Luxury With a Close and Personal Touch
From cutting-edge developments in personalisation to caring for the environment, car makers show the way forward
PORSCHE TAKES CUSTOMISATION TO ULTIMATE LEVEL
Nothing screams you more than your own unique fingerprint and this is the philosophy that Porsche may have built on as the sportscar maker has now come out with a unique and next-level customisation option for its cars.
The company recently announced it has developed an innovative direct printing method which allows for papillary lines on a human fingertip to be used as graphic elements of the highest visual quality on painted body parts of its vehicles. In the first stage, customers buying a new 911 can opt for a personalised bonnet — like no other — and have a design of their liking based on their fingerprints.
The driving force behind the idea and its development is to meet with the need of customers to express themselves through their cars and through their own unique way. “Individuality is very important for Porsche customers. And no design can be more personal than your own fingerprint,” said Alexander Fabig, vice president Individualisation and Classic. “Porsche is a pioneer in personalisation and has developed the direct printing method together with partners. We’re especially proud of having developed a completely new product offering based on new technologies. A key factor in this was the different disciplines working together in the project team.”
Developing the technique required meticulous planning. Porsche informs that a ‘technology cell’ was first set up in the paint shop of the Zuffenhausen training centre. The consequent software and hardware was then developed and extensively tested before the related painting and manufacturing set up was tested.
AUDI IS MAKING SEAT UPHOLSTERY FROM DISPOSED PET BOTTLES
The fashion industry produces jewellery, clothes and bags from PET bottles. In addition, more and more furniture is being made from waste material such as paper shreds, plastic bottles and wood chippings. Audi is now offering seat upholstery made from recycled material for the new A3 for the first time.
Seat upholstery made from secondary raw materials are being used for the first time in the fourth generation of the Audi A3. Up to 89% of the textile used consists of recycled PET bottles, which are transformed into yarn in an elaborate procedure. This results in fabrics that guarantee the same quality standards in terms of look and feel as conventional textile upholstery.
The bottle disappears in the hole of the reverse vending machine, and the customer in Germany gets 0.25. But what happens then? While still in the shop, the disposable bottles are compressed for truck transport in order to save space. Once they have arrived at the recycling plant, they are sorted by colour, size and quality. Foreign matter such as the caps are separated. A mill then crushes the bottles into flakes, which are washed, dried and melted down. Nozzles shape continuous plastic strands out of the mass. Once they have dried, a machine chops them into small pieces. This results in granulate, otherwise known as recyclate, and this undergoes extrusion to create threads. Wound onto coils, these are used in the final stage to manufacture materials.