Four Brands, Four Clubs, One Trophy - The Audi Cup

INGOLSTADT, GERMANY – July 22, 2009: They are the measure of all things in world soccer: the winner’s trophies of international soccer tournaments. The trophies are coveted; those who hold them in their hands have ascended to the soccer throne – and the artistically designed cups, sculptures and bowls go down in the annals of history. Audi Design has now created a trophy that is closely tired to history even before its debut at the Audi Cup 2009 – to 100 years of successful automobile history.

To commemorate Audi’s 100th anniversary, the Audi Cup will be staged at Munich’s Allianz Arena on July 29 and 30 – featuring FC Bayern M�nchen, Manchester United, AC Milan and the Boca Juniors from Argentina. Fitting the historic occasion, the team at Concept Design Munich created a 60-centimeter high winner’s trophy made of aluminum – an Audi Cup, so to speak.

In addition to the logos of the participating teams, the designers incorporated the logos of the Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer brands into the trophy, precisely engraved by a laser – to reflect the historic anniversary. Traditionally, the company names embody one of the four Audi rings. The engraving, however, was one of the final steps in a complex production process.

The process started with a massive aluminum block. The choice of material was no coincidence: “Intelligent light-weight design using aluminum is a core competency of Audi’s,” says Wolfgang Egger, Audi Group Head of Design. “The material is intended to symbolize Audi’s innovation power – ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.’”

It took about ten hours to convert the aluminum block into the simple, elegant basic shape of the trophy using special milling techniques. Four long, vertical grooves divide the cup, giving the massive object an almost filigree appearance. “Four brands, four rings, four teams: This theme is reflected by the basic shape of the trophy with its four high-rising sections,” Egger explains the design concept.

All aluminum parts are ground and polished by hand – just like the full-metal Audi logo incorporated into the base of the cup. Directly above the base a golden metal ring bearing the inscription, Audi Cup 2009, adorns the winner’s trophy. But the second- to fourth-placed teams will receive identical – albeit slightly smaller – cups as well. The only formal difference: The metal rings above the base are silver, bronze or red.

Hence the showcases of the soccer clubs from Munich, Manchester, Milan and Buenos Aires will soon include a piece of design history from Ingolstadt. July 30 will show who will wind up with the golden end. Tickets for the first tournament day, July 29, will still be available until July 24 at www.fcbayern.de. Tickets for the final day on July 30 are already sold out.