Screen presence

There’ll be no spoilers here for those who’ve yet to catch the action thriller The Gray Man on Netflix, except to say that Audi is right in the thick of the action with a number of models – including the first time any of the brand’s all-electric models have hit the big screen.

Of course Audi is no stranger to appearing in major films, both with its series production models and also with vehicles specially designed by the brand for specific roles. 

Indeed, since its debut on the big screen way back in 1982 in, Audi has carved out quite a reputation as an audience favourite in everything from pure action to science fiction and romantic comedy. Look hard enough and it’s possible to find just about every model, or at least a variation of every model appearing somewhere in more than 100 films.

Some films have seen the Audi take on a central role, while in others it’s been more of a case of ‘supporting actor’ and in a few even the part of playing an extra. 

Starting what has become a proud tradition in film was the 1982 blockbuster, sci-fi, comedy, feel good classic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. While just about everyone remembers the ‘phone home’ line – how many also remember the Audi 5000 featured in the film?

No one who’s seen the 1998 spy thriller Ronin, will forget the role of the S8 featured in the film or the sound of the car during the chase scenes. Then there was Audi TT Roadster in the second instalment of Mission Impossible in 2000 – a film that was also largely shot in Australia and featured Audi Ambassador Richard Roxburgh as one of the bad guys.

Just a few years later, Audi was asked to adopt a different approach to its involvement in a major production by producing a completely new vehicle from scratch. The car in question came to be known as the RSQ and was the futuristic car driven by Will Smith in the 2004 screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot. With its futuristic styling, ‘non-conventional wheel’s’ and autonomous driving capabilities, the Audi RSQ was years ahead of its time and anyone visiting the Audi museum in Ingolstadt will be able to see the car ‘in the metal’ where it still looks futuristic nearly 20 years later on.

In 2008 Audi launched its very high-profile association with the Marvel franchise with the box office hit Iron Man. This film featured the R8 as one of Robert Downey Jnr’s favourite cars as well as the S5 and Q7 on the receiving end of some very poor treatment throughout the film.

Liam Neeson got behind the wheel of a stolen A8 in his quest to save his daughter in Taken (2008) before the A5 Sportback appeared alongside George Cooney in The American.

In 2012, an A7 Sportback featured in the sci-fi comedy, Robot & Frank with screen legend, Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon and the assassin in the opening scenes of Skyfall that same year attempted to outrun James Bond in an Audi A5 Sportback.

Australia’s own Hugh Jackman starred in the 2013 film, Wolverine in which both the Audi R8 Spyder and the A8 made an appearance and in the same year, the Audi design team were at it again creating a completely new Audi for its role in the science fiction epic, Ender’s Game. Featuring the combined talents of Sir Ben Kingsley and Harrison Ford, Audi developed the Audi Fleet Shuttle For the big budget adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novel.

Then there was the Transformers: Age of Extinction where the A5 Cabriolet and Audi S6 see action, followed by the R8 Spyder, A3 Sedan, S8, S7 and the Audi Q7 all making an appearance in Fifty Shades of Grey. 

In this screen adaptation of the global hit book, the Audi models appeared not just as placements in the film, but because they had been featured in the original books.

It comes as little surprise that an Audi – an R8 no less – would turn up in at least one of the Fast and Furious films, the R8 Coupe taking part in a road race in The Fast and the Furious 7.

For those who like to see plenty of driving action and indeed action in general, the Audi A8 in various guises was integral to the Transporter series, starring alongside Jason Statham – himself a fan of the Audi brand – in Transporter 2 (2005) and again in Transporter 3 (2008) before reprising the role in 2015’s Transporter Refuelled, even though Statham was no longer in the starring role.

Captain America: Civil War exploded onto screens in 2016 complete with an Audi SQ7 chase as well as Robert Downey Jr again at the wheel of an R8 V10 plus. Not only that, but the Audi Prologue design study makes an appearance as Black Panther’s personal transport as well as an A4 driven by Agent 13.

The Audi RS 7 Sportback provided the transportation for genetically engineered killer, Agent 47, in Hitman Agent 47 that same year, while an older model, the Audi V8 (the precursor to the Audi A8) was used in the 2017 action flick, Atomic Blonde with Chalize Theron – both the Audi and Theron taking plenty of hits in their respective roles. 

The 2017 Alien: Covenant was a particularly interesting film collaboration in that it featured an actual Audi vehicle that was developed specifically for a real mission to the moon. The Audi lunar quattro was developed by Audi in collaboration with a group called The part time scientists for a mission to land on the moon and was requested for the film by Ridley Scott because he wanted a vehicle that was authentic rather than just a vehicle developed for the film.

The Marvel connection continued with the A8 in Spider Man: Homecoming, while Ironman again, got his hands on some prime Audi real estate in Avengers: Endgame (The Audi e-tron GT concept) and the A7 Sportback and Audi Q8 in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Of course there have been countless other appearances both large and small, featuring a variety of models in variety of situations and roles. 

The brand made its first foray into the world of animation too when it developed a car for the 2019 animated feature Spies in Disguise. Called the RSQ (like the Audi in I, Robot) it was the transport for secret agent Lance Sterling, voiced by none other than Will Smith, who drove the original RSQ in I, Robot.

The Netflix blockbuster The Gray Man, marks the most recent appearance by Audi in film and the first time series production electric models have seen action – Audi RS e-tron and SQ 4 Sportback e-tron – aside from concept cameos. Both of the RSQ models and the Audi Fleet Shuttle were electric powered, but thus far, these have never gone into series or even limited production. Of course Audi took four stage wins in this year’s Dakar Rally with a vehicle called the RS Q e-tron, which could be called a case of life imitating art – but now we’re really starting top blur the lines between fiction and reality.