Audi’s Relationship with the Cinema

As a producer of trusty, reliable and classy vehicles, Audi is a viable option for many characters in the film industry, providing the fusion between sporty and comfort driving. Through this article, collated by UK Audi dealership, Vindis, we’re analysing the times this German car giant has found its way into the big screen.

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy 

Audi had a large presence in all the films compiling the fifty shades trilogy. The films follow the lives of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele, a businessman and a student, as their relationship unfolds.

The appearances were solely down to the partnership they agreed to alongside Universal Pictures. That said, we are confident Audi will have been chuffed with their decision to enter into business with the film producer, considering the movies have successfully topped $1billion in the box office. 

The three-part franchise offers appearances from an R8 Spyder, an Audi S8 D4, and a 2017 S7. In the sequel Fifty Shades Darker, a set of Audi Q7 cars and an A3 took centre stage, with both the R8 and Q7 returning for Fifty Shades Freed.

Mission: Impossible II 

At the start of the 2000s, Tom Cruise was preparing for his return to the big screen with the second iteration of Mission Impossible. Meanwhile Audi were preparing to place Nyah Nordoff-Hall, the nemesis of main character Ethan Hunt, in one of their cars. Hunt is behind the wheel of a Porsche Boxster and Nordoff-Hall tries to hold him off while driving an Audi TT — suffice to say that the pursuit between the two German-made cars into oncoming traffic is filled with nail-biting and edge-of-your-seat drama! 

We reckon it’s time to whip out the DVD player and grab some popcorn to indulge in some quality German engineering by watching this movie, especially with the recent release of Mission: Impossible – Fallout still in our minds. 

The Marvel Films 

If it isn’t the best, it is certainly up there with the best movie franchises ever. Of course, we are talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With 23 films released to date, a total of $22.58 billion at the box office, and more movies still to come, things can only get better — including the upcoming release of Black Widow, featuring Scarlet Johansson and Robert Downey Jr.

Marvel merges both comic and vehicle lovers into one place — a chance to see some of your favourite superheroes in action, while getting the opportunity to admire a collection of stunning Audis. In each of the standalone Iron Man films, at least one Audi has featured. A 2007 R8 and S5 B8 can be found in the first movie, a 2009 A8 LD3 and 2010 R8 Spyder are spotted in the sequel, and a 2012 S7 and R8 e-tron both feature in Iron Man 3. The R8 e-tron also turned up at a VIP screening of Iron Man 3 at London’s Leicester Square a few days before the movie’s general release!

Captain America: Civil War is just as jam-packed with Audi vehicles as the Iron Man trilogy was. There is an abundance to be spotted from start to finish. Within its two hours and 27 minutes runtime, you can see the 2017 Audi R8 V10 Plus, the 2017 SQ7, the 2017 A4, the 2016 A7 Sportback and even the Audi prologue concept car — a vehicle hailed as “a ‘signature car’ for Audi” by Prof. Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Board Member for Development at Audi.

Be on the lookout for an Audi R8, A6 Hybrid and A3 as you watch the excitement unfold in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Plus, there’s an Audi TTS Roadster, R8 Spyder, Q7, and A8 during Spider-Man Homecoming — the first standalone film by our favourite web-slinger since he became involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Looking beyond just the MCU, there are a number of other Marvel movies which Audi has been featured in. An R8 Spyder features in The Wolverine — the titular protagonist’s actor Hugh Jackman even turned up at the London Leicester Square premiere of the film in the same car — and an A8 plays a role in the 2015 big screen edition of Fantastic Four.

Furious 7

The Fast and Furious series is the one where you would expect to see a number of vehicle cameos and Audi is no stranger to being in this series. After all, this is a series which features street racing, heists and espionage using all manners of vehicles and has so far spanned eight main series entries and two additional short films — grossing in excess of $5 billion to date!

We’ll just look at the main series of the films. In the early moments of the film, which featured one final appearance from the series regular, Paul Walker, who was tragically killed in a car crash while Furious 7 was being filmed, the Audi R8 made an appearance. A movie that clutched at the heartstrings of all those watching included the Audi in a battle against a classic Plymouth Barracuda. 

i, ROBOT

The only film on the list to showcase a vehicle not found on the roads in real life (not any time soon at least). I, Robot however, offered viewers a window on the future, with car enthusiasts given the opportunity to see what Audi cars may look like in the year 2035, to be exact.

For the first occasion where Audi designed a vehicle just for a movie, they went with a vehicle capable of autonomous driving named the Audi RSQ. The vehicle allowed Will Smith’s Chicago police detective character Del Spooner to press a button to enable the car to take control of the driving. 

The vehicle included numerous other futuristic and nifty features, including balls to replace the wheels in order to allow for diagonal and horizontal driving. However, the typical single-frame grille and the presence of those four instantly recognisable silver rings let viewers clearly know that this car was without question an Audi.

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