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Auto Express Car Reviews
Audi, Rover In Grille Face-off
The fall-out over the grille design of the Rover 75 V8 has continued in the aftermath of the car's Geneva Motor Show debut. Is Audi talking to its lawyers because the front end looks so similar to that of the new A6? More importantly, which firm had the idea first? Auto Express set out to investigate.
By Giles Chapman
17th March 2004
The 75 V8 was overseen by design chief Peter Stevens, and the British firm wanted to recall the days when prime ministers such as Harold Macmillan and Harold Wilson used V8 Rover P5Bs to sweep into Downing Street, back in the Sixties. In fact, the grille of this machine was first seen on Rover's 1959 3.0-litre.
Audi's A6 nose is reminiscent of the 1938 Auto Union Type C grand prix car that brought many victories to the German firm before World War Two. More recently, the design was previewed by show models such as the Rosemeyer (2000) and Nuvolari (2003). The former was faithful to the Type C, but the latter inverted the shape to be wider at the top - and it is this styling that has been transferred to the new A6.
Both car makers were standing firm on the issue. An Audi spokesman said: "We appreciate that our colleagues in the industry are entitled to look to their heritage during the design process, just as we have." Meanwhile, a Rover insider told us: "Commentary on the A6 is understandable, but we all have strong memories of the P5B - even the Queen had one."
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