Progressive Performance: The Audi 2006 Annual Report in Magazine Format

The Audi 2006 Annual Report is being published for the second time as a magazine and contains articles, portraits and questions and answers about topics that move Audi: sportiness, progressiveness and sophistication. The company again enlisted a number of prominent journalists and writers from Germany and abroad to pen absorbing articles on these topics.

This year’s cover story, however, looks at the issue of “Shaping the automotive world of the future.” Audi provides an insight into the Shell lab in Hamburg where synthetic fuels are developed that enable the realisation of entirely new engine concepts for reducing emissions. Audi also reveals what technology the company has to offer in the area of CO2 reductions, for instance the TFSI engine, which Wolfgang Hatz, Head of Powertrain Development for the Volkswagen Group, has described as the “concept of the future”. Audi Board Member for Production Frank Dreves presents intelligent lightweight construction, taking TT production as an example. Behind these topics is a superordinate corporate strategy, the objective of which is to approach living space and resources in a responsible manner and which at Audi is called “Progressive Performance”.

“Across Down Under” or with 15 Audi Q7 models through the Australian outback: a thrilling report about a 7,000-kilometre expedition and the off-road capabilities of the Audi Q7. The Audi Trans-Continental Crossing was not the only challenge; the provision of high-quality customer services in a huge continent like Australia is also extremely demanding. Not the “Flying Doctors” but the “Flying Technicians” ensure the quality for which Audi is renowned worldwide. Read more in the Annual Report.

How does a car manufacturer succeed in developing a craft-scale production shop? A look at the production facilities for the Audi R8 in Neckarsulm shows how “high-tech and handcrafted” function side by side. Head of Production Frank Dreves comments: “It takes incredible expertise and just as much passion and emotion to build a car of the calibre of the Audi R8. And our employees are not lacking in any of these qualities.”

Customers of Monegasque yacht builder Wally also experience pure passion. These powerboats stand for luxury, quality and the ultimate in customisation.

A close-up illustrates what Wally and quattro GmbH have in common.

There are also parallels between stunning watches and stunning sports cars, as Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, and Gerd-R. Lang from Chronoswiss discovered when they met at the Nurburgring racetrack. The new Audi Annual Report contains an account of this exciting meeting.

Spectacular photos, for example of a Lamborghini on an aircraft carrier, an interview with Audi ambassador and celebrated pianist Lang Lang and a whole host of other fascinating stories from the world of Audi are all to be found in the magazine section. In addition to the image section, the financial section once again documents to impressive effect the eleventh record-breaking year in succession with best-ever figures for sales, revenue and profit.