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Audi's latest design is a table clock

Audi and Porsche have more things in common than we can count. They're both German, of course, and have both enjoyed considerable winning streaks at Le Mans. Both have a tendency to put their (often turbocharged) engines at one extreme of the car or another, driving either the closest wheels or all four. Both tend to follow a brand-wide evolutionary design approach, focusing their energies instead on the engineering that goes under the bodywork. Both now find themselves under the same corporate umbrella, and now that they are, Audi has followed Porsche's lead in setting up its own design consultancy.
Like Porsche Design, Audi Design is now taking on projects for all manner of clients, from pianos to foosball tables. In this latest collaboration, Audi has designed a table clock for Munich-based watchmaker Erwin Sattler. The table-top clock houses a high-frequency mechanical movement in a foot-tall glass case that lets you see the intricate clockwork, held in place by two ruthenium clasps.
Unveiled in Switzerland at the Baselworld watch and jewelry show, the clock is now available to order. But while prices haven't been announced, don't expect it to come cheap: other Erwin Sattler table clocks typically sell for upwards of $10,000, and we wouldn't expect the new design to come at a discount. Scroll down below for the official press release.

Audi builds its six-millionth Quattro-equipped car

All-wheel drive has become the norm particularly among German automakers. Mercedes offers its 4Matic system on a broad range of models, BMW counters with its xDrive system, Volkswagen has 4Motion, and the only Porsche you actually can't get with all-wheel traction is the Boxster/Cayman. But before all its competitors got on board with channeling power to all four wheels, Audi was making a name for itself with its Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
Now 34 years since the advent of the original Audi Quattro, the House of the Four Rings has built its six millionth vehicle equipped with all-wheel drive - only a year and a half since it hit the five-million mark. In fact these days nearly half of all new Audis are ordered in Quattro spec - more than any other automaker - resulting in a total of 710,095 Quattro-equipped Audis produced last year alone.
The landmark 6,000,000th vehicle was an SQ5 in monsoon gray metallic that rolled off the assembly line on Friday and is bound for a customer right here in the United States.

Audi working on new Quattro-centric horizontal design language

If we were to opine that Audi needed a new design language, we certainly wouldn't be the first. Because while most of the vehicles wearing the Four Rings these days look slick enough, they all tend to look rather similar, and perhaps lack a certain amount of character. If the latest rumors are to be believed, Audi is working on just such a design overhaul.
The new design language being developed in the studios at Ingolstadt is said to differ from the current theme in two ways. For one, it's set to be dominated by a more horizontal approach, eschewing the tall vertical grille that dominates the noses of many of Audi's current models in favor of one that stretches more widely across the fascia.
For another, Edmunds projects that the new design language will emphasize the four-wheel-drive setup that has become Audi's hallmark. We understand that to mean more muscular wheel arches, with the rest of the design revolving around that element for an overall look that's more visually planted on the road. We'll have to wait to see how this theme develops, but the rumors at least indicate that Audi is aware of its design issues and is working to address it.