Chapter 6 – Sports

news
Audi R8 to be built at Neckarsulm
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Unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2003 as the Le
Mans quattro concept study, Audi’s first thoroughbred sports car will soon be going into production as
the R8. It will thus adopt the name of the racing car
that has scooped victory for Audi on five occasions
at Le Mans. Preparations for production of the R8 are
progressing apace at quattro GmbH, which is based at
the Neckarsulm plant. Production is due to start in the
final quarter of 2006. The market launch of the midengined sports car is scheduled for the second quarter
of 2007. AUDI AG is investing 28 million euros in the
production of the R8.
2.0 TFSI “Engine of the Year 2005”
The mystique of Lamborghini
A jury of 56 motor journalists from 26 countries
awarded the new 2.0 TFSI the title of “Engine of the
Year” in June 2005. Audi is the first manufacturer in
the world to combine petrol direct injection with
turbocharging technology in both motor racing (in the
Le Mans-winning R8) and volume production. The
award-winning two-litre engine was first fitted in the
A3 Sportback*. It is now also available in the A4 and
A6. Its versions range in output from 170 to 220 bhp.
The jury praised the engine for its “balance of technology, performance, economy and environmental
acceptability”. With FSI technology, fuel is injected
directly into the combustion chamber.
Lamborghinis populate the dreams of countless sports
car enthusiasts. The book “Lamborghini. A Tempo
Furioso” seeks to explore the mystique of these dream
cars from Sant’Agata Bolognese. Yet the authors
Stephan Grühsem and Peter Vann adopt an emotional
rather than an analytical and objective approach to
their subject. They make no secret of their fascination
for this extraordinary brand and its spectacular models. History, technology, design and public impact –
these are the focal areas of this attractively presented
work. An interesting study of the automotive highlights of a cult brand.
| Stephan Grühsem, Peter Vann: Lamborghini. A Tempo Furioso,
Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 2006.
* fuel consumption figures at the end of the Annual Report
10 million engines built by Audi Hungaria
AUDI HUNGARIA MOTOR Kft. (AHM) has built its ten
millionth engine. The 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine with an output of 165 kW (225 bhp)
was installed in an Audi TT police vehicle, complete
with front and rear flashing lights and a siren. Dr.
Jochem Heizmann, AUDI AG Board Member for Production and Supervisory Board Chairman of AHM, handed
over the TT with the engine in question to the Hungarian traffic police. Győr-based AHM is a fully-owned
subsidiary of AUDI AG. It produces around 1.7 million
four-, six-, eight- and ten-cylinder engines each year for
the Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT and Škoda brands. Győr
also builds the Audi TT Coupé and TT Roadster models
jointly with the Ingolstadt plant.
Victory in ams reader poll
Audi – sure thing!
Audi topped four categories in the 2005 reader
poll conducted by the motoring magazine
auto, motor und sport (ams). Over 100,000 ams
readers voted the A8 the best vehicle in the
luxury class. The A6 emerged as winner of the
full-size category. The A4 and A3 likewise came
top of their respective categories. “Four winners in Europe’s biggest reader poll on cars –
that shows how much people appreciate our
cars,” commented Audi boss Prof. Dr. Martin
Winterkorn at the awards ceremony in February last year.
Three different Audi models received awards during
2005 for their outstanding safety reserves – the A3, the
A4 and the A6. Audi became the first manufacturer
ever to receive the highest rating, or the “Top Safety
Pick”, three times from the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety (IIHS) in the USA. Occupant safety in
front and side collisions was assessed. According to
the US experts, Audi is not only the most successful
manufacturer on the American market in terms of
occupant safety, but also the only European premium
brand among the award-winners. The IIHS regularly
conducts crash tests with vehicles on behalf of the
US insurance industry in order to assess their standard
of safety. The results are also widely regarded outside
the USA.
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The magic of the
number seven
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The Le Mans record-holder is the very model of a racing driver.
Tom Kristensen: a portrait in fast-forward
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Tom Kristensen, born on 7.7.1967 in Hobro, Denmark
1985
1991
1992–1996
1993
1997
1997–2000
1999–2005
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Nordic Karting Champion (ahead of Mika Häkkinen)
German Formula 3 Champion
Various racing formulas in Japan
Japanese Formula 3 Champion
First start and win at Le Mans (with Porsche)
F1 test driver for Minardi, Tyrrell, BMW-Williams and Jaguar
Winner of the most famous endurance races including
Sebring and Spa, and in the American Le Mans Series
2000–2005
2004
2005
Further six wins at Le Mans (in a row) with Audi, with the
exception of 2003 (with Bentley)
DTM “Rookie of the Year” with Audi and winner of the
DTM manufacturers’ championship
Third in the DTM drivers’ championship with Audi
Awards including “Best Sports Car Driver in the World” in 2001 and 2002,
“Scandinavian Sportsman of the Year” in 2002.
Tom Kristensen lives with his partner Hanne, son Oliver (9) and daughter Carla Malou (6) in Hobro, Denmark.
From left: Tom Kristensen, JJ Lehto, Marco Werner, Emanuele Pirro, Frank Biela, Allan McNish.
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Tom likes the number seven. Not
just since winning Le Mans for the
seventh time. It has always been
that way. He was born on 7. 7.1967,
competed at Le Mans for the first
time in 1997 and has a few little
secrets to his success – maybe seven.
Logically enough, then, this brief
profile focuses on seven points.
One.
The man for the moment.
