Audi Driving Experience Center: Groundbreaking Ceremony in Neuburg

INGOLSTADT, GERMANY – August 28, 2012: Groundbreaking ceremony for the Audi driving experience center in Neuburg: Existing and prospective customers will in future be able to experience Audi models up close on an area covering 47 hectares. Today, Michael Dick, AUDI AG Board Member for Technical Development and Dr. Frank Dreves, AUDI AG Board Member for Production, together with Christoph Hillenbrand, President of the District Government of Upper Bavaria, Roland Weigert, District Administrator of the administrative district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen, and Mayor of Neuburg Dr. Bernhard Gmehling, picked up a shovel themselves at the construction site. Some 300 employees will work at the new site in the region in future. Audi is investing a double-digit million euro sum in the project.

“The future driving experience center at the new Audi site in Neuburg will be synonymous with customer delight and driving experiences. Here, existing and prospective Audi customers will soon be able to get to know our models from an entirely new perspective,” explains Michael Dick, who is responsible for Technical Development at AUDI AG. “The construction project shows clearly that Audi continues to grow – not only internationally, but also regionally.”

Peter Mosch, Chairman of the General Works Council of AUDI AG, emphasizes: “The project is a firm commitment to the Ingolstadt region. The Audi driving experience center will also attract international visitors. Our unique and thrilling events will be delivered by around 300 members of staff, the majority of whom will work in the new Audi Sport Competence Center. This will create attractive jobs at the new site and in the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district.”

Audi Sport will also be relocating from Ingolstadt to Neuburg. Engineers and mechanics will be developing and building Audi motorsport vehicles in the Competence Center. From their new base they will be organizing their participation in races around the globe and using the circuit to put new race-car prototypes through functional testing.

The 47-hectare grounds in Neuburg an der Donau includes a 30,000 m2 (322,917 square ft) skid pad, a handling course which is 2.2 kilometers (1.37 miles) long as well as an area for developing driver assistance systems. The course can be extended another 1.2 kilometers (0.75 miles) by using alternative lanes and intersections. The off-road course also provides the opportunity to experience driving over gravel and logs as well as negotiating side slopes. The climbing hill is a notable highlight, towering 8 meters (26.25 ft) above the ground. Noise prevention takes top priority: The site will be surrounded by a 3-meter-high (9.84 ft) wall around the perimeter, with another 6-meter-high (19.69 ft) soundproofing wall erected inside along the southern sections of track. Low-noise asphalt has been laid on the handling track. From the reception building, the visitor enjoys a view of the entire grounds. The two floors house an auditorium for 200 guests, a restaurant, and a 750 mē (8,073 square ft) presentation area, which can also be used for company events in future.

Initial construction work at the Audi driving experience center is already underway on the soundproofing walls and the customer experience center. Meanwhile the extension to Heinrichsheimstrasse – the road skirting the Audi site – is complete.

“The start of construction for the new AUDI AG driving experience center is a very special moment for the town of Neuburg – with the groundbreaking ceremony, we are officially an Audi site and hence also part of the home of the successful multinational. Basing the facility here has been a real windfall and the best economic news of the decade for us,” explains Mayor of Neuburg Dr. Bernhard Gmehling.

A team from the Ingolstadt-based landscape architecture firm Weinzierl in cooperation with the architects Herle & Herrle from Neuburg took over the planning, IngenAIX from Aachen planned the track, Gammel from Abensberg was responsible for the energy and building facilities systems while Roplan in Rosenheim looked after the infrastructure. Close cooperation with the Neuburg municipal works department also ensures a CO2-neutral energy supply, with the nearby industrial estate providing district heating from waste heat and the town of Neuburg supplying electricity from certified hydroelectric power.