Going odd: Audi A7 renderings
CG cars assault us from all angles, whether we know it or not. These days, much of what we see in car spots on television is created from bits of data, not bits of ore. No matter, the renderings are still labor-intensive to produce. For spots, the animators are often working with CAD files provided by the manufacturer's engineering department. The ability to create a CG car out of thin air is a boon to the concept-rendering community as well. An obvious example of CG's capability is the recent Superduty Superbowl ad. Less obvious use of CG can be found in Jeep's "Bigger, Deffer" spot, where the entire Wrangler is assembled out of 0's and 1's.
French digital artist extrodinaire Gabriel Rabhi has harnessed processor cycles to create an Audi A7 out of pure conjecture. Of course, there is no such thing as an A7 (yet), but rumors abound. Rabhi created the car as a skill-building exercise, to get a better handle on modelling techniques for complex objects. The multiple facets of an automobile's structure and skin are time consuming and often difficult to model. Cars are created almost entirely out of complex curves, and the only way to geometrically model such an organic form is by using NURBS curves. If it sounds complex, that's because it is.
Conclusion plus more photos after the jump
[Source: fourtitude]
Complexity aside for a moment, the real key to doing any kind of work like this is a healthy love of automotive form. Being a skillful digital animator is definitely important, but if you don't understand how form works in the automotive world, your cars will never look realistic. Mr. Rabhi admits that his flight of fancy isn't entirely perfect, but its born from a lifelong love of drawing cars. Clearly, he's been practicing a long time. There are some awkward elements, though, like the character line that runs across the upper third of the bodysides. We like the way it suggests motion and musculature, but the way the rear and front arched elements blend into the doors isn't entirely smooth. Of course, the design studio would have a team of people standing back and looking at this thing. For the work of one guy and his imagination, it's extremely well turned out, and Rabhi himself admits that its not perfect. The render is very realistic looking, and the lighting serves to highlight where he got the surface correct, and point up areas where some more definition would be called for were this car non-fiction. Mr Rabhi has expressed interest in becoming a real car designer some day for a brand like Audi. Judging from these efforts, he's well on his way. He can design up our AutoBlog Speedster Special when we get around to building it. In the meantime, he's turned his talents on the much-ballyhooed A1.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jenallay Bazkials 11:19AM (2/08/2007)
Not bad but would need to be much more out of the ordinary to compete with the cls 550. Audi really needs to have there cars stand our more.
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harry 11:19AM (2/08/2007)
Better than Bangle. *shrug*
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che culattone 11:23AM (2/08/2007)
this is just a design. the real A7 will most definitley not look anything like this car. this is just a random dude drawing a design of what he thinks the A7 will look like...
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Richard 11:23AM (2/08/2007)
Funny, Harry:
From the side I thought "Bangle meets Dodge Charger..."
From the front: "...and adds tombstone grille."
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elindiano 11:26AM (2/08/2007)
i agree with no. 1. audi's entire lineup all look the same. same front end with variations in the length of the car.
they need to make each model not looks so consistant with the model next to it. especially if they want a cls fighter. dont get me wrong, i like audi, i recently owned one.
if i had to choose between this car and the cls, the merc would win hands down.
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Bill 11:30AM (2/08/2007)
Hmm, I always admired Audi for their design which was somewhat 'severe' for lack of a better word. I'm not sure about this. The first thing I thought when I saw these fenders was "new Hyundai Elantra". The Elantra is not a bad car, but probably not the association that Audi was going for.
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Big jim 11:31AM (2/08/2007)
a good looking car
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david 11:39AM (2/08/2007)
nice, but that grille. oh! that grille. reminds me too much of my mother-in-laws mouth.
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Mike 11:40AM (2/08/2007)
Interesting, but Gabriel and Audi really need to do something about that snout!
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SSBR 11:46AM (2/08/2007)
Wow! Thats one sharp looking car. Better then the BMW 7 series and MB S class.
http://www.rolesor.com
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fuzzwonder 4:41PM (2/14/2007)
not bad, but style aside, has anyone noticed that the front wheels are pushed to the front of the vehicle like a proper FR platform. i don't see audi doing this as they use inherently shody platforms and try to make up for it with awd, and aluminum to reduce the weight.
oh well, if they ever come close to the rendition above they may be inline with the 3 series philosophy and even be competitive with it.
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apple_box 12:04PM (2/08/2007)
If you're out their Gabriel, What application did you use?
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epp_b 12:54PM (2/08/2007)
From the wing-mirror onwards, it makes me think of those hideous Hyundai Tiberons of old. Eeyuugh!
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JayP 12:28PM (2/08/2007)
Smells of Cinema 4D to me...
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ruggels 12:30PM (2/08/2007)
I don't care for it at all, it doesn't flow like current audi designs
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SherbornSean 1:06PM (2/08/2007)
I like it, except for the crease over the front wheels, which is too busy for Audi.
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Jim Ayres 3:00PM (2/08/2007)
The Audi LaCrosse!
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Max 2:44PM (2/08/2007)
That is gonna be the beginning of a whole new generation of cars. And it does look pretty sick and futuristic, I must say!
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Justin 2:55PM (2/08/2007)
Did nobody read this? It's not real. Audi doesn't need to change it because Audi didn't design it. Jesus.
I'm getting tired of these posts where it's just some fan speculation CG photos.
And btw...Audi's look and are awesome.
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NoNameDenton 5:08PM (2/08/2007)
Kinda looks like they wanted to go for the 4 door coupe look ala the Mercedes CLS then decided to go with two doors, could be better, could be worse, have to see the final product
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