Because of its runaway success, even more handicaps were
imposed on the Audi R8 for the latest Le Mans race: a narrower
restrictor, more weight and a smaller tank. Consequently the race
was building up to a neck-and-neck finish.
Four hours before the finish, Audi was in the lead but the French
were getting closer all the time. According to the projections they
were going to catch us up on the penultimate lap at the latest. What
there were of course laps where the traffic slowed him down, to 3:44
or worse. Once, the oil flags were raised and he lost seven seconds;
you simply never know at what point your opponent is going to get
the flag, whether he’s going to lose out or just slip through. Seven
seconds can make one hell of a difference, and maybe even affect
the outcome of the whole race.
Fortunately not this time. If anything, the opposite happened.
Everything came together brilliantly: racing animal Tom Kristensen’s
speed, the simultaneous care for his tyres, and how Tom coped with
the pressure and his fourth stint like a true athlete, leaping out of his
harness on the finish line and throwing up his arms in celebration.
Audi Sport director Wolfgang Ullrich remarked: “This full-throttle
marathon in stifling temperatures, with the pressure never letting up,
calls for a man like Tom. This result makes him a real legend.”
Tom kept trying to interrupt us and change the subject to the car,
the suppleness of the FSI engine, the teamwork that everything
depends on (“I’m just one spoke of a wheel”), and his fellow drivers
JJ Lehto and Marco Werner, “because a Le Mans car has three
Audi in Le Mans
An animated discussion between two living legends: Tom Kristensen and
The Audi R8 is the most successful Le Mans prototype
of all time
1999 First appearance by an Audi R8 (3rd place)
2000 One-two-three win for Audi R8
(winners Biela/Kristensen/Pirro)
2001 One-two win for Audi R8
(winners Biela/Kristensen/Pirro)
2002 One-two-three win for Audi R8
(winners Biela/Kristensen/Pirro)
2003 No works Audi took part
2004 One-two-three win for Audi R8, Team Goh Audi
(winners Ara/Capello/Kristensen)
2005 Win for Audi R8, Team Champion Racing
(Kristensen/Lehto/Werner)
Jacky Ickx at the racetrack debating ideal lines and overtaking tactics.
a dramatic climax. And then we suffered a slow puncture, forcing
Marco Werner to head for the pits. Tom Kristensen would have to
take over sooner than planned. He had his helmet on in a flash, there
was no time to think. But the situation was clear.
He would have to clock up faster lap times if the game plan was
to work out, he would have to drive very sensitively if the tyres were
to hold out, and he faced the prospect of a whole three and a half
hours in a hot car on a June day before reaching the finish line if
they were to get anywhere. Three and a half hours: four stints or four
tankfuls. The absolute limit at Le Mans – both as far as the rules are
concerned, and the most any individual can cope with.
So how was it, Tom? “I was on a mission. You focus differently,
you switch into a totally different mode of perception and concentration.”
As part of his mission – so the calculations said – he needed to
drive lap times of under 3:43, so he drove laps in 3:42, 3:41, the odd
3:40 and even 3:39, and the tyres were still looking good. But then
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captains – whichever one is sitting in it at any given time. It was
sheer coincidence that I was the one to drive over the finishing line.
In fact, it was my first finish in all seven wins.”
Obviously, you won’t get far if you don’t operate as a team. Nevertheless, we think it only fitting to focus on the only person to have
won Le Mans seven times, including five times for Audi.
Two.
Three cheers for the legend.
The Danes are noted for practical common sense and getting on
with the job, as the German football team discovered in the 1992
European Championship final. A case in point: if you phone Tom
Kristensen on his mobile and it is switched off, you hear the
message: “I’m in the car right now, so please leave a message.”
One such message left for him on June 16, started with a cheerful
burble: “I KNOW you’re in your car right now because I’m watching
you on TV, and I know you’re going to break my record so I’m very
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happy for you and – ha! – that means I’ll once more be the only
person to have won Le Mans SIX times. I’ll be a fan of yours for the
rest of my life.”
That voice belonged to Jacky Ickx, of course, and even though
Tom only picked up the message a few hours later, he was thrilled to
bits by it: “It’s fantastic that he’s such a gentleman, and his attitude is
so relaxed. We met up for lunch two days before the race and I could
sense that he genuinely wished me all the best.”
So has the honorary title of “Mister Le Mans” now passed from a
Belgian to a Dane?
“No”, says Tom Kristensen adamantly, “definitely not. You can
compare results, but not the overall achievement. He was driving in a
different era, with different conditions, often tougher ones. Jacky
Ickx created his own legend, but his success was also the making of
Le Mans. He drove everything from Formula 1 to Paris-Dakar and
acquired a charisma that I can still only dream of, anyway I’m still
too young for that sort of thing … no, you can compare results but
that doesn’t chip away at Jacky Ickx’s unique stature in any way.”
Comments that say quite a lot about Ickx, and speak volumes
about Tom Kristensen’s amiable nature.
out. Tom says he learned a lot as a person during that time and came
to appreciate much about the Japanese, including old-fashioned
values such as how to show respect, and earn it. He even picked up
a smattering of Japanese and can still speak “enough to bring a
smile to the face of a Japanese in two seconds.” Something he takes
pleasure in trying out.
A changeover of drivers by Audi Playstation Team ORECA,
The way only winners know how to celebrate: Tom Kristensen, Marco Werner,
which ultimately finished in fourth place.
JJ Lehto and the obligatory magnum of champagne.
Three.
A Japanese dimension to the
Danish character.
