Design Development: Volkswagen Sport Coupé Concept GTE

“With the Sport Coupé Concept GTE, we wanted to realise an outstanding design concept from one cast, which means the expressive exterior design is in complete harmony with its minimalistic interior design,” says head of Volkswagen design, Klaus Bischoff. “Our intention was to develop a futuristic interpretation of a dynamic coupé which represents the sharpened Volkswagen design DNA.”

Sketch by senior exterior designer Tobias Sühlmann

This long, low-roofed four-doored, four-seater with clean, minimal lines is both a clear proposal for the successor to Volkswagen’s CC, albeit positioned further upmarket, and for a new look across the Volkswagen range. Bischoff talks of its “feasible innovations, intelligent interfaces and multiple new functions”, as well as the “the new progressive design language” expressed both inside and on the exterior of this concept, which was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.

Exterior designer Domen Rucigaj sketch

Exterior

“One special focus was on the development of the front design,” says Oliver Stefani, head of exterior design. “In this area, the character of the car will be clearly visible. Here we wanted to express the pure dynamic and avantgarde feelings. The challenge was to create an extremely wide and sporty-looking front, and the integration of grille and headlamps with a low-cutting bonnet.”

Render shows the low nose of the concept

Bischoff describes the very low front grille as “a typical sports car element, combined with strong shoulders and a very long ‘fastback’ C-pillar”, and says that the front end was intended to be dominant as well as distinctive. The early sketches by Domen Rucigaj and Tobias Sühlmann explore different interpretations of the grille and front-end elements and details – “the designers created this strong show car concept in an intense dialogue,” Bischoff notes.

Developed by a different design team to the larger C Coupé GTE shown at the Shanghai Motor Show in April, the Sport Coupé Concept GTE was conceived as the sportier and more experimental model, and even in the earliest drawings, the eye-catching golden Citrin Yellow paint features. “Extreme car, extreme colour,” says head of colour and trim Oona Scheepers. “It is time for yellow. The bright exterior colour highlights the sharp edges of the body.”

Car under construction at VW’s main Wolfsburg studio

The project moved into the clay phase in September 2014, and the model was built in Wolfsburg. “We were working on concept sketches and clay modelling at the same time,” explains interior designer Peter Mikulak. “Clay is still a good tool for checking the proportions and the ergonomics. In parallel, we were working with the interface team to integrate all interface components, and working intensively with the seat designers also. After the design was defined, all teams started the intensive work with 3D data, fixing details like gearshift and interface components, including ambient light. The last step was the building of the physical model and the assembly.”

Head of Volkswagen design, Klaus Bischoff (left), explains the concept to VW’s head of technical development, Dr Heinz-Jakob Neusser

A presentation of the model and its features was given in late October 2014 to Volkswagen executives including Dr. Heinz-Jakob Neußer, board member for technical development, and at this stage, the final exterior design was signed off.

Concept on the VW stand at the Geneva Motor Show

Interior

The interior was also clearly differentiated from that of the C Coupé GTE. “Both interior concepts represent premium-class character, with a strong horizontal theme that visually creates a more roomy feeling,” says head of interior design Tomasz Bachorski. “But the interior of the C Coupé GTE is more oriented to prestige, whereas the Sport Coupé Concept GTE is focused more on a premium and sporty character.”

Early interior sketch by Peter Mikulak

Though early sketches by senior designer Peter Mikulak show a relatively dark interior compared to the light colourways later chosen, the horizontal theme is evident, and the layout of the four individual, captain’s chair-type seats clearly-defined. “It reminds us of business class on a plane, your own sphere, a seat like a cocoon,” says Bachorski.

