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In all fairness, Audi announced three years ago they will start changing the shape of their grille to what we see here today on the A8. That was before Hyundai released a similar shape. So really, Audi is not copying Hyundai. Audi was just slow to implement their current trend while Hyundai was quicker.
I'm really surprised that they got rid of the MMI controller. Not that I had any particular good or bad feeling towards it, but I am proud that they were willing to get past tradition or status quo and do something new
Lol no. The single frame grill has always been Audi's and Audi is completely free in how they interpret it.
Hyundai should come up with their own grill.
Audi is the leader.
Hyundai is the other way around, you are correct. Hyundai is like a 2012 BMW where the hood stops short of the end of the front of the vehicle. That style is out, and has been for a couple of years.
Rest assured, the next gen Hyundai and Mazdas will copy the trend, they always do.
I know that in 2006, the head stylist from Audi - Peter Schreyer switched over to Hyundai/Kia.
However, who was the first to cut the two corners and release the pentagonal-like irregular hexagon grille?
Was it Hyundai/Kia or Audi?
IMO, the Hyundai/Kia shape looks sharper and nicer in my eyes than the Audi A8 grille - which looks a bit boring/sloppy/stodgy.
However, certain versions of Audi's pentagonal-like irregular hexagon looks nice especially the new A4, and to a lesser extent, the current A7 and the recently discontinued A8.
Looks exceedingly boring to me, as with the other Audi grilles above
I agree the similarly shaped Hyundai grille looks a little sharper, regardless of who copied who, but still not a fan of the grilles of either brand.
Automotive News on its Cars and Concepts page has a very interesting article on designs, copy cat cues and what originality should mean in practice rather than theory. It's over two years old, but it's still relevant. IMO especially when you look at the A8's styling cues being adopted by other manufacturers (hello Lincoln MKZ).
The whole article is a good read, but what I really like is how it calls out the Nissan Titan's shameless cribbing of the F150, once you read this and then go down the page.
Designers’ work is influenced by government safety regulations, their own nationalities, cultures, interests and influences. But corporate pressures also can steer design.Retired General Motors designer Kip Wasenko, who in the late 1990s helped develop Cadillac’s Art & Science design language -- and penned many GM vehicles from the 1970s to the early 2000s -- told me: “It is the responsibility of design leadership to ensure a brand’s design, integrity and unique brand character, and to not allow their designers to copy another brand’s designs.”Could the quest for higher fuel economy, borne out of efficient aerodynamics, be causing automakers to arrive at similar designs?“There are an infinite number of aerodynamic solutions and that should not be the excuse for ‘look alike’ designs,” Wasenko said. Legendary GM design boss “Bill Mitchell was never guilty of this.”Peter Davis, chief designer for Tata Technologies, said creativity also should trump government safety regulations. Davis, a former top GM designer, said: “I regard government regulations as just a higher hurdle to jump over.” But even Ford knows what it is like to have some of its design cues cribbed by another automaker.
With respect to the Audi A8 being boring. It's not really a case of boring or bland vs edgy and fashionable. It's a case of playing to the right market. A8 customers don't buy a lot of these but when they do plunk down the outrageous dollars for one, they want something that, to their eyes looks really nice - but not outrageous. Some of these modern car designs seem to want to try to look like Gene Simmons in his KISS makeup outfit.
Look at the A8's evolution from as far back as 2003 up to now. It's the same shape updated constantly with new tech and drive-trains. But it's the same shape. That says it's not interested in gimmicks and fads. And of course this style was taken over pretty quickly by others, so now it looks boring because it's being copied. This is the 03 version. You will see these styling cues on cars like the MKZ. From the sleek side profiles to the C pillar. But Audi did it earlier.
Hyundai is the other way around, you are correct. Hyundai is like a 2012 BMW where the hood stops short of the end of the front of the vehicle. That style is out, and has been for a couple of years.
Rest assured, the next gen Hyundai and Mazdas will copy the trend, they always do.
That hood shape is for pedestrian protection, and isn't pretty. Other automakers have come up with prettier solutions.