Now Tom starts to get concerned that we think he’s altogether too
relaxed, something that would undermine his standing as a racing
driver. “Motor racing involves immense physical and mental stress. I
expend all the energy I can get on it. If I come across as relaxed,
that’s fine. But I’m definitely NOT relaxed as soon as the heat is on.”
Is it like flicking a switch that transforms a sunny boy into a racing
animal? “Not a switch,” states Tom, “it happens automatically. You
put on your helmet, and your claws come out. You have to be
focused and aggressive. That’s precisely what I’m like. Don’t think
for one moment that I’m relaxed!”
Motor racing is not an obvious calling for a Dane. Denmark has
no car industry, no network, and little history of success in this
sport. A career with a bank would have been a much more likely
destiny, and Tom claims his mother would have been only too willing
to dress him up smartly and “sell him to a bank”. But then there
were the genes of his motor racing father and the young Kristensen’s
basic penchant for speed, as became apparent on the karting track.
From the moment he beat Mika Häkkinen to the Scandinavian
Karting Championship title, he dreamed of a career as a professional. Things began to take shape first in Germany (where he won
the Formula 3 Championship the year after Michael Schumacher)
and then in Japan. Five years in Japan!
Perhaps too long for him to think about switching to Formula 1,
but he doesn’t regret it, at least not in the light of how things turned
Four.
Sunny boy versus racing animal.
Most of the time Tom Kristensen comes across like an advertisement for a health club. He epitomises the holiday spirit, clean air and
the recuperative properties of water. How on earth does he stay so
relaxed?
Tom is pleasantly surprised, as if he had never noticed that he
comes across as rather more laid back than the average office
worker, or indeed the typical racing driver.
It must be that he relishes movement as the most natural thing in
the world, as if he couldn’t imagine a different way of life. Training
charges up his energy levels; the good feelings that then brim over
are what we notice.
Five.
The art of driving.
Someone who is asked so often (including on his website
www.tomkristensen.com) about the secrets of motor racing will tend
to answer in very simple terms. For example, Tom would say: Be
quick, consistent, reliable.
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A fundamental penchant for speed is something you simply can’t
buy. Tom Kristensen will instinctively drive fast in anything with
three or four wheels, without making a song and dance of it. He
loves diversity, which explains why he did so well in Japan, with its
wide variety of racing formulas, and he can adjust rapidly to new
circumstances. He heads straight for the limit, but once there he
probes it in small steps. Tom Kristensen is a marathon man with the
attributes of a sprinter.
Before we can discuss the question of steadfastness, Tom tries to
interrupt us again. He says the bottom line is that you have to trust
your car, your engineers, your team. And if for instance the Audi R8
and the specially developed Michelin tyres operate in perfect
harmony, you get such clear feedback that you may experience an
element of smoothness amid all this relentlessly brutal business of
racing. It, for instance, ensures that you don’t slide the car around
too much and thus incur unnecessary tyre wear. When the car is then
driven fast and smooth, by someone who is on the right wavelength
such as Tom Kristensen, the resulting fuel consumption is very
impressive. Hang on a minute, Tom would say, what about the part
played by FSI? As well as telling us how it saves five to seven percent
Six.
That extra smile.
In the old town of Le Mans before the race: drivers’ parade in historic cars,
The tension builds up even before the starting signal: the rules specialists
with the French Audi Team pictured here in a Wanderer W24.
of race organiser ACO give their technical approval for an R8.
fuel, he is the one who is best qualified to deliver an entire seminar
on the improved drivability of a racing car, the calmer response of
the accelerator and the gentle action of the cute twin turbos.
Reliable? Above all in the sense that you don’t spin the car off
the track? Tom doesn’t do that anyway. Reliability goes beyond that.
The mechanics, engineers and colleagues all know where they stand
with him. It is what those from further down south think of as typical
Scandinavian composure. America’s renowned magazine “Car and
Driver” emblazoned a five-page article about Kristensen with the
title “THE GREAT DANE”. One thing that journalists particularly
like about Tom is his easy-going approach.
one of the mechanics, then Tom took him by the hand as they went
into the press conference.
In the middle of someone’s big speech, a phone rang. How
embarrassing! It kept on ringing and ringing, and heads started
to turn. Then the boy started rummaging for his mobile and answered it with a rather uncharitable “Not now, Mum! I’m in the press
conference.”
Racing drivers tend to be somewhat reserved in public. They get
hassled enough, so why should they want to encourage even more
attention? This is what makes Tom Kristensen’s openness all the
more remarkable. He’s only too willing to give you an extra smile.
He often even beams all over his face, something that is most
unusual in his line of business.
He would attribute it to his family background – first his parents,
and now partner Hanne and their daughter and son. The boy, now
nearly nine years old, seems to be a real chip off the old block. One
particular anecdote that caused considerable amusement at the time
is worth repeating here.
A coach-load of Danish fans set off for the DTM race in Oschersleben; the boy was travelling “unaccompanied”, but was of course
fully integrated into the group. His mother had kitted him out with
50 euros and a mobile phone. During the race weekend he shared
a room with Tom, hung around with the team, was given a set of
headphones, followed the race from the pit, shared in his father’s
triumph, hitched a ride to the victory ceremony on the shoulders of
Seven.
The magic number, but not the end
of the story.
