- Gorden Wagener says Audi’s Concept C interior feels outdated and lacks modern tech.
- Design boss also slammed BMW’s Neue Klasse layout as distracting and overly complex.
- He believes big screens are essential features for today’s mainstream vehicle interiors.
The rivalry between Germany’s biggest luxury automakers shows no sign of cooling down. At this year’s Munich Motor Show, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes each rolled out fresh design languages and cabin layouts, giving visitors a look at how the industry’s top names see the future of interiors.
While car executives usually sidestep direct commentary on their competitors, Mercedes’ Chief Design Officer broke tradition with some pointed thoughts on Audi and BMW’s latest work in the Concept C and iX3 SUV respectively.
The crew at Top Gear caught up with Gorden Wagener on the sidelines of the IAA Mobility Show in Munich, asking him what he thought of the interiors shown by his two main rivals. What followed was less diplomatic praise and more unfiltered critique.
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Wagener, who once worked at Volkswagen Group before moving to Mercedes in 1997, was a bit harsh on his former colleagues. Speaking about the Audi Concept C, he said that its interior “looks like it was designed in 1995”. The Mercedes design boss thinks that the concept’s cabin is “a little bit too known, and there is too little tech”.
Screens Versus Switches
Despite describing himself as a fan of “hyper-analogue things,” Wagener drew a clear line about the importance of digital displays. “You cannot ignore a screen,” he said. “When you have a small screen, you automatically send the message ‘congratulations, you are sitting in a small car. I mean this is a concept car. And it’s a niche car too, so even if they build it like this it doesn’t really matter. But for a mainstream solution, going back to all switches will not work.”
Audi Concept C
Audi
Photos: Stefan Baldauf & Guido ten Brink
Wagener believes that large language models will help do a lot more with voice operation in the future. However, he still thinks that we need big displays, as users might want “a visual reference on the screen” or “watch a movie and stuff like that”.
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The Audi Concept C features a minimalist interior with a retractable 10.4-inch infotainment screen that disappears when not in use. A production version of the electric sports car is slated for 2027, expected to retain about 90 percent of the concept’s design while fitting into the lineup between the discontinued TT and R8.
Of course, the screens in Audi’s current production models are a different story. For example, the Audi Q5 sports an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster, a 14.5-inch infotainment, and an optional 10.9-inch passenger display. Still, this is not as impressive as the new 39.1-inch MBUX Hyperscreen that covers the entire dashboard of the all-new Mercedes GLC EV.
A Critical Look at BMW
Wagener was no more forgiving when asked about the new BMW iX3, the first model built around the brand’s Neue Klasse design language.
Mercedes-Benz GLC
BMW iX3
Photos: Stefan Baldauf & Guido ten Brink
The direct rival to the Mercedes GLC EV from the Bavarian brand features a pillar-to-pillar display on the base of the windshield, a 17.9-inch infotainment touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard, and an optional 3D head-up display. It seems that Wagener is not a big fan of this setup either:
“What the other manufacturer did? I mean, they showed the concept a couple of years ago with the information across the bottom of the windscreen,” he told TG. “I have to say I’m not a big fan of that because it’s so far away it’s hard to read. Everything will appear smaller so it’s distracting, and you need a device to operate it because it’s too far away to be touch-sensitive, so you have to put a touchscreen in there which they did.”
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“So it’s a pretty conventional solution, and actually a complicated one because you have information on different levels and I don’t think that’s intuitive. I mean, they think it’s progressive and they must love it otherwise they wouldn’t have done it, but I’m not convinced by it.”
While his comments were pointed, they reflect just one perspective in a field where design philosophies differ dramatically. It remains to be seen how Audi and BMW’s design leads might respond when asked to evaluate Mercedes’ latest work.
Besides the production GLC EV, Mercedes’ stand in Munich also included the Concept AMG GT XX. This one combines a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with a 14-inch infotainment display, proving that even Mercedes can be a little more restrained with screen sizes when it comes to performance-focused models.
Mercedes Concept AMG GT XX
