Audi spending $14.3 million on indoor track for Frankfurt 2011

BMW 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show

Audi said that it will spend more than 10 million euros ($14.3 million) on an indoor test track at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show to steal some spotlight from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Audi, which has previously showcased its cars as a part of Volkswagen’s display, is investing more than ever to have its own display.

Mercedes-Benz is also planning a display with a roadway at the 2011 Frankfurt show.

Both are following in the footsteps of BMW, which had a track to show its cars at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

Audi’s display can hold about 30 models and will allow visitors to take rides in about a dozen vehicles, including race cars, that will go around the auto show hall.

“We’ll make a strong statement,” Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said in Frankfurt last week. “It’ll be surprising, emotional, architecturally great, with a real wow effect.”

Audi, which sold 1.09 million cars last year, has made its goal to unseat BMW as the world’s largest luxury automaker by 2015.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News