In other words, the record number of wins at Le Mans, the
slender beauty of that digit and its magical significance for that
remarkable racing driver Tom Kristensen. However, the prospect of
an eighth triumph should not be dismissed. That would be neither
courteous to the number eight nor the right thing to do, because
every record begs to be broken. So, the story doesn’t end here, You’ll
find Audi and Tom at Le Mans again in 2006. | Herbert Völker
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World debut: a diesel-powered car for Le Mans
An image with a symbolic character: the Eiffel Tower in the background,
then two lights rapidly approaching. Only once the long, flat car is
almost within touching distance does the sound of an engine become
perceptible – soft and smooth. Finally, the seven-times Le Mans winner
Tom Kristensen opens the throttle and the engine roars, providing
a foretaste of this car’s true potential. Audi will become the first car
manufacturer in the world to compete for overall victory in the renowned
Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel-powered racing car. The Audi R10, which
was unveiled in Paris in December, will be propelled by an entirely
new 5.5-litre twelve-cylinder TDI biturbo engine that is particularly quiet
and economical.
An extremely rare species of engine in a Le Mans prototype: two
banks of six cylinders arranged at a relative angle of 90°, four-valve TDI
technology with two turbochargers – and an engine block made
entirely of aluminium.
With more than 650 bhp and over 1,100 Newton metres, the
Le Mans prototype easily exceeds the performance data of most
previous Audi racing cars – including its successful predecessor,
the R8. The R8 rates as one of the most successful racing cars
ever built: it finished 61 of its tally of around 70 races as winner.
The all-aluminium V12 engine of the R10 sees Audi take the
diesel engine into a new dimension. As with TFSI technology,
with which Audi initially scooped victory at Le Mans before
transferring it to volume production, Audi’s customers again
stand to benefit from the carmaker’s groundwork in the field of
motor racing.
“Audi already builds one of the most powerful diesel cars
in the world, the A8 4.2 TDI quattro*,” explained Martin
Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG,
at the unveiling of the R10. “The Le Mans project will help our
* fuel consumption figures at the end of the Annual Report
technicians to squeeze even more out of TDI technology. Over
half of all Audi cars are already outfitted with a TDI engine. We
expect the share of diesel engines to rise even further in the
future.”
The R10’s V12 engine, equipped with two diesel particulate
filters, is so quiet that it is externally barely identifiable as a
diesel engine. The special features of the TDI engine confronted
the engineers at Audi Sport with a string of challenges, including its weight distribution and cooling. The V12 engine’s injection pressure is way in excess of the 1,600 bar encountered
in production versions. The effective engine-speed range is
between 3,000 and 5,000 rpm, an unusually low level for a race
engine. Thanks to the favourable torque characteristic of the
TDI engine, the driver of the R10 need change gear much less
frequently than in the R8.
The enormous torque of more than 1,100 Newton metres
not only represents an extreme challenge to the R10’s driveline – Audi Sport’s ultramodern engine test rigs, too, had to be
converted to transmissions capable of withstanding these
exceptional loads.
Audi is re-adopting a works team policy for this year’s
Le Mans 24 Hours. At the presentation of the new racing car,
Audi Chairman Winterkorn declared: “Our goal is simple but
ambitious: we want to become the first manufacturer to take a
diesel engine to victory at Le Mans.” And Audi motorsport
director Ullrich added: “The development of the twelve-cylinder TDI and the R10 represents the biggest challenge that Audi
Sport has ever taken on”.
The Le Mans 24 Hours will take place on June 17 and 18,
2006.
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Mister adidas and
his feeling for speed
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adidas boss Herbert Hainer is priming his company uncompromisingly for growth. He has already accomplished a
quantum leap through the integration of the US-based Reebok Group. And the impending football World Cup on
home ground gives this passionate football player an opportunity as tempting as an open goal to break new revenue
records with his global brand. A business trip with Mr. adidas is a journey of contrasts. The cosmopolitan-style
company headquarters in Herzogenaurach are located in what would otherwise be a rustic Franconian backwater.
The 51-year-old CEO selects a scenic, winding route, which he accomplishes with a relaxed, defensive driving style.
Yet he loves demonstrating with equal relish that he is capable of pushing his car close to the limits of handling.
And as a boss, there are likewise two sides to this model of a manager who has scooped countless awards: he is
uncomplicated and modest, but also demanding and impatient.
Mr. Hainer, I well remember that as a teenager I would always wear
white sports shoes with three blue stripes down the side. And when
I’d grown out of them, I made sure that my parents bought me the
same model in the next size up.
Hainer (carefully manoeuvres the Audi A8 out of the parking
bay in front of the head offices): That must have been the adidas
“Rom”. I was just the same. I used to wear the “Gazelle”. They came
in brown nubuck leather, and I simply had to have that model. They
used to cost 90 marks a pair – a lot of money in those days. Like
you, I had to get my parents to cough up.
Would you ever admit to having worn PUMA sports shoes?
Hainer: Yes indeed, because there’s a photo of me wearing
PUMA boots in a football match.
for winter driving in the mountains, for instance, if you indulge in
winter sports.
Observing the way you handle this car, one could say that the brand
also suits Mr. Hainer the driver.
Hainer: For me, a car is first and foremost a means of transport.
But I am a demanding person: safety, comfort, refinement, sportiness – all those things are important to me. That’s why the A8
embodies everything I expect of a sporty touring saloon. My daughters – one is 22, the other 19 – also drive Audi cars, though a few
sizes smaller.
So were you caught off guard?
Hainer: No, even then I would test different products to confirm
that adidas makes the best ones (laughing).
You tend to drive rather defensively, and as your passenger I’m not
disposed to complain. But when it comes to football, you are very
different.
Hainer (steps on the accelerator in a wide bend, probes the handling limits and is clearly relishing the moment; I hold on tight): Oh,
I forgot to tell you – I do know where the accelerator is.
