On December 7, 1972, NASA launched the Apollo program’s final spacecraft bound for the moon. And 45 years later, Audi is commemorating the historic event with “Apollo 45” – a commercial specially created for the occasion. In about 65 seconds it pays homage to the famous Inuit-themed quattro commercial from the 1990s and gives viewers a peek at the “Mission to the Moon” with the Audi lunar quattro.
The moon rover is scheduled to begin its mission in 2019. The new commercial is set in the year 2030. Two astronauts exploring the lunar surface come across tracks – the footprint left by Neil Armstrong in 1969, tracks from the Lunar Rover that landed in 1972 with Apollo 17, and the tire track impressions made by the Audi lunar quattro from the year 2019.
The spot picks up on elements of the 1990s commercial, in which an Inuit father teaches his son how to identify the impressions various animals leave in the snow – and concludes with the tire tracks of an Audi quattro. Audi produced the new video in remembrance of the final manned space flight to the moon 45 years ago with Apollo 17, while also publicizing its own role in a moon mission with the Audi lunar quattro.
The Ingolstadt-based premium automaker is now preparing the Audi lunar quattro for a real-life mission to the moon. Since 2015, Audi has been jointly developing the rover with a team led by Robert Boehme, the founder and CEO of PTScientists (“Part-Time Scientists”). Audi experts are supporting the Berlin-based start-up, particularly with their expertise in the areas of all-wheel drive (quattro technology), lightweight construction, electric and plug-in hybrid drives (e-tron), and design optimization.
