(October 15, 2014) INGOLSTADT, Germany — Audi is launching into a new era of design. At the Los Angeles Auto Show, which begins on Nov. 19, Audi is presenting the first show car that bears the signature of the new Head of Design Marc Lichte.

For Lichte, 45, who was appointed head of Audi Design in February, the core competences of the brand — sportiness, lightweight design and quattro drive — all have a high level of importance. Audi says that in a highly emotional and new design idiom, Lichte communicates the technical competence and uncompromising product quality of the Audi brand — vehicle design is becoming an even stronger expression of progressive technology.

The concept car at the Los Angeles Auto Show marks a new beginning in Audi Design — both exterior and interior.

Lichte began his professional career at Volkswagen AG in 1996 while still a student at Pforzheim University studying transportation design.

After joining the company, he worked as an exterior designer before being appointed head of the Exterior Design Studio in 2006. At Volkswagen, Lichte worked on production models that included the Golf 5, 6 and 7, the Passat 6, 7 and 8, the Touareg and the Phaeton.