Did you test Audi’s saloons before deciding to team up with the
brand built by your Bavarian neighbours?
Hainer (waits patiently at a narrow point in the road for a ponderously-driven oncoming vehicle): Audi suits us perfectly. These
cars are sporty and highly functional, like the A8 we’re currently
travelling in. And they are the embodiment of pioneering innovativeness – just like ourselves. Audi has enjoyed a sporty image ever since
the company invented the quattro 25 years ago. I find it excellent
Let’s stick with the defensive style! Do you up the tempo like that in
your job – or do you sometimes find the responsibility of being in
charge of a global brand a little daunting?
Hainer: I’ve never had problems coping with pressure or been
unable to sleep at night. I learned how to position a brand during my
time with Procter & Gamble, day and night. The problem at adidas
was how to apply what I already knew. At the start of the 1990s, this
company was still principally a footwear manufacturer; the people
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here knew how to make the best functional footwear, but not how to
market it. Things started to improve when we repositioned the brand
under the guidance of two Frenchmen: Robert-Louis Dreyfus and
Christian Tourres. We trimmed our distribution channels, transferred
production operations, thinned out budget ranges and abandoned
certain segments altogether. I always thought: that can’t be too difficult. Nor was it, indeed (laughing).
But you are now really going for it. You are now challenging Nike, a
very professionally managed global brand that has so far successfully
barred your way to becoming world market leader.
Hainer: Of course we’d ultimately like to be the biggest – but we
can’t let that be our sole objective. Size can also be a burden. We
want to be the world’s leading sports article brand – the leader in
terms of innovation, the number of athletes under contract, and
marketing.
All that comes at a cost. At the start of the 1990s, marketing
accounted for just eight percent of revenue. Today, with your revenue
now five times as high, you invest 13 percent of it in marketing.
Hainer: Sponsorship in particular costs a lot more than it used
to. But it also brings us a lot more. The 1966 football World Cup was
watched by only a small number of people in Europe, and by nobody
in Latin America and the USA. The 2002 World Cup, on the other
hand, was watched by a total of just under 30 billion people. That
takes our worldwide reach into an entirely new dimension. We sold
four million World Cup balls for Japan and Korea, and six million of
the European Championship ball for Portugal 2004. This year, we
will sell ten million of the new World Cup ball. And our football
revenue will break through the one billion euros revenue barrier. Our
investments are paying dividends.
So the World Cup is a guaranteed success for adidas – however well
or badly Germany fares?
Hainer: Yes, because the bulk of our business will already be
generated before the World Cup even kicks off. And if Germany
reaches the final, the bottom-line figure will look even healthier!
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Doesn’t it irritate you that your big rival Nike is now hot on your
heels specifically in the football sector?
Hainer (touches the accelerator to pull out onto a short stretch
of motorway): Nike is now a main contender in every sport that
we’re involved in, and that of course includes football. The difference is that we have a distinct performance component: we develop
footwear in order to equip athletes with a better product. And then
we make that product attractive and market it accordingly. Nike
tackles things the other way round: first comes the design, then the
function.
But Nike makes the more memorable commercials.
Hainer: It may well be that Nike adopted a more aggressive
approach in the past, and that we were more staid. But things have
changed. We’ve scooped noticeably more advertising awards in the
past two years. We have shed the mantle of acquiescence and have
cast off our typically European restraint. We are now at least as
advanced as Nike with our approach to communication.
And how do you demarcate yourselves from PUMA, your neighbour
here in Herzogenaurach?
Hainer: Once again, we are the innovation leader. PUMA, on
the other hand, wants to be the top sports fashion brand. Their
emphasis is on fashion, not function.
There’s no law that says adidas will be able to continue growing ad
infinitum – where are your limits?
Hainer: We’re far from reaching them yet. We have the scope to
grow at least as much over the next ten years as we have since the
mid-nineties. I believe the adidas brand has the potential to achieve
as much as ten billion euros in revenue, and our recent acquisition
Reebok at least five billion (turns carefully into the entrance of the
company headquarters). We are set to grow particularly in Asia and
Eastern Europe, as well as in America and in major European countries. At the moment, for example, we are enjoying an incredible
growth rate in China, India and Russia.
| The interview was conducted by Kai Stepp.
Premium and Audi
Dipl.-Kaufmann Ralph Weyler, Board Member for Marketing and Sales
Audi belongs to an exclusive group of premium car
brands – “a very special club where you have to
earn your membership credentials every day anew,”
according to Ralph Weyler (53), Audi Board Member for
Marketing and Sales. Weyler spends much of his time
visiting customers and dealers, having worked his
way right up from the bottom. But sales is just one of
two professional passions of Munich-born Weyler.
The other is to make the brand with the four rings shine
even more resplendently, and to put across Audi’s
sophistication even more emphatically. “Our cars are
already regarded as the industry benchmark in so many
respects,” states Weyler. He describes the many facets
of the epithet “premium” in this Annual Report.
We want to evoke our premium standards in all that we
do – starting with the product, our communication
work and our actions – and that means that everyone
who works for Audi has to be an ambassador of our
brand. If we can consistently maintain high standards of
this “emotional added value” in every element of our
strategic brand management activities, we will succeed
in captivating our customers in the long term. “Premium”
also means market success. That will only work if product, marketing and behaviour are in harmony, as illustrated by Audi’s dynamic growth on markets worldwide.
This success is reflected by consistent quality and
an attitude that focuses on sophistication and customer
satisfaction. Because a premium image can only be
achieved with satisfied, loyal customers.
