(Mon 12 Oct 09)

After six years of planning and building, the largest Audi Centre on the planet is being opened in London.

West London Audi was designed by architects Wilkinson Eyre (whose work also includes the Millennium Bridge in Gateshead) and has involved a £45 million investment by Audi UK. Operated by the Sytner Group, it has seven stories - two of them below ground - with a total floor area of 190,000 square feet. The top two stories feature a heritage section, an exhibition space and meeting rooms, while underneath there is showroom space for 116 cars plus a 32-bay workshop.

"In its scope, size and complexity, West London Audi is like nothing we've built before," says Audi UK Director Jeremy Hicks. "It is 100 times more complicated than a normal retail centre. The sheer scale of this project is very emblematic of the increasing significance of Audi not only in the UK but globally."

The official opening ceremony consists of a party which will be attended by, among others, Bryan Ferry, Gordon Ramsay, Dominic Cooper, Jamie and Louise Redknapp, Phil Glenister, Keeley Hawes, Rupert Penry-Jones, James Cordon, Ronan Keating, Beverley Knight, Davina McCall, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Jackie Stewart.

At the same event, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder (pictured) will make its UK debut. Priced from £109,580, it will be available to order from next month, and customer deliveries will start early next year.

West London Audi officially opens for business next Monday (October 19).

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