Audi A6 Sportback e-Tron - long-term review

Designers—well, they’ve certainly been in the headlines recently, with the unveiling of the electric Ferrari Luce by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive. As a designer myself, I can sympathise with the scrutiny they face. It’s not easy working in a field where it often feels like everyone believes they could do better.

Would a written piece be criticised as relentlessly as a piece of design? Probably not. That attitude often starts early. At school, art and design are rarely treated with the same seriousness as more “academic” subjects. They’re dismissed as child’s play, or as a fallback for those perceived to be less capable. And that perception lingers, shaping how design is judged well into adulthood.

But before the Luce, there was the controversial Jaguar 01—though that was driven more by its marketing than the design itself. Now Audi has entered the conversation with the Nuvolari. Of the three, it’s arguably been the most positively received, and it’s becoming clear where their new design language is heading.

My favourite era of Audi design began in 1999 with the TT. Its clean surfacing demonstrated a fresher modern approach while still having all the practicality you needed. Form followed function. Is history now repeating itself with this Nu wave?

It got me wondering: what might a new Audi A6 look like in this Nu wave? And more importantly, what elements of today’s design will actually survive the transition?

And then something totally surprising happened.

My son climbed into the A6, pointed at a small, unassuming circle next to the phone charger platform and asked, “What does that do?”

“That,” I said, “is a cigarette lighter.”

He looked at me, confused. “How does it work? And… why?”

So, I explained. You push it in, wait a few seconds, and it pops back out—now a glowing ring hot enough to light a cigarette and give third degree finger burns (yes we’ve all been there). A small, slightly absurd piece of design by today’s standards. And yet, there it was. Still present. Still functional.

We both looked at it for a moment—equally surprised that it still exists in a modern car.

And that’s the thing about design. When it works, it can outlive the purpose it was built for. It becomes embedded—less about function, more about familiarity. A quiet relic of our time.

Get design right, and it feels timeless. Get it wrong, and suddenly everyone has an opinion. So, what about the future of the design of the Audi A6? Thanks to the power of AI—and a little prompting from me, a designer—here’s one possible answer.

Now I’m no designer - oh wait - but that looks pretty convincing to me. I just hope it still has a cigarette lighter. If not for function, then at least for nostalgia.