Embracing superlative standards in our own work –
that is something we all need to exemplify. It is my experience, day by day at Audi, that virtually every employee
has inwardly digested this ethos in their work – an
attitude that is a priceless asset for the entire company.
But what does “sophistication” really mean? For me,
it is an expression of confident style – a blend of refinement, finesse and charm. Our creed is that the four
rings represent superlative standards of quality. Because
quality is the core virtue that customers expect as a
matter of course from sophisticated products. But we go
one decisive step further: our design, our sophistication
introduces sentiments and attraction into the equation.
Audi is noted for its outstanding production technology,
for authentic, high-value materials exquisitely finished.
The quality of our interiors and the precision of our
bodywork therefore rate as the benchmarks in the
industry.
But sophistication is also the yardstick by which we
measure all other processes. In the domain of communication, it means content of an excellent standard, excellently presented. Audi is consequently also renowned for
outstanding advertising – for instance the spectacular
“ski jump commercial” marking the 25th anniversary of
quattro technology, or the fascinating promotional film
to pave the way for the launch of the Audi Q7.
“Premium” must be a feeling that accompanies every
Audi customer. We attach the utmost importance to
customer centricity at our dealerships and in our service
activities. In other words we want to fulfil or exceed
customer expectations. We want to thrill our customers
with innovative technology, specialist expertise, sophistication and personal service. What ultimately transforms
a brand into a premium brand? People do.
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Valencia, the ninth race of the WTCC 2005: the Leon managed to hold its lead all the way from the start, pictured here, to the finish.
SEAT’s motorsport philosophy is to be
as close as possible to customers:
it is all about racing cars that are recognisably similar to production models.
First among equals
Just imagine if you could buy a Formula 1 World Championship car as a production model. The version on sale would
be a little slower, but it would otherwise look just like its big brother. And it would have a number plate on its front
and rear … Just imagine it! The snag though, is that such a notion is utterly absurd. The chasm between the world of
Formula 1 and the realm of crawler lanes and stop-and-go traffic is simply too wide to be bridged.
That is not quite the case in SEAT’s approach to motorsport. Until
the end of 2005, there was a difference of just 25 horsepower
between the Spanish manufacturer’s Leon Cupra R and its speedy
racing counterpart, the Leon Supercopa – the car which has formed
the basis for several international cup series which, since 2002, has
proven to be the ideal cradle for young aspiring racing drivers.
But the tale goes even further. The new Leon WTCC, which is the
foundation for SEAT’s attack on the 2006 FIA World Touring Car
Championship title, is a lookalike of the production model, and to
enhance their resemblance both cars were presented simultaneously
early in May 2005 at the Barcelona Motor Show.
Cars like the Leon WTCC that compete in the World Touring
Car Championship (WTCC) are based on production versions. Yes,
they are real racing cars and are significantly faster than their road
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versions, but in terms of looks only a few differences are allowed
between both.
That was one of the key reasons why SEAT decided to enter the
International Touring Car scene in 2002. Promoted to world status in
2005, together with the FIA’s F1 and World Rally Championships,
the WTCC permits every brand to be recognisable by the badge it
sports on the radiator grille or by models based on road cars that are
well known by the public. On top of that, the equal footing on which
the engines and equipment are placed guarantees an abundance of
spectacular wheel-to-wheel duels and overtaking manoeuvres.
Successful cars for motor racing, with strong resemblances to
production models: this is the essence of SEAT’s motorsport philosophy, which was decisively re-drawn five years ago. The Spanish
brand brought to an end its involvement in rallying in 2001. It turned
Sports
its back on displays of superlative performances hidden away from
the public’s gaze, in solitary battles against the clock on remote
tracks and desert trails.
The Spaniards gave up rallying even though it was a demanding
discipline that they evidently understood very well. In the seventies,
the Spanish brand won several national rally titles and even the manufacturers’ title in the prestigious Monte Carlo Rally, but it was from
1996 to 1998 that SEAT Sport shone in the international spotlight,
by grabbing three World Rally Championship titles in the FIA 2-litre
class.
Having evolved from rallying to racing, SEAT Sport now performs in venues that are undoubtedly more attractive for spectators
and, in particularly, for the television cameras that broadcast the
action to fans worldwide on Eurosport. The host circuits have prestigious names such as Monza, Silverstone and Spa, venues where
motorsport is at home. It is here that SEAT is aiming to capture its
first World Championship title in the not too distant future and
with a six-driver strong team this season, observers consider SEAT
as the “Dream Team” for the 2006 WTCC. Reinforcing the closeness
to customers, the team of drivers represents all nationalities of
Europe’s five great car markets.
At the end of 2005, SEAT presented the new Leon Supercup on the
Circuit de Catalunya.
All along, SEAT’s racing history – which started in the early
seventies and led to the creation of today’s SEAT Sport operation as
the company’s motorsport branch in 1985 – cups and promotional
formulas have always played an important role in bringing new
talent to motorsport.
Nothing has changed at that level. Those promotional activities
and talent hunting have a unique name: Supercopa SEAT Leon
(known as Cupra Championship in the UK). It now features events in
Germany, the UK, Spain and Turkey and is regarded as something
of a feeder competition for the big touring car championships. The
The international SEAT team for the WTCC: Peter Terting, Jordi Gené, Rickard Rydell, Yvan Müller, James Thompson and Gabriele Tarquini (from left).
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Dr. h.c. Andreas Schleef, Chairman of
the Board of Management of SEAT, S.A.
