If you ask Audi designer Christopher Kröner to describe the new Audi RS e-tron GT performance, the figures of the all-electric Gran Turismo are not the first thing on his mind. He closes his eyes. Kröner, Lead Designer in the Colour & Trim department and co-responsible for the appearance of the most powerful production Audi to date, wants to convey a feeling. “My thoughts quickly turn to a winding, serpentine road lined with green trees, with dark tarmac disappearing in front of me. As I move, the light changes, causing shades of green to change – that’s the image I saw in my inner eye when I started thinking about the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹.” 

Right from the start of a new project, he works in an extensive network with many colleagues. You could think of it like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of which you put together yourself in some respects: “We develop a kind of library for materials and ideas. That’s where our process usually begins, and we put together patterns, fabrics and images that come close to the feeling that came across when we read the vehicle briefing.” The Audi Colour & Trim designers are constantly expanding, adding to and changing the library. Every department, whether it deals with carbon, microfibres or paints, is constantly working on new ideas. Sometimes they also add personal items to the collection, a bicycle maybe, or photos for instance. When it comes to the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹, it all started with a special fibre roll, a new type of carbon and a section of a photo from his own collection, Kröner remembers.

“All previous Audi RS performance models are defined by a clear colour theme. For example, the Audi RS 7 performance² had a blue colour scheme, with an Ascari blue exterior and Mercato blue stitching and accents in the interior.” Now, however, the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹ is the first all-electric model in the portfolio, and this not only requires a different look from the S and RS models in the model series. “We are ushering in a new era. We wanted to find a strong theme, one that can be refined in the future, making the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹ as attractive and unique as possible."
 
The first thing that will catch your eye is the paint colour. When it comes to the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹, however, Kröner and the team worked from the inside out. This particular roll of yarn, the starting point of the creative process and a crucial piece of the puzzle, had been on his mind for quite some time. “I wanted to bring the brassy, greenish shimmer of this basalt fibre into the vehicle. It is classy, unseen and sporty.” Serpentine green is now the colour of the stitching that adorns the seats and the redesigned steering wheel and is reflected throughout the entire interior. “This opened up a whole world of colours, and not just the one tone that takes priority over everything else.”

The new components, which have a decisive aerodynamic and differentiating effect on the all-electric performance model, confirmed the feeling of the Audi designer. “The Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹ has new functional parts, the blades, mainly at the front and rear,” explains Kröner. However, such parts are also fitted to the likewise new normal RS model of the GT. “Add-on parts on the exterior are not just functional, they are like an accessory. Take extremely sporty models, for instance: you immediately think of carbon fibre as the material of choice,” says Kröner. But: Carbon fibre alone does not add anything new and can also be found in other sporty Audi models. “In the end, the exclusive exterior colour would be the only feature defining the new ‘performance’. But as soon as a customer has an individual colour request, we lose the strategic component, the identity that the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹ should have,” Kröner explains. A coloured insert in the carbon would not help either, as not every paint colour would be compatible with it. These complex considerations lead the team at Color & Trim into great depth – at an early stage, and usually just theoretically or with the help of small samples.
 
The solution: a matte carbon camouflage. In contrast to traditional carbon parts, it is lighter, stronger and has a more exciting surface due to the special manufacturing process. Audi uses this new material on the blades at the front and rear as well as in the interior and on the exterior mirrors. “It doesn’t look black or grey, it changes depending on where the light is coming from. It has a greenish shimmer, forming a formal bracket, and it is now available for the first time and only for the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹.”

That leaves the exterior colour. One of the pictures that Kröner added to the design process at the very beginning showed a landscape with a road winding through it. “It wasn’t the whole picture that grabbed my attention.” It was just a small section, barely larger than a postage stamp, which showed exactly the colour tone that was the starting point for developing the paint colour for the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹. “I took the picture to the colleague who develops the exterior colours and asked if she had ever done anything like this before,” Kröner recalls. “She immediately understood my idea, and together we put together atmospheric images, the yarn and the carbon to get closer and closer to the desired result.” This particular green fitted into the puzzle like a keystone. “The deep black of the seat covers, the tone of the stitching and the matte and darkened rims: It just results in a harmonious overall package that does justice to a vehicle like the Audi RS e-tron GT performance¹,” summarises Christopher Kröner.
 
And what about the name? "The answer is simple. For performance models, the name of an exclusive colour always refers to a racetrack. And there is one in Bedford, England.” The fact that not everybody is familiar with the name only proves his point. The Gran Turismo not only stands for an emphasis on sportiness. For Kröner, it is also characterised by a great deal of elegance and driving experience. Just like on a picturesque winding serpentine road. Surrounded by greenery and smooth tarmac under the wheels.