Design round-up: New electric VW ID.Polo GTI, first look inside the Audi Q9 & people news

The electric VW ID.Polo GTI

The electric rendition of the Polo GTI continues the legacy of the first 1976 Golf GTI, with hereditary characteristics reinterpreted for the modern day.

The exterior follows the brand’s Pure Positive design language through a compact sports car with a powerful stance. The distinct red stripe stretches over almost the entire width, with a 3D GTI logo integrated on the left. Above this is an LED light strip, illuminated VW badge and the IQ.Light LED matrix headlights. The honeycomb air intake is located slightly lower down and on the rear the C-pillar is inspired by the first Golf. 

Head of design Andreas Mindt said: “For our design team, this car was about translating the GTI character into the electric age — without losing what makes a GTI instantly recognisable. The exterior combines a strong stance with clean surfacing, precise graphics and iconic GTI details: the red signature line, the confident front, the black elements and the strong wheel design. A new chapter for GTI. Still emotional. Still unmistakably Volkswagen.” 

Full release here. 

First look inside the Audi Q9 

As Audi’s first “large full-size" SUV, the interior has been designed to be spacious and adaptable for family, work and long journeys. Customers can choose between six and seven partially power-adjustable seats.

All doors can be operated electrically via a key, app, MMI, brake pedal or the seatbelt buckle. Surround sensors have obstacle detection which stops the door if there’s not enough room for it to open. 

The panoramic sunroof measures 1.5 square-metres and features nine individually controllable segments in the laminated safety glass for glare protection. The standard glass blocks more than 99.5 percent of UV radiation and reflects infrared light, making a blind redundant.

Lighting is a big focus in the Q9, with contour lighting in the dashboard and doors, indirect lighting beneath the Audi MMI panoramic display and in the centre console. The top trim also includes 84 LEDs in the roof in one of 30 colours to match the selected ambient lighting. 

Full release here. 

Rolls-Royce introduces four new craft techniques

Four new craft techniques inspired by historical craftsmanship have been revealed – 3D leather hand-sculpting, 3D metal hand-sculpting, 3D veneers and beadwork application. 

These techniques are presented in two works built at the scale of a Phantom Gallery, which debuts the first application of 3D leather sculpting and beadwork. The hydrangeas are constructed from 50 individual flowers, each hand-sculpted in leather and painted by hand. The pomegranates are embroidered using the alternate stitch technique, with 76 jewel-like beads individually hand-sewn to form the seeds. 

The artwork named ‘Legacy craft: Inspired by The Draught’ brings together 3D metal hand-sculpting and layered 3D veneer with brass elements via a piece of jewellery. 

Full release here.

Capricorn 01 Zagato ‘Tutto Rosso’ to debut at Villa d’Este 

As the result of a partnership between capricorn, the German high-performance lightweight engineering firm, and Italian styling house Zagato, the capricorn 01 Zagato ‘Tutto Rosso’ will make its debut at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este tomorrow. 

This bespoke customer commission has 95% of all visible surfaces drenched in the same red hue. Design was led by Norihiko Harada, who also penned the Bovensiepen Zagato shown last year.

Facebook here. 

People news 

Niklas Palm will lead the new and expanded strategic design team at Volvo – made up of exploratory design, design strategy and UX research. 

Ondrej Homola is returning to Skoda as head of user experience design after four years at Volvo as lead user experience designer. Prior to this he was HMI design lead at Skoda.

Kunal Rajapurkar has joined Kia Design as an exterior designer. 

Jessica Wolfe has joined General Motors as design operations manager.