SEAT: auto emoción
A native of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), Dr. Andreas
Schleef has found his various career moves taking him
ever further southwards: first as a lawyer working for
a bank in Düsseldorf, then for many years as Board
Member for Human Resources at Audi in Ingolstadt and,
most recently, as “Presidente” of SEAT, S.A. in the
Catalonian town of Martorell since March 2002. Together
with Lamborghini and Audi, SEAT forms the sporty brand
group within the Volkswagen Group. In this statement,
he writes about the challenges that his company has
to overcome, about the myths surrounding the leisurely
siesta, and about identifying with the Mediterranean
corporate culture. As Chairman of the Board of Management of SEAT, Schleef is also a member of the Audi
Board of Management.
For me, SEAT is a brand with immense potential: we
have superb products, but we still need to spruce up
our image. Our new models, the Altea, the Leon and the
Toledo, represent a major generation shift – one that
introduces more emotion and superior quality. We can
benefit greatly from the expertise in brand management
that Audi has acquired over recent years. Motorsport
plays an important role in this: we want to establish
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SEAT as a sporty, youthful brand. And as in real life,
only those who actually participate in sport are
genuinely sporty. We are reaching the right audience
with our Supercopa race series and our successful
involvement in WTCC races. That is because our
customers are on average ten years younger than Audi
customers.
SEAT is the only Spanish car brand. Positioning
it successfully is a substantial but tempting challenge
for me. Especially as SEAT’s significance in Spain is
similar to that of Volkswagen in Germany.
Surprisingly, I had few problems adjusting to
working in Spain. The Catalan mentality is evidently
closer to the German than the Spanish mindset. And
the distinction between Spain and Catalonia can be
compared with the difference between Bavaria and
Germany. SEAT has now been the subsidiary of a German group for a quarter of a century, and sometimes
I find myself in the paradoxical situation that I, a
German, have to remind my Spanish colleagues to
take pride in what they have achieved.
Because people at our company really do work hard.
I can get quite hot under the collar whenever I hear
other Germans going into raptures about the Spanish
siesta and what it must be like to have such an easy
life. The siesta was nothing other than an arrangement
that evolved among agricultural workers to protect
themselves against the heat of the midday sun: to
compensate, they would start working very early, then
continue right up until evening after resuming work.
There are of course also a few differences in everyday working practices: whenever there is a meeting, a
kind of personal bond is always established before you
actually get down to business. Maybe it takes up more
time, but the results of the discussion are then treated
as all the more binding.
There is one thing, though, that I will never be
able to get used to: business dinners that go on until
well into the night, something that the Spanish regard
as utterly normal. All the same, I cannot imagine a
more interesting task than steering SEAT towards a
successful future.
Sports
prestigious final test is the European Masters Final in Barcelona,
where the top four drivers from each country compete in identical
Leon Cupras to become the Champion of Champions.
Those who make the grade qualify for touring car stardom, such
as 22-year-old Peter Terting, who finished runner-up in the 2004
Supercopa Series in Germany, with five wins. Last year, he became
the youngest driver to win a World Touring Car Championship race
when he scored victory for SEAT at the Puebla circuit in Mexico.
SEAT has been staging the Leon Supercopa in Spain since 2002.
As the cars line up on the grid for the start of each race, the sight is
as intoxicating as it is perplexing: nothing but Leon Supercopas, as
far as the eye can see! When this brightly-coloured swarm of racing
cars sets off, a huge multiple pile-up at the first bend seems almost
inevitable. It appears impossible that all these racers will get through
the first bottleneck intact, too great is their number and too equal
their talents. And yet, as if by some miracle, almost all of them make
it through. Until the next bend…
For 2006 the difference between the Leon road version and the
Supercopa racing car will increase... a matter of evolution, because
the new Leon Supercopa will have 300 bhp on tap, over 100 bhp
The Leon WTCC in full flight on the Valencia circuit.
more than the most powerful Leon road car. The resemblance
between the race version and the road-going model nevertheless
remains.
In short, both motorsport programmes ensure that the SEAT in
your garage is never far from the racetrack.
The unveiling of the new Leon Supercopa: a more powerful engine, more powerful brakes and improved aerodynamics.
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Sports
Ready for take-off
No, Dirk Nowitzki does not have the
demeanour of a superstar. Even though
he certainly is one, being one of the
best shooters in the NBA. No airs and
graces, nothing artificial in his manner.
Here is a story about someone in
touch with reality, about “Vorsprung
durch Technik”, versatility and a
broad education – and about the
parallels between the exceptional
sportsman and the Audi Q7.
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…
…
yet feet firmly on the ground
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Star guest at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show: Dirk Nowitzki came, saw – and marvelled at the
spaciousness of the Audi Q7.
He stands 2.13 metres tall and weighs 112 kilograms. Even when
standing still, Dirk Nowitzki has an imposing stature. And when
he is on the move, the Dallas Mavericks basketball player looks surprisingly dynamic and supple. So the analogy between him and the
largest post-war Audi is not as far-fetched as it may at first seem:
Nowitzki and the Audi Q7 are both all-rounders. They are a good
match, as was evident at their first encounter at the Frankfurt Motor
Show.
“In the NBA, the age of hulks dominating the game through their
sheer physical strength is over. They are a dying breed,” comments
Nowitzki. Technique, speed and versatility are now the name of the
game in top-class basketball – as in the car industry.
