The Daysailer concept by design student Markus Klug was created for the university project “A brand beyond the car”, organized by the Joanneum University of Applied Science, Graz, in partnership with Audi.

The 25-year-old drew his inspiration from his passion for sailing and from the Audi MedCup, a regatta series in the Mediterranean for TP52 yachts.

Klug was fascinated by the fastest single-hull offshore yachts in the world, which inspired him to come up with a 1:15 model of the Audi Daysailer.

Although it remains to be seen whether Audi will ever venture into boat building, the concept is captivating for the deep insight with which it interprets the elegance of yachting, while skilfully experimenting with Audi’s design idiom.

“I wanted my design to be clear and direct, but also luxurious and sporty. It was really enjoyable incorporating Audi’s design hallmarks into a yacht.

"It has to captivate the onlooker at first glance, in precisely the same way that the cars do,” explains Klug.

Wolfgang Egger, Head of Audi Group Design, elaborates: “Our motivation is to think laterally and be better. Every single line has to be just right.

"The design can only be deemed a success if there is nothing more to be eliminated – but such simplicity is also a huge challenge.”

In addition to its design department in Ingolstadt, for the past 25 years Audi has been running Concept Design Munich - a design studio in the Schwabing district of Munich, the primary objective of which is to design the car of the future.

“It’s a fascinating challenge to design cars that will appeal to people in 20 to 30 years’ time,” remarks Egger.

“Inspiration and visionary creativity are called for. That is why we also concern ourselves with product design. When our young designers apply the same design philosophy to objects in realms other than the car, they gain a deep understanding of Audi’s formal idiom and are able to experiment with surfaces, lines and materials. Those ideas then ultimately find their way back into the designs of production cars.”

Klug eagerly seized the opportunity afforded by this challenge. His choice of the Daysailer concept was carefully considered.

“I was intrigued by the idea of implementing a concept study that is perfect for a relaxing afternoon’s sailing with friends, but also capable of withstanding the forces of nature. A large deck area is more important than the cabin – and the vessel has to be easy to control, with one-handed steering possible.”

The tornado line, the character line along the side of the hull, and the shoulder line, which in the case of a boat is the upper edge of the hull (positive sheer), are inspired by Audi’s design idiom.

The same applies to the proportions in the seating area and the centre console, which is a typical Audi feature with intuitively operated instruments, but also performs the dual function of reinforcing the longitudinal axis. In typical Audi fashion, lightweight materials such as carbon fibre (hull) and aluminium (stabilising elements) play a key role.

The design study naturally affords plenty of scope for individual modifications.

The model is just over one metre long – but the real thing would measure 15 metres in length, its mast would be 21 metres high and it would have a draught of between 1.5 and 2.5 metres. The Daysailer already floats, and its hull is ultra-streamlined.

Designer Klug anticipates a displacement of between six and seven tonnes. That is of course pure hypothesis, in the absence of any firm technical data for a real-life boat.

Markus Klug with the 1:15 scale model of the Audi Daysailer		Wolfgang Egger, Head of Audi Group Design

The junior designer is currently preparing his graduate thesis at Audi and, after this excursion into the world of yachts, once more turning his attention to automotive design of the future.

"Audi partnership projects with universities have one objective: to foster dialogue with young, talented designers about bold automotive design."

(Source: Audi)