Audi's Next Daring Leap
Anyone alive in the 1980s—and many who weren’t—will remember a car advert that changed the game. In it, a snow-dusted Audi 100 CS drives up the almost vertical incline of a ski jump in Kaipola, Finland. “It was a symbol of technical advancement and the will to make the impossible possible,” says Audi Chief Creative Officer Massimo Frascella.
The willpower Frascella describes still guides the German automotive brand today, and it just unveiled a new design philosophy and concept car to prove it: the Audi Concept C.
The Audi Concept C was announced at Audi's “Strive for Clarity” event in Milan—a city characterized by visionary design, technology, and culture, and all three of those traits can be deeply felt here in a way that is daringly and purposefully simple.
“Radical simplicity is at the heart of our approach. We achieve clarity by reducing everything to the essential,” says Frascella. “We live in a world that is often shrill, fast-paced, and overloaded. Almost everything is overdone. The danger of losing your way is greater than ever. Our responsibility is to be better and do what really matters.” That ethos is expressed in every detail — from Audi's working culture to its places, spaces, and interfaces. "We want to shape a brand capable of inspiring desire and creating cultural impact."
The Audi Concept C is expressive and sculptural, with a tactile, tone-on-tone interior that frees its user from distraction. More significantly, it is the first manifestation of Audi’s new design philosophy – The Radical Next – and a symbol of the determination that will transform both the company and its brand. At the heart of this new design philosophy is the desire to provide a compelling answer to a powerful question: “What does it mean to feel Audi?”
The answer lies in four principles—clear, technical, intelligent and emotional—which now form the foundation for every decision the company makes. These principles also contain the tension that sets the brand apart from its peers: Audi at its best is an inexplicable harmony of technicality and emotion.
And this is just the beginning: in 2026, Audi will enter Formula 1. This is more than an opportunity to explore new ideas, materials, and technologies in the world’s most extreme innovation lab. Audi’s ambition is to create an emotional connection that transcends automotive and captures the world’s attention. The brand promises to be the most radical on the grid: in its design, in its attitude, in its approach to partnerships and building relationships with fans.
In the words of Massimo Frascella: “You don’t need to shout to be heard. You don’t need excess to make a statement. Everything we do will be unmistakably Audi.”
The vehicle mentioned and shown is a concept vehicle that is not available as a production vehicle.