In another parallel to the Audi Q7, the Würzburg-born player
represents an utterly new generation of his species. He is remarkable
not simply for his explosive power, speed and body control, but
also for his versatility. “I’ve played in virtually every position during
my career. In top-class sport today, just because someone is tall
it doesn’t mean that their speed and technique will be inferior,” he
stresses.
The Audi brand claim “Vorsprung durch Technik” could therefore also apply very aptly to Nowitzki. The 27-year-old is considered
to be one of the most accomplished basketball players on the scene.
With his lithe movements, he dribbles so well through both attack
and defence that his opponents find it very difficult to predict where
he will next pop up on the court. As centre directly under the basket,
as a sure-shooter for long-distance three-point shots, as a dangerous
winger, as a defender and rebounder in his own zone, or as playmaker who distributes the balls skilfully. The NBA, the North
American professional basketball league, is considered the best and
toughest basketball series in the world. It places considerable
demands on its players. But Nowitzki is up to the challenge – he is
right at the top in almost all NBA statistics.
There are two unusual facets to his successful career: first, he
was something of a late-starter. “I didn’t take up basketball properly
until I was 13 years old. Before that, I played handball and tennis.
But that doesn’t seem to have done me any harm,” adds Nowitzki
with a wry smile.
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The other unusual thing is Nowitzki’s training methods, inspired
by Holger Geschwindner, who fills the roles of coach, mentor and
friend. He first spotted Nowitzki’s talent in a junior match in
Schweinfurt in 1995: “Dirk showed incredible talent. That was
immediately apparent,” recalls Holger Geschwindner.
“We then trained together twice, and by then I knew that the boy
had what it takes to become a really great basketball player.”
Geschwindner adopted a new and rather unconventional method.
The mathematician and physicist literally “calculated” an entirely
new throwing technique for Nowitzki, had him trampolining, fencing, rowing, hopping up stairs on one leg, running on his hands and
performing press-ups on his fingertips. “As well as the usual fitness
and basketball training routines, I wanted Dirk to learn things that
he’d never done before. It broadens your physical horizon and body
coordination,” explains Geschwindner.
To broaden his intellectual horizon, the now 59-year-old coach
prescribed a broad-based education for his protégé. So Nowitzki
reads books such as Joseph Conrad’s “Typhoon”, plays the guitar
and is learning the saxophone. He meets up with other leading sports
personalities, such as Roger Federer, Boris Becker, Michael Schumacher, Stefan Kretzschmar or the jazz musician Till Brönner to
exchange ideas.
Nowitzki himself describes this as an “intellectual mobility that
opens up new horizons to me. I need to stay mentally agile if I’m to
remain successful at basketball.” His mentor puts it in a nutshell:
“There’s a lot more to it than just throwing the ball in the basket and
listening to music. There’s so much more to life.”
Both of them were clear in their minds what “so much more to
life” meant: getting Dirk Nowitzki into the NBA. A plan that garnered plenty of scorn and derision in Germany. He was 20 years old
when he signed for the Dallas Mavericks in 1998, making dazzling
progress after a few initial difficulties. Nobody now belittles his
ambitions back in Germany. In the USA, Nowitzki is now proudly
known as “Dirkules” and is celebrated as Germany’s top sporting
export.
Sports
Sporty and elegant
The Audi Q7 made its first public
appearance at the 2005 Frankfurt
Motor Show: the eye-catching standard-bearer of a new generation
of so-called sport utility vehicles. It
owes the “Q” part of its name to
quattro permanent four-wheel drive,
the technology that once revolutionised the Rally World Championship
and has since been the benchmark
of excellence in drive technology.
The Audi Q7’s design is robust and
sporty, and it handles like a conventional agile car both on and off road.
Off-road performance is underpinned
by an optional adaptive air suspension system, ESP special functions
and generous ground clearance. The
powerful FSI and TDI engines lend
the Audi Q7 particular agility. Inside,
it boasts the comfort standards
of the luxury class – a sense of
spaciousness, comfortable seats
and an advanced automatic air
conditioning system.
Two all-rounders: basketball star meets performance SUV.
The Audi Q7
“I never want to stop getting better,” says Nowitzki. “And there are
so many things that I need to learn and areas where I can still
improve. If people think that sounds ambitious or even a little bit
obsessive, then that’s fine by me. But since this is my profession,
I’m in the very fortunate position that I absolutely adore this job.”
Nowitzki ascribes the fact that he still has his feet firmly on the
ground, despite all that has happened, to being firmly in touch with
reality: “I can still seek a great deal of strength, support and
guidance from my family in particular. I always look forward to
spending time at home.” During the NBA close season he stays in his
old room at his parents’ house, who run a decorating business in
Würzburg. And when in Dallas, the man with the size 51 shoes lives
in distinctly modest style even though he is now one of the top-earning professional German sports stars: “I’ve bought a little house near
our stadium, the American Airlines Center. I like nice things and I’m
glad that I have the financial flexibility to be able to realise a few
dreams. But loads of money and status symbols don’t mean that
much to me. And I only drive one car. I lead a very ordinary life,
really.”
Ah yes, cars. Driving is one of Dirk Nowitzki’s favourite subjects. He likes to do the driving himself and, grinning, describes his
driving style as “brisk”.
“I like putting my foot down whenever I get the chance.”
In Germany, he regularly takes to the wheel of a long-wheelbase
Audi A8. Because as well as ample power, comfort and sporty
handling, Nowitzki expects one thing above all else in a car: space!
And after a trial sitting at the Frankfurt Motor Show, he declared:
“The new Audi Q7 is the perfect car for me in every respect.”
| Eric Felber
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