what3words in Audi magazine

1. 048 Audi Magazine 059
IN
SEARCH
OF
VORSP RUNG
D URCH
TECHNIK
A new mapping system called
what3words places Vorsprung durch
Technik deep in the Brazilian jungle.
We head off to find it in an Audi Q7
WRITER John Silcox
PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Pajo
KI N G PI N . BUI L D I N G . GONE
The new Audi Q7 strikes a fine figure
cruising through the tree-lined
boulevards of Rio de Janeiro

2. 060 Audi Magazine 061
Three words can be very powerful. Take ‘I love you’,
for example – by uttering this simple formula you can
express your innermost feelings. It neatly wraps up
a plethora of warm, strong and complex personal
emotions one usually associates with their car soulmate.
Vorsprung durch Technik is another case in point, albeit
a German one. Audi’s famous expression sums up the
brand’s core values of innovation through advanced
materials, design and engineering.
But did you know that three words could also be a
place? This is now possible thanks to a new mapping
system and app developed in the UK called what3words.
By dividing the globe into 57 trillion 3m x 3m squares,
the system labels each area with three random words,
which act as a unique address. So the centre of Big Ben is
teams.living.bucket and the entrance to the Statue of
Liberty is palm.shut.long. The idea is to make geo-
referencingmorehumanandtohelpmakefindingplaces
more accurate and memorable, rather than relying on
complicated longitude and latitude co-ordinates.
In addition to English, the app is available in eight
different languages including German, and when you
type in vorsprung, durch and technik, you’ll discover
that these three words are randomly thrown together to
pinpoint a place: more accurately, a 3-metre patch of
Earth, deep in the middle of dense rainforest near to São
Paulo, Brazil. What better way to test out the new Audi
Q7 than venturing out on a South American road trip, to
visit a place called Vorsprung durch Technik?
The adventure starts in Rio de Janeiro, some 300
milesawayfromourdestination.Lowcloudsareburning
off the tall granite mountains that tower above the
concrete city and revealing the first golden rays of
early morning sun. Cruising up Ipanema beach feels
like being in a postcard: the blue sea is peeking out
between the palm trees that border the empty road, and
the only other traffic consists of semi-nude joggers
running along the boardwalk beside us.
Further around the headland lies Rocinha, Rio’s
largest favela or shantytown, but as we enter it reality
slapsusbackintheface.Thetwistyroadquicklynarrows
and disappears from view amid a warren of ragged
houses that cling to the steep hillside and fly in the face
of every building regulation ever invented. Exposed
wires, breezeblocks and corrugated iron seem to be
holding the place together while motorbike taxis, people
and dogs block our path. It’s rush hour so we park up.
Nearly 20 per cent of the city’s poorest citizens live
in favelas like this, some without running water or
electricity. For years they have been run by dangerous
drug gangs, so shoot-outs, vandalism and crime is
commonplace. Our visit isn’t a test of bravery nor an
error of navigation, but rather an opportunity to see
what3words in action. It’s being used here in an
interesting way to help improve the lives of locals.
‘Because the favelas developed illegally, many people
don’t live on recognised streets and don’t have house
numbers or official addresses,’ explains Carlos Pedro da
Silva, the owner of Carteiro Amigo, a company that
delivers mail to residents of Rocinha. ‘They can’t rely on
the traditional post service, so that’s where we come in
– taking parcels directly to their doorsteps.’
Most maps say there are only 15 roads in Rocinha but
Carteiro Amigo, which translates as ‘friendly postman’,
has charted more than 3000. Pedro adds: ‘Not having an
address poses bigger problems than just dealing with
deliveries. Without an address you will struggle to get
a passport, stake a property claim, take out a bank loan
or even run a business. But thanks to what3words, we
can now give people accurate addresses.
In many favelas the influx of modern technology, such
as smartphones and tablets, is bringing about social
change by positively influencing those who use it.
‘New technology is giving favela inhabitants the right
to be citizens,’ says Pedro. ‘It’s also speeding my work up.
All I have to do now when I deliver a parcel is pull out
my phone, type in their what3words and then follow the
map to deliver it.’
Back in the Q7, we imitate him by connecting our
smartphone to the Audi MMI (Multi Media Interface),
opening up the app and searching for vorsprung.durch.
From top to bottom, left to
right: Ipanema beach; the
main street in the favela of
Rocinha; the what3words
app in action; Pedro the
postman on his rounds;
a Brazilian motorway above
the rainforest; an overhead
view of Rocinha; Jefferson,
a roadside banana salesman
VOLUME.RELY.GURU
Pedro the postman is a familiar face on
the streets of Rocinha as he makes his
delivery rounds on foot
G EARBOX. SKI L L . F EASTS
Motorbikes are the main mode of
transport in the favelas but the Q7
manages to carve a path for itself

