DETAILS
What: Audi driving experience center
Location: Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany
Address: Heinrichsheimstraße 200, 86633 Neuburg an der Donau, Germany
Country: Germany
Website: www.audi.de/audi-driving-experience/audi-driving-experience-center/
Opened: May 2014
Owner: AUDI AG
Located Within: Audi Neuburg
Primary Function: Audi driving experience customer driving programs, driver training, vehicle demonstrations, corporate events, conferences and hospitality
Facilities: Customer Center, handling course, vehicle dynamics area, off-road course, conference and presentation spaces, Audi drivers’ lounge, restaurant and viewing terrace
Experiences: Performance driving, driver safety training, handling exercises, wet-surface training, off-road demonstrations, product presentations and corporate programs
Primary Audience: Audi customers, enthusiasts, corporate guests, event participants and invited visitors
Significance: Audi’s principal dedicated customer driving and training facility, providing direct experience with Audi vehicles on a purpose-built handling course, vehicle dynamics area and off-road terrain
Site Area: 47 hectares (116 acres)
Circuit Type: Private permanent handling and driver-training circuit
Original Maximum Circuit Length: Up to 3.4 km (2.1 miles)
Current Published Circuit Length: Up to 2.2 km (1.4 miles)
Vehicle Dynamics Area: 30,000 square meters (323,000 square feet)
Surface Features: Configurable asphalt handling course and irrigated vehicle dynamics area
Off-Road Features: Banked sections, water crossings, ditch crossings, articulation obstacles and ascending and descending grades of up to 55 percent
Primary Uses: Driver training, performance driving, safety exercises, vehicle demonstrations, product presentations and corporate events
See Also: Audi Neuburg, Audi Competence Center Motorsport, Audi Sport GmbH, Audi Formula Racing GmbH, Audi driving experience
OVERVIEW
The Audi driving experience center is Audi’s dedicated customer driving, training and corporate event facility in Neuburg an der Donau. Opened in May 2014, it provides Audi driving experience with a permanent home near the company’s headquarters in Ingolstadt.
The facility combines a configurable handling circuit, a large vehicle dynamics area and a purpose-built off-road course with a modern Customer Center, conference rooms, hospitality facilities and exhibition space. Participants can experience current Audi models in controlled conditions while receiving instruction from drivers with professional and motorsport backgrounds.
The center forms part of the larger 47-hectare Audi Neuburg campus. It shares the site with the Audi Competence Center Motorsport, Audi Sport customer racing, Audi Formula Racing GmbH and departments belonging to Audi Technical Development.
HISTORY
Audi began constructing its new Neuburg complex in 2012 as a permanent home for its driving experience programs and motorsport operations. Before the facility opened, Audi driving experience conducted many of its activities at outside circuits, winter-testing locations and temporary training venues.
The Audi driving experience center began conducting customer programs in May 2014. Its opening gave Audi a dedicated facility where driver training, performance programs, product demonstrations and corporate events could be organized near the company’s Ingolstadt headquarters.
The wider Audi Neuburg campus was officially inaugurated on August 30, 2014, approximately three months after customer activities began at the driving center. Audi Sport moved its principal motorsport operations to the adjoining Competence Center Motorsport later that year, followed by Audi Sport customer racing in 2015.
HANDLING COURSE
The handling course is the principal paved circuit at the Audi driving experience center. Its configurable layout allows instructors to conduct performance-driving exercises, racing-line instruction and vehicle-handling programs in controlled conditions.
When Audi announced the center in 2014, it described the handling course as measuring up to 3.4 kilometers (2.1 miles). Audi’s current information lists a maximum circuit length of 2.2 kilometers (1.4 miles). The difference may reflect a revised course configuration or a change in how Audi calculates and presents the usable training circuit, rather than necessarily indicating that the physical facility was shortened.
Participants drive under the supervision of Audi instructors, many of whom have motorsport experience. Programs use the course to demonstrate vehicle balance, braking, steering response, quattro traction and the performance characteristics of Audi S, RS and e-tron GT models.
The circuit is a private development and training course rather than a competition venue. It is also available for selected corporate programs, vehicle demonstrations and internal Audi activities.
