Audi has launched Audi City – a new digital showroom based in London that allows customers to browse the company’s range electronically.

Potential customers are greeted by three huge screens, each consisting of nine 72-inch panels that have been dubbed as ‘power walls’ by Audi.

Any Audi model can be selected and once loaded up on screen at its true-to-life scale, the customer can choose their desired colour and trim and then watch it drive, in its virtual form, on the big screen.

The specific engine noise for that car is even piped into the room via overhead speakers to round off the experience.

The acoustic system in the shop ensures that sound is individual to the selected car and that it is audible only to that particular customer showing interest in the car.

The company has digitized all engine sounds including opening and shutting of each Audi car door to give customers an authentic experience.

Downstairs in the customisation room, customers sit at futuristic white tables with integrated touch screens, allowing for hands-on rotation and interaction as you go through the finer details of your selected choice.

Perhaps one of the coolest elements of the City showroom experience is the swatches on the wall showing all of Audi’s paint finishes and internal trim.

The swatches can be taken off their mounts and positioned on the Wi-Fi marker on the table to update your virtual car with the selected finish.

Once you have eventually decided upon your dream car, your selection is loaded onto a memory stick, allowing you to visit any Audi City dealer and immediately view, amend or buy your desired vehicle.

Going digital does not mean that all Audi City shops will be car free, but this new approach will cater to those dealerships were space is a constraint.

By 2015, Audi plans on opening 20 more digital stores. Audi says that the Audi City showrooms will play a crucial role in the marketing of new mobility services and electric-drive Audi models.

Source: businessrevieweurope