Volkswagen revealed the T-Prime Concept GTE at Auto China in Beijing this week. The concept offers a preview of the brand’s future flagship, which will join its expanding SUV lineup.
Above is a short video showing the design thinking behind the creation of the new concept, which was developed in Volkswagen’s main design studio in Wolfsburg, Germany. The video highlights elements of the design as well as its target customer — affluent, jetsetting twenty- to thirty somethings who are sophisticated and live in ultra-urban areas.
The exterior design of the plug-in hybrid, all-wheel drive concept vehicle is characterized by Volkswagen’s now typical DRG, with thin grille vanes bleeding into slender headlamps. The profile is demarcated by crisp, precise lines, adding a sense of robustness emphasized by the rising undercut shoulderline underlining the DLO. The rear end has a similar robust quality, with long horizontal yet technically advanced taillamps.
The cabin features a curved infotainment display dubbed the a ‘Curved Interaction Area’. An entirely digital display and control concept — with touch-sensitive interfaces, gesture and voice control –replaces conventional switchgear for a clean, uncluttered look that also promises to be intuitive and technically superior to anything on the market at present. This underlines Volkswagen’s ambitions to bring a greater level of space, connectivity, comfort and the creature comforts of the home environment into the vehicle interior.
Volkswagen is clearly making great strides in the digital arena, and the T-Prime Concept GTE is an indication of what we’ll begin to see trickle down into the brand’s products in the near future. But it also shows a solid commitment within the broader VW Group to be at the forefront of the digital future with all of its future offerings.
