The world’s largest automobile delivery center is a fascinating phenomenon of car culture. It appears conspicuous and modest at the same time. “The Autostadt puts the Volkswagen Group’s values into visual form,” says Ana-Maria Hrib. A hands-on Group. Over a surface area of 28 hectares, the love of automobiles is celebrated in every conceivable form – from regularly changing exhibitions to readings, workshops and concerts.
Only a quarter of visitors come here to pick up their new Volkswagen. Over half of the guests want to look at exhibitions or visit one of the many events. Therefore, it’s not surprising that tour guide Ana-Maria Hrib explains: “The most frequently sold product by the Volkswagen Group is not the Golf but our own-brand currywurst.” The Tachometer restaurant in the customer center has sold more than six million of these sausages to date.
Brands as buildings
Audi, SEAT, Lamborghini, Porsche: In the midst of the park and lake landscape, almost all of Volkswagen Group’s brands are presented with their own pavilion. Their architecture is just as individual as the building interiors. The Audi pavilion has an aluminum façade. “It stands for the use of innovative materials in vehicle production,” tour guide Ana-Maria Hrib explains. Inside awaits the Audi e-tron: the brand’s first fully electric SUV. Touching is explicitly permitted. While the group inspects the interior, one visitor remains apart from the action, absorbed in her cube-shaped ice cream made of fruit purée. “In order to reduce sugar and fat, the ice cream in the Autostadt’s ice cream manufactory is snap-frozen with nitrogen,” Ana-Maria Hrib explains while passing the ice cream parlor. Something worth looking into.
The Lamborghini pavilion is designed as a black cube. The impressive appearance is intended to symbolize the state-of-the-art technology and Italian handicraft of the legendary super sports car. The Porsche pavilion, made of stainless steel with a curved roof design and seamless building envelope, is based on the principles of lightweight construction.