Autostadt
Encyclopedia
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
factory in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
, Germany, with a prime focus on automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s. It features a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, feature pavilions for the principal automobile brands in the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
, a customer centre where customers can pick up new cars, and take a tour through the enormous factory, a guide to the evolution of roads, and cinema in a large sphere. It is also home to the largest glass doors in the world and the longest printed line. The line starts from outside Wolfsburg and travels through Autostadt to a point on a farm. It is about 4 miles (6.4 km) long.
History
The idea for Autostadt was started in 1994 when the concept of documenting the stages of production of Volkswagen vehicles and how the company's operations were showcased at Expo 2000Expo 2000
Expo 2000 was a World's Fair held in Hanover, Germany from Thursday, June 1 to Tuesday, October 31, 2000. It was located on the Hanover fairground , which is famous for hosting CeBIT...
in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Germany. In 1998, Autostadt, which is German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for "Car City", broke ground on the former site of a fuel company bordering Volkswagen's Wolfsburg production plant. Like the adjacent car plant, the site of Autostadt is on the north bank of the Mittellandkanal which appears to have inspired considerable creativity in the projects' designers. The resulting complex is the work of more than 400 architects, created as a new urban center, close to downtown Wolfsburg.
The main pavilion opened in May 2000, providing an opportunity to present famous cars hitherto locked in crate
Crate
A crate is a large shipping container, often made of wood, typically used to transport large, heavy or awkward items. A crate has a self-supporting structure, with or without sheathing. For a wooden container to be a crate, all six of its sides must be put in place to result in the rated strength...
s to be shown to the public. By that time it was reported that Volkswagen had invested approximately 850 Million Marks (€435 Million) in the project. Autostadt is located next to Volkswagen's main factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
which is also an attraction. Every Volkswagen model is available giving the opportunity for the public to choose what they want. Volkswagen then manufactures the car specified according to the purchaser's requirements.
Visitors and attractions
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
it features in each building. Extensive use is made of water and vegetation between the pavilions and mounds of earth covered in grass are located in the grounds. Modern design is not just incorporated into the pavilions but also into the furniture such as benches and chairs.
It has a small track for the off-road Volkswagen Touareg
Volkswagen Touareg
The Volkswagen Touareg is a mid-size crossover SUV produced by German automaker Volkswagen since 2002. The vehicle was named after the Tuareg people, a Berber-speaking group in North Africa...
underneath the bridge which leads from the main town to the Autostadt which is located above the main canal cutting through the city, the Mittelland Canal. Visitors must be able to show driver's license
Driver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
s before being able to drive the vehicles. First, the guide drives the car around the track showing the features of the vehicle and giving information of the vehicle's capabilities. After driving around the track, the visitor can then drive around the track under the surveillance of the guide who sits in the passenger seat. Any other passengers sit in the back. Features of the track include a 21 degree angled hill, another hill which is angled on the side, a water tank, a sand pit which is located under a road bridge, a log road and a numerous small mounds which allow one wheel to be raised off the ground. The price of this runs at about €25 (2005 prices).
There is a mini track for children where they can drive small electric car
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
s in the form of Volkswagen Beetles.
Autostadt has a large variety of multimedia activities and devices which include car design software. There is a room exhibiting the advantages and disadvantages different fuels have on the performance of cars. There are two cinemas
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
which show small films in German. One of these cinemas is located in its own purpose built buildings and is in a large sphere.
Major attractions are some famous cars, such as the first petrol vehicle produced, and the Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
.
There is also a room with interactive devices which provide information on the design of cars using Audi
Audi
Audi AG is a German automobile manufacturer, from supermini to crossover SUVs in various body styles and price ranges that are marketed under the Audi brand , positioned as the premium brand within the Volkswagen Group....
as an example. Computer software allows visitors to design their own cars using features from Audi cars and send them to an email address and get them printed at the printer located in the centre of the room.