Cocoon-like seating, inspired by business jets, eveloved

As the design was developed, inspiration was taken from the car’s technological features – including its plug-in hybrid powertrain. “The intention was to show the progress in ecological technology with a fresh and dynamic design language in the interior – modernity, lightness and sharp edges,” Bachorski adds. “You see it not just on the surface treatment, but also on the advanced intuitive interfaces and the innovative colour and trim concept.” Elements of the exterior design were reinterpreted in the interior: “For example, the design of the front grille was used as a basis to develop the elegant trim strips on the dashboard and the door trim panels.” These strips link the doors, air vents and IP in a single sweeping horizontal line.

Later sketch by Guillermo Mignot introduces light-wood theme

Further sketches by Guillermo Mignot explore treatments of the doors, the central transmission tunnel, the centre console and gearshift, and a yacht-style deck for the floor of the rear load bay – all using light-coloured, clearly-grained wood. “The main focus was set on the formal lightness of the dashboard and on the effect of generous space and roominess inside,” says Bachorski.

Rear seat sketch shows Zermatt grey trim

Senior interior designer Peter Mikulak explains: “We were working with the seat designers to propose a completely new approach, especially for the rear seats; a clear layout with flowing lines connects the seats with the rear doors and the centre console.”

Sketch development of DSG gearshifter

Sketches by Felix Röser and Letian Guo show a more traditional-looking DSG shifter and steering wheel, with familiar-seeming Volkswagen switches, buttons and controls – but these are touchpads with sensors, rather than mechanical controls, reflecting the electronic steer- and shift-by-wire systems. And an innovative approach was also taken by interface designers Damien Grossemy and Myriam Parada for other control functions: these incorporate biometric sensor technologies, as used in health apps in combination with smartwatches or armbands.

Switchless HMI concept

“Another objective was to create an intelligent, switchless HMI concept, which senses the mood of the driver and the passengers, and offers the right configurator or navigation settings,” explains Bachorski. A fun element is added by using cloud-sourced Instagram images to preview a route. The instrument cluster with 3D graphics is a prototype of Volkswagen’s next-generation Active Info Display; its diagonally-positioned display screen is conceived to give the effect of blending the virtual space into the physical boundary, heightened by ambient lighting. The two dials ‘hover’, with information projected between them, and their graphics changing according to powertrain mode.

Overview render of the final interior

The 12.3-inch touchscreen mounted between the seats serves as a media control module, serving the pair of 10.1-inch screens embedded in the front seatbacks, and supplementing the screen in the central front display. Touch-sensitive slider controls by both main screens operate the four-zone HVAC system – but not the windows, which retain conventional controls due to safety legislation.

Overviews of the final interior show the overall sense of lightness and spaciousness (displayed to best effect through the large panoramic glass roof) plus the positioning of the infotainment screens – and the effects of the colour and trim choices, the carbonfibre on the strip between the air vents and on the seat-backs complementing the piano black touches and the satin and high-gloss chrome.

Work on the interior continues

Completed interior as shown in Geneva

Laser-cut leather covers speakers in the door cards

Sharp detailing is also seen in the laser-cut leather applied to the audio speakers that combines a technical and precise graphic with a natural material. The effect is also seen in the 3D veneer of Linea Walnut open-pored wood, applied in areas including the steering wheel frame, door panels and centre console. “The linear structure of the veneer follows the shape,” Scheepers adds. “This brings with it a unique feeling of lightness in the interior, also supporting the horizontal orientation of the concept.”

Volkswagen Sport Coupé Concept GTE

Vehicle type Concept coupé
Length 4869mm
Width 1864mm
Height 1407mm
Wheelbase 3020mm

Head of Volkswagen design Klaus Bischoff
Head of exterior design Oliver Stefani
Senior designer (exterior) Tobias Sühlmann
Designer (exterior) Domen Rucigaj
Head of interior design Tomasz Bachorski
Interior architecture team leader Boris Grell
Senior designer Peter Mikulak
Designer Guillermo Mignot
Interface design team leader Gustav Hofmann
Head of colour and trim Oona Scheepers

Project started September 2014
Project completed March 2015
First seen Geneva Motor Show, March 2015