Audi unveils new interactive showroom design

Business Week: Earlier this week, Audi unveiled its new R8 roadster — and a sleek new showroom design to accompany it. At the New York City Audi Forum, there are no cheesy banners announcing financing offers, no sales staff, and certainly no paperwork in evidence. Short films highlighting new products and the company's F1 and Rally racing feats are beamed onto multiple 63-inch flat-screens throughout the space, including a 6-by-8-feet high-definition LED screen that floats high in the air, moving along an S-curve track in the ceiling.

The L-shaped floor plan is divided into three main areas. On a stage in the front, a demo model is bathed in fashion show lights while another area nearby is populated by glass cases with Audi merchandise and memorabilia that isn't for sale. Touchscreen kiosks throughout let visitors "virtually" customize any of Audi's U.S. models.

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