Volkswagen production and development
The Volkswagen development pavilion is the largest in ground area of all pavilions at Autostadt. The pavilion is circular in shape and has two floors which display all models in the Volkswagen range plus a shop of Volkswagen articles of clothing, die cast models and vehicle accessories which is located on the top floor.
The production pavilion is the smallest and one of the last of the pavilions to be constructed. It was not included on the original render of Autostadt.
Bentley
The pavilion for BentleyBentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
was built into a small hill. It has a marble roof and the entrance is cut into the side of the grass-covered mound. The exit is on the opposite side of the pavilion. It was designed by Ray Hole Architects
Ray Hole Architects
Ray Hole Architects is an English architectural practice, based in Croydon, specialising in cultural and leisure-based projects.Their work includes the VW and Bentley Pavilions at Autostadt ; Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum at the London Pavilion, Piccadilly Circus; Hafod Eryri, the new £8.4M...
.
The pavilion visit began with an escalator with a film either side documenting cars produced by Bentley since the creation of the company. There was then a spiralling walkway which descends around a rotating displays of cogs illuminated by coloured lights which changed throughout. Television screens of varying sizes were located around this contraption which showed different videos of their vehicle's performance.
The Bentley pavilion was in 2008 reassigned, however, being now shared with the Bugatti
Bugatti
Automobiles E. Bugatti was a French car manufacturer founded in 1909 in Molsheim, Alsace, as a manufacturer of high-performance automobiles by Italian-born Ettore Bugatti....
brand and named the "Premium Clubhouse".
Bentley Speed 8
The Bentley Speed 8 was a Le Mans Prototype race car that was designed by Peter Elleray. EXP Speed 8 debuted in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2001, the Speed 8 car finally winning in 2003...
which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
race in 2003.
Škoda
The pavilion consists of a number of metal sculptures. It shows several examples of cars produced under the Škoda brand and small models of all types ever produced in Škoda's history. Like in other brand pavilions it is possible to open and enter the cars to get a feeling for them. Informations about engine stats, prices and fuel consumption are next to each car.Lamborghini
Lamborghini Murciélago
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a two-door, two-seat sports car produced by Italian automaker Lamborghini between 2001 and 2010. Successor to the Diablo and flagship of the automaker's lineup, the Murciélago was introduced as a coupé in 2001. The automaker's first new design in eleven years, the car...
attached to the wall greets visitors. During the show, the lights dim and dry ice
Dry ice
Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...
floods the room before finally diminishing revealing that the car has disappeared from the wall. During this, the car which sits on a vertical platform has been rotated 180 degrees and sits on the outside of the building.
Audi
The building is large and has a tour showing different vehicles, including the latest car with the Quattro four wheel drive system and the car used in the Le Mans 24 hour race. A version of the Audi TTAudi TT
The Audi TT is a two-door sports car manufactured by the German automaker and Volkswagen Group subsidiary Audi since 1998.The Audi TT has been produced in two generations. Both generations have been available in two car body styles; as a 2+2 Coupé, or two-seater Roadster...
cut out of a block of wood and of brushed metal
Brushed metal
Brushed metal is metal that has been abraded , usually with a fine grit sandpaper. The brushing gives the metal a distinctive look, as it retains some but not all of its metallic lustre and is given a pattern of very fine lines. It can be compared to metal with several small scratches all running...
is displayed with dummies with projected faces which speak German located next to them. A spiral walkway surrounds a circular projection screen which displays different films with the projects located inside the screen cavity. Below the screen on the ground floor is the Audi R8 in which visitors can sit.
SEAT
SEAT Toledo
The second generation Toledo was introduced in 1998 and made its debut at the 1998 Paris Motor Show as a four-door notchback sedan. It was more rounded than the previous first generation shape and had a much more fluid design, although both were products of Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign studio...
in a glass case. The platform it sits on rotates and the side doors are open. The next room then comprises all current SEAT models on display. A staircase leads up to a mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
level with numerous computer screens. This finally leads to an exit which comprises a wooden based bridge on metal tubes. This bridge is interactive; the tubes contain speakers which play back the Seat 'castanet' SFX with each footstep across the bridge.