Design triumph

Already receiving widespread popular acclaim since its unveiling in September last year, the Audi Concept C has added not one but four major awards to a growing list of accolades.

The minimalist design of the all-electric convertible sportscar represents more than ‘just’ another design study, but rather points to the future design language for the brand, making it an extremely significant vehicle. Now its paired back design strategy has been recognised by several leading international publications, praising its interpretation of electric mobility and its treatment of key areas such as lighting.

The Audi Concept C adds the 2025 Car Design News People Award – Best Concept Car Design, 2026 Car Design Award presented by Auto & Design – Best Concept Design, 2026 Top Gear EV Award – Best Concept Car Design and the Driving Vision News (DVN) Awards – Best Concept Car Lighting to the tremendous reception it receives from the public wherever the car is shown.

One of the jurors for the Car Design News People Award said of the Concept C:

“This masterful reinterpretation of Audi's heritage establishes the Concept C as a modern academy standard in automotive design.”

While Auto & Design called the car  a ‘masterclass in in radical simplicity’ and described it as ‘minimalism back to the heart of contemporary car design, with a pure and coherent form that appears sculpted from a single block of aluminium, faithful to the brand’s heritage yet futuristic’.

Driving Vision News praised the Concept C’s lighting as an integral part of its overall design and character, while jurors for Top Gear’s EV Award for the Best Concept Car said:

“The best car designs do more than simply look right at first sight. They reach deeper and activate nostalgia, desire and the sudden need to justify parting with a large sum of cash for a car you don't really need.”

The magazine went on to also praise the minimalist interior design ‘over an iMax of technology’.

The industry and critical recognition is particularly pleasing for Audi’s Chief Creative Officer Massimo Frascella and his team, wholeheartedly endorsing the intended future direction of design for the brand.

“All these awards are a powerful recognition of the creativity, talent, and passion of the team,” says Frascella.

“But what makes them even more significant is that the Concept C is more than a car – it marks the introduction of a new design philosophy at a decisive moment for the company and the Audi brand.”