3. 062 Audi Magazine 063
technik. Using Apple CarPlay we send the plotted
route through to Google Maps, which displays on the
retractable infotainment screen in the middle of the
dashboard. According to the navigation system, without
traffic or stop-offs the journey will take us just over ten
hours: it’s time to hit the road.
We head westwards on a motorway out of the city and
before long we’re climbing into our first high mountain
range. The road is an incredible feat of engineering:
long stretches are built on giant stilts that give you the
impression it’s hovering above the treetops below. As
we fly over dense rainforest, it becomes clear how this
woodland got its name. The heavens open, and to make
matters worse we are soon shrouded in thick cloud, too.
In these less-than-perfect conditions the Q7 comes
into its own. The wide-blade automatic wipers cope
efficiently with the heavy downpour and offer excellent
visibility, which is enhanced by the all-weather
headlights. Despite the alarming number of lorries
straddling both lanes and the even more alarming
number of hairpin bends, we press on in comfort.
Passing over the top of the range is an ear-popping
experience, and the weather clears as we descend
towards the coast. Ahead of us lies the stunning
landscape of the Costa Verde: a captivating coastline
INCREM EN TAL .VOTER. REREAD
The Q7 inspires confidence as it
deftly handles the many twists
and turns on the wet jungle road
stretching 350 miles from Rio to Santos, where virgin
jungle mountainsides dotted with pink flowering
trees dive into the blue-green sea. The well-maintained
highway follows the sinuous shoreline and presents an
ever-changing panorama of rocky outcrops, bays,
islands, peaks and gushing waterfalls.
It’s not just the scenery that’s breathtaking: we step
out of the cool, air-conditioned interior into 32C heat.
Luckily Jefferson, a friendly roadside banana salesman,
sells us some cool drinks and then offers up a few slices
of jackfruit – an unnaturally large and spiky fruit with
yellow, rubbery flesh that tastes like a mix of custard and
bubblegum. Delicious.
A couple of hours of long, fast corners and stunning
tropical scenery later, we arrive in Paraty, a small
colonial town that hasn’t changed much since it was
built by Portuguese settlers in the 1700s. It served as a
port to transport gold back to Europe and its name
means ‘river of fish’ in the language of the indigenous
Guainas Indians, who lived there before colonisation.
Although the gold trade stopped more than 100 years
ago, fishing remains a vibrant activity, although not as
vibrant as tourism, which is now the major industry.
Thousands of visitors come each year to enjoy the
shabby charm of the town’s ancient white stone
buildings with colourful doors and shutters. Many
tourists also fall victim to the uneven flagstones that
pave Paraty’s ancient streets – they’re notorious for
breaking car axles as well as human ankles.
‘If you think the cobbles are bad, you should have tried
driving here before they built the highway,’ laughs
Jarbas Henrique dos Santos, an 85-year-old retired
fisherman. ‘When I was growing up the only paved road
to Paraty was the ancient gold trail, and it was in such a
bad state that most people travelled by boat instead.’
After a stroll around town, we enjoy a delicious dinner
of locally caught giant prawns, razor clams, mussels,
squidandoctopus,finishedoffbyafewglassesofthelocal
tipple: Cachaça, brewed from cane sugar. We sleep
very soundly when we retire to our hotel.
AUDI Q7 3.0 TDI QUATTRO S LINE
Price from £53,835 OTR
Engine 3.0 TDI 272PS
Transmission eight-speed tiptronic
Drivetrain quattro all-wheel drive
0-62mph 6.5 seconds
Top speed 145mph
Efficiency 45.6mpg combined*,
163g/km CO2*
* Standard EU test figure for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving
results. With 21-inch wheels. Car pictured is not to UK specification.

