Volkswagen Autostadt – Das City
Most of you would probably know of the two tall glass structures with all those Volkswagen cars neatly stacked all the way up. The CarTowers, as they are called, are the defining structures of the Volkswagen Autostadt in Wolfsburg, Germany, and they can hold up to 800 vehicles at any one time before being delivered to customers.
Working operation of the spectacular warehouse is fully automated, but one of the towers is open for entry by visitors and there is a specially designed cell on which visitors are hoisted right to the top of the tower by automated elevators just like it was a car. This is of course but one of many attractions in the Autostadt, open to the public for 363 days a year.
Entrance is not free, and the amount you pay depends on your selected tour package or if you qualify for any concessions. Customers opting to take delivery of their brand new Volkswagen vehicles there are given complimentary entry tickets. Since its opening in 2000, the Autostadt has admitted over 23 million visitors and handed over more than 1.7 million keys to customers.
Built at a cost of €430 million, the 25-hectare Autostadt is situated alongside Germany’s Midland Canal, and right next to Volkswagen’s first ever plant, which is still in operation today manufacturing models such as the Touran and the Tiguan. In fact, the plant’s personnel are already in the midst of preparing assembly lines for the upcoming Golf Mk VII, scheduled for launch next year.
On the other side of the canal is a small off-road track built for visitors to try out the off-roading capabilities of the Touareg, Tiguan, and Amarok. For a fee of €25, anyone with a valid driver’s license can have the opportunity of trying the abilities of these vehicles at challenges such as angled hills, water crossings, log roads and various other obstacles. Not exactly a cheap experience, especially if you’re earning ringgits.
In the Autostadt’s vast compound, visitors are greeted by a futuristic sight that would not look out of place in a science fiction production. Buildings of modern design wonderfully contrast a landscape of lakes and lush greenery. This handiwork of more than 400 individual architects will not set you ablaze with excitement, but it most certainly is to be admired.
Each brand of the Volkswagen Group has a presence in the Autostadt in the form of pavilions housing displays dedicated to the brand itself. Within a stone’s throw of each other, you can find the pavilions of Audi, Lamborghini and Skoda. Seat’s pavilion, the biggest amongst all, is one that is not to be missed, and soon will come the Porsche pavilion, scheduled for opening in Spring 2012. Had things worked out differently, there might even have been a Proton pavilion in that mix as well.
Another attraction in the Autostadt is the ZeitHaus car museum, which features nearly 200 vehicles on display that represent key milestones in the automotive industry. Exhibits include but are not limited to vehicles of the Volkswagen Group, as we sighted a replica of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, BMW 1500, Ford Capri, and Jaguar E-Type. From the Volkswagen family, we have the the original Scirocco, the K70 sedan, an ancestor of the Passat line, the Skoda Popular, and various vehicles of the Auto Union group that eventually united to form Audi.
While cars form the major underlying theme of the place, there is a lot more to the Autostadt than just cars. The Autostadt’s administration has close working ties with the Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture. Lower Saxony is the state which Wolfsburg is situated in, much like Selangor is the state which Shah Alam is situated in. Various educational programmes, many of them centred around the theme of mobility, are organized in the Autostadt.
Speaking of culture, the Autostadt also plays host to the yearly international Movimentos Festival Weeks. Each year, some 30,000 visitors arrive at Wolfsburg to witness performances by renowned dance companies from around the world, as well as pop, jazz, and classical music concerts or stage drama shows. Food and lodging are both offered inside the Autostadt as well. There are thirteen restaurants for visitors to choose from, and five-star accommodation is provided by the Ritz-Carlton.
The Autostadt is not strictly a must-visit if you go to Germany, but it is a worthwhile entry into your itinerary if you’re traveling past Wolfsburg, whether you’re a car nut or not. The architecture of the place is worth admiring, and you’re a car enthusiast, the ZeitHaus museum and the Volkswagen brand pavilions most certain make for treasure troves of information not available anywhere else in the world.
