Among all the AI-generated slop on the internet, particularly social media, Andreas Mindt, Head of Volkswagen Group and Brand Design, recently reminded us there is genuine talent in the world. He highlighted the work of Volkswagen design intern Fabian Reitz on his own Instagram account, and the work in question is something special: a stunning Volkswagen-badged sports car.
Named the ID.DIN T14, Mindt explains that it’s an exploration of how precision, structure and functionality can become the starting point for a distinctive automotive design study.
Design: A Bold Concept
Volkswagen ID.DIN T14 Design StudyVolkswagen
Of course, by definition, Reitz’s design study here is not destined for production. It’s not even in the realm of something Volkswagen might release with its slick, grand-touring hypercar style, although it does have some Bentley there if you squint at the profile. Or, if you’re feeling less charitable, a tuner-owned Chrysler 300. If that tuner had access to some serious underbody aerodynamics.
What we’re not sure about is what this is meant to be, but it would make a brilliant fresh Hollywood take on the Batmobile. Reitz appears to have pulled a bunch of common threads together to build a whole new thing. The helmet visor-style wrap-around windscreen is pure modern Le Mans Hypercar, the thin body with wide fenders is Aston Martin-esque, while the back is racing brutalism.
Then, the front of Reitz’s ID.DIN T14 is sculptural with its long hood and wide circular arc shape, but then mixed with soullessly digital LED lights. That sounds like a criticism, but this is a design study, not a design proposal.
The Reason For Design Study
Volkswagen ID.DIN T14 Design StudyVolkswagen
Designers don’t enter the world fully formed, and a design study is about learning, whether for the benefit of a student or to explore ideas, or both. It looks like Reitz is experimenting with bringing together the function and form of race cars with a modern electric grand tourer through the lens of mathematics. Or, as Mindt puts it: “The result is a bold concept with clear proportions, reduced surfaces and a strong graphic character — inspired by the visual world of technical drawings, grids, and functional details.”
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters
Volkswagen ID.DIN T14 Design StudyVolkswagen
This is not an insight into where Volkswagen might be going with its design language, but it’s good to know that Volkswagen is bringing through a new generation of creative designers, and they’re thinking about the ID line of electric vehicles. Right now, Volkswagen’s ID lineup is not impressing people with its exterior design.
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The ID. Buzz shows that Volkswagen can do cohesively fun things with design, but for the most part it seems to be deliberately conservative and pushing as many inoffensive-looking vehicles out the door as possible. Which is fine if you just want to sell as many cars as possible, but it doesn’t attract people to a brand.