VEHICLE DYNAMICS AREA
The center’s 30,000-square-meter (323,000-square-foot) vehicle dynamics area provides a large paved surface for driver training and vehicle-control exercises. An integrated sprinkler system allows portions of the surface to be wetted as required.
The dynamics area is used for braking, accident avoidance, steering and car-control exercises intended to demonstrate how a vehicle behaves near or beyond its normal adhesion limits. Its size allows instructors to recreate emergency situations in a controlled environment while providing participants with room to understand vehicle reactions and electronic safety systems.
Performance-oriented programs also use the dynamics area to demonstrate acceleration, braking, directional changes and the traction advantages of quattro all-wheel drive.
OFF-ROAD COURSE
The off-road course allows participants to experience Audi’s quattro technology away from paved surfaces. Its constructed obstacles include banked sections, water crossings, ditch crossings, articulation features and a see-saw.
Ascending and descending sections incorporate gradients of up to 55 percent. These obstacles demonstrate traction, ground clearance, chassis articulation, hill-descent assistance and electronic control systems under conditions that would be difficult to reproduce safely on public roads.
Depending on the program and Audi models available, off-road activities may be conducted as instructor-driven demonstrations rather than participant-driving exercises.
CUSTOMER CENTER
The Customer Center is the principal public and hospitality building at the Audi driving experience center. It includes vehicle presentation areas, meeting and conference rooms, flexible event spaces and displays of current Audi models.
The presentation areas extend across two floors and can accommodate events with up to 400 guests. Configurable conference rooms provide seating and presentation equipment for meetings with up to 180 participants. This allows Audi and outside organizations to combine business meetings, conferences and product presentations with activities on the driving courses.
Displays within the Customer Center change regularly and typically feature current Audi production models. The building also provides visitors with views across the driving facilities and the wider Neuburg campus.
AUDI DRIVERS’ LOUNGE
The Audi drivers’ lounge serves as the center’s restaurant and primary hospitality space. Operated by Mövenpick, it provides catering for driving-program participants, conference guests and corporate events.
Its viewing terrace overlooks the handling course and other sections of the facility, allowing guests to observe driver-training activities from the Customer Center. Catering can range from informal meals and buffets to menus prepared for private and corporate events.
The lounge helps connect the center’s driving and event functions, providing a central gathering place before, during and after programs.
DRIVING PROGRAMS
Audi driving experience uses the Neuburg center for performance, safety and vehicle-control training involving current Audi models. Programs vary according to season, vehicle availability and the type of event being conducted.
The handling course allows participants to study braking points, cornering lines, steering inputs and vehicle balance under instructor supervision. The dynamics area supports safety and car-control exercises, while the off-road course demonstrates quattro traction and the capabilities of Audi SUV models.
The center also supports private group programs, dealer and customer activities, media events, product presentations and corporate incentives. Its location near Audi’s Ingolstadt headquarters allows programs to be combined with factory tours or visits to the Audi museum mobile.
AUDI NEUBURG
The driving experience center is one component of the larger Audi Neuburg development and testing campus. Although its courses are primarily customer-facing, the surrounding property also supports Audi motorsport and Technical Development activities.
The adjoining Audi Competence Center Motorsport houses Audi Sport racing, Audi Sport customer racing and Audi Formula Racing GmbH. Racecars developed or assembled there can undergo initial functional testing on the Neuburg handling circuit before moving to conventional racing circuits for more extensive development work.
Audi Formula Racing GmbH develops and manufactures Audi’s Formula 1 hybrid powertrain at Neuburg. Expansion of the motorsport facilities added specialized workshops, laboratories and a total of 22 engine and component test benches. Audi describes Neuburg as the only operational location of a Formula 1 team in Germany.
SIGNIFICANCE
The Audi driving experience center gave Audi a permanent facility where customers could explore the performance and technology of its vehicles under conditions unavailable during an ordinary road test. Its combination of paved, wet-surface and off-road training areas allows different aspects of vehicle dynamics to be demonstrated at one location.
Its placement beside Audi’s motorsport and development operations also distinguishes Neuburg from a conventional customer driving center. Visitors experience Audi products on the same campus where racing cars and the company’s Formula 1 powertrain are developed and tested.
Together, the driving experience center and Competence Center Motorsport make Audi Neuburg both a customer destination and one of the company’s most specialized engineering sites.
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