafted out for the Audi Q7 was on typical Audi qualities: design, driving dynamics, safety, the operating concept, comfort and convenience." One of the first assumptions for the AU 716 project, he goes on to explain, was for a third row of seats to be an option. "Market surveys have confirmed that customers want this kind of flexible, purpose-orientated seat arrangement in a vehicle of this size," explained Biffar.

A wheelbase of three metres was therefore chosen. The high seat position characteristic of an SUV was also included in the requirement specification from the very start, as were sporty handling, an above-average level of comfort on long journeys, off-road capability, ample room for the occupants and the largest load area in its class.

Another requirement was that despite its imposing dimensions, with an overall length of more than five metres and a width of almost two metres, the Audi Q7 should have a sporty visual character. Also finalised by Concept Development at a very early stage: the size of the wheels, the range of engines and transmissions to be offered, the use of air suspension, the MMI operating concept and the capacity of the fuel tank. Biffar comments: "We wanted to create a "performance SUV" from the outset, with a combination of emotive design, comfort, agile handling, luxury, flexibility and space - something that no model in the SUV segment had so far succeeded in achieving."

By the end of 2003, the technical aspects of the Audi Q7's specification had been largely finalised. As far as the main dimensions were concerned, the concept development team was able to make rapid progress by using the show car as a basis. Biffar and Willner describe the procedure as "lean", and even as "relaxed" in comparison to other projects. Willner explains why: "Our advantage was that the Audi Q7 was an entirely new product for us. There were no preconceived opinions, and we didn't have to base our work on a previous model."

When development work began, the core team consisted of just 20 people, but the total number went up steadily as the project continued, until in the end about 500 men and women were working exclusively on Audi Q7 development.