Sports saloon and chauffeur car in one. The interior, which features wrap-around ambient lighting, has an extremely elegant look. The C Coupé GTE has been designed as a sporty four-seater car to appeal to keen owner-drivers on the one hand whilst also being an ideal chauffeur car. In the driver area, the dash panel and the interior architecture have therefore been designed with a focus on the technical concept and on dynamic performance aspects. By contrast, the design team gave the rear a lounge character. The C Coupé GTE boasts an interior length of 1,882 mm – resulting in lots of space for the rear passengers.

Chauffeur mode. The infotainment concept also follows this idea. Here, Volkswagen has developed a chauffeur mode where information relevant for the driver about the manager’s appointments can be transferred via a smartphone to the infotainment system. This means that the chauffeur has a chronological list of appointments specially tailored to his tasks and is able to provide his boss with further information upon reaching the destination, for example the floor and room of the appointment. Parallel to this, the appointment list also serves to plan the navigation route for the day. However, the chauffeur does not have all the information in the appointment schedule but rather specifically filtered information for the infotainment system to facilitate punctual arrival at the destination. Last but not least, the last part of the route to be covered on foot can be transmitted to the passenger’s smartphone as “Last Mile Navigation”.

Dash panel. The architecture of the dash panel – that comes in an anthracite basic colour (“Blizzard Grey”) – has a consistent horizontal structure. Below the air vents there is a Damascus steel trim – produced in a highly demanding craftsmanship process. To make a part in Damascus steel, several layers of steel are placed on top of one another and forged together again. Subsequent crosswise or lengthwise separation of the layers enables a specific pattern to be created, which is given a clear structure with grinding and polishing. Running parallel with the narrow line of the ambient lighting, this trim also frames the instruments and is taken up again in the door trim panels. The door panels are refined by wood trim following their shape which lends the highly technical interior a warm, natural atmosphere. A clock with an analogue appearance is integrated in the middle of the instruments. Further information synchronised with the infotainment content and also information on the vehicle status and the assistance systems can be displayed on this multifunctional smart clock. A further important function is the visual display of an interior air purification system (air quality index). A high-gloss black trim element underlines the technical character of the dash panel. The infotainment system and the digital instrument cluster (Active Info Display) are seamlessly integrated here. This trim element, too, are taken up again in the door panels where it extends all the way to the B-pillars.

Infotainment system. The 12.3-inch touchscreen of the central infotainment system is extremely large. The display with its high-definition resolution is not a solitary display element but rather a sculptural part of the interior architecture. In the “Today’s Schedule” menu the driver can call up the (filtered) information relevant for him about the appointments of his rear passenger that were synchronised with the navigation system. The touchscreen is a large black panel display that is also the interface for the climate control.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen of the central infotainment system is extremely large. The display with its high-definition resolution is not a solitary display element but rather a sculptural part of the interior architecture. In the “Today’s Schedule” menu the driver can call up the (filtered) information relevant for him about the appointments of his rear passenger that were synchronised with the navigation system. The touchscreen is a large black panel display that is also the interface for the climate control. Active Info Display. The instrument cluster is a newly designed Active Info Display in high-definition resolution with 3D visual effect. The display has a 12.3-inch screen diagonal and was designed in such a way that the edges of the virtual space blend into the real border of the instrument cluster – this is done by an ambient light with a three-dimensional effect. Thus, no bordered black panel display is visible; rather one sees a free-form surface, which structures the three-dimensional space without perceptible borders by means of lighting effects. This attains a previously unknown high level of sophistication. In its basic configuration, the digital instrument depicts two round instruments; on the left there is the power meter, on the right the speedometer. A wide variety of information can be displayed between these two instruments, for example a playlist, current vehicle data and the map of the navigation system. A realistic 3D display of striking or well-known buildings (landmarks) in navigation mode is particularly helpful for orientation. The new free-form surface makes the round instruments appear to hover in virtual space. The graphics of the displays change according to the driving mode (E-Mode or GTE mode).

Front centre console. The concept car features a continuous centre console. Between the front seats near the selector lever it ascends towards the infotainment system. The selector lever for the 8-speed automatic gearbox – arranged on two domes in the left area of the centre console – appears to float. The selector lever is equipped with a shift-by-wire control logic: like a joystick, the lever is always in a central middle position; a short push activates R, N and D. The driver selects the P position with a separate button that is integrated in the selector lever.

Rear. A look at the rear, fitted with two individual seats, immediately shows that the most important passenger sits in the back of the C Coupé GTE. In terms of form, the whole design of the rear is therefore in keeping with the concept of a chauffeur vehicle. Whilst, as described, the design of the driver area has a very technical focus, the rear of the interior is characterised by a very homely atmosphere. It therefore features a higher proportion of materials such as wood and leather, creating a kind of lounge atmosphere. The door panels with wooden elements following their shape – at the rear reaching to the B-pillars and much larger and higher than at the front – create a cocoon-like feeling. The shape of the wood, the trim elements and the wrap-around ambient lighting visually connect the rear and the driver’s area with each other.

Touch panels. There are two personal touchscreens (4.5 inch) in the centre console between the rear seats which are used for individual seat position adjustment and climate control for the left and right area at the rear. The rear passengers use a mobile media control unit – such as a smartphone or a tablet – to control the two screens anchored in the backrests of the front seats (each 9.5 inch). These displays are part of a black panel display application that extends across the whole width of the backrest. Functions such as operating the 600-watt Dynaudio sound system are also controlled interactively via the media control unit. Classy: the Dynaudio loudspeakers in the doors featuring aluminium trims as design elements (at the front and rear) that extend across the whole panel and emphasise the length of the doors. Important for privacy in the rear: along with buttons for the electric windows, buttons are also integrated in the doors for operating the side blinds and for infinitely variable darkening of the panoramic sliding roof; the otherwise transparent roof is darkened with an electrochromic foil integrated in the “switchable” glass. A high-gloss black “comfort traverse” as a roof console houses two folding vanity mirrors and an illuminated surface. Refreshing drinks are easily accessible between the rear seats in a cooled champagne box.