4. 064 Audi Magazine 065
GUESS.HELPER.REFITTING
The rolling hills and man-made
lakes give this area near Paraibuna
a distinctly continental feel
CO L L ECTI VELY. UN M I N D F UL .TAN N I N G
The sun sets over the Atlantic Ocean
and the Q7 is parked on the beach
overlooking the fishing fleet near Paraty
FLEXED.CAUSWAY.DIVINES
The coast of the Costa Verde stretches
on for more than 350 miles between Rio
and Santos, offering unparalleled views
From left to right, top to
bottom: the interior of the Q7;
retired fisherman Jarbas
Henrique dos Santos on the
streets of Paraty, the Costa
Verde; seafood dinner; an
Alpinia Jungle King flower; the
sunset over the Atlantic; the
lakes near Paraibuna; some
local vehicles and a ferryman
IPAD EXTRA
To see the film of our
Brazil trip, download the
Audi Magazine iPad app

5. 066 Audi Magazine 049
The next day we are greeted by yet more sunshine
and follow the coastal road through prime surfing
country. Dozens of small beaches dot the coast, offering
up perfectly barreling waves for those brave enough to
dare. This is Brazil’s bohemian heaven, and you can
sense that heading off the beaten track has become a
lifestyle choice that many aspire to.
Mid-morning, we cross the Tropic of Capricorn, head
inland away from the sea and arrive in a dramatically
different landscape of lakes, gentle foothills and
pastures dotted with rearing cattle. If it wasn’t for the
warm weather and ochre-coloured soil, you might
mistake it for Wales or Italy. The lakes turn out to be one
giant man-made reservoir barring our way. Created 40
years ago by damming a number of local rivers, it covers
72 square miles.
The only way across is by ferry – and when it turns
up, it looks suspiciously flimsy. Although the crew
assure us that it can float up to 45 tonnes safely, we’re
glad our Q7 is lighter than its predecessor, weighing just
2060kg. This improves the vehicle’s handling, comfort
and fuel efficiency, as well as ensuring we all stay dry.
Especially as a giant logging truck turns up just before
we leave and threatens to sink us.
On the other side, the road deteriorates and turns into
beaten earth in some sections until we reach the small
village of Salesópolis, where we stop off to brim up with
diesel. Despite a stop-start time in Rio, and all the
steep hills, the muscular 3.0 TDI V6 engine in our car
proves extremely frugal.
A few miles further, the sat nav takes us off the road
onto a dirt track. This is the last stretch of the journey:
therearelessthan20milestogo,butthesewillbeharder
than anything we have done before. The path cuts across
the hills like a scar, leading into dense undergrowth.
A rustic affair composed of giant chunks of roughly
smashed granite, it was built so that large all-terrain
trucks could pass with machinery to dig a gas pipeline
across the Serra do Mar National Park.
It’s impossible to go any faster than 10mph on this
terrible surface, and in large areas we are reduced to a
crawl, yet still we make progress. Halfway down we meet
Benedito da Souza Junior, a solitary figure out walking
his horses. Benedito reveals he was once part of a crew
that built the road, but in retirement prefers to travel
on horseback when coming out to the forest. ‘These
tracks are made for all-terrain lorries, not cars,’ he
explains. ‘The terrible surface shakes chassis apart and
the large ruts and trenches wreck suspensions. Horses
are more reliable and can go places most cars can’t.’
All the same, we would rather put our faith in the
Audi’s horsepower – all 272PS of it. Having 600Nm of
torque at your disposal makes some tricky situations
easier, especially when it’s delivered through the car’s
quattro all-wheel-drive system. Hill descent control also
proves its weight in gold when crossing deep gullies and
other areas where the road falls down the mountainside.
Finally, after some incredibly challenging driving,
we reach a point where we need to head off-road, across
low shrubs and uneven earth. We go as far as we
physically can before we’re stopped by the dense
vegetation. Vorsprung.durch.technik lies just ahead of
us, but without the navigation system we probably
would have missed it. It’s simply a three-metre-square
patch of perfect jungle, with trees, vines, butterflies and
flowers – not unlike the thousands of square miles of
rainforest around it.
Celebrating our arrival, we pause to contemplate the
view. London feels very far away and being faced with
the raw beauty of undisturbed nature is incredibly
awe-inspiring. It seems amazing that simply typing
Audi’s motto into a mobile phone app has lead us to this
unique part of the world: luckily the random nature of
what3words didn’t indicate a council dump in Skegness
or a cesspit in New Delhi. There’s no doubt that in the Q7
we would have still arrived at our destination but the
pictures would be much less pretty. 
You can read more about the Audi Q7 on page 90. To arrange a
test drive, contact your local Audi Centre. You can download
what3words from the App Store
From left to right, top to
bottom: Benedito with his
horse Faisca; the Q7 crossing
the rough track; a tame emu;
a rustic chapel; the rainforest
of the Serra do Mar
National Park
CRO SSWAYS.TEM PLATE. G I BBERI N G
Brazil is a predominantly Catholic
country, and even in the most remote
parts there are churches and chapels
VORSPRUNG.DURCH.TECHNIK
Our final destination: amid the lush
rainforest hides three square metres that
are designated by Audi’s famous slogan
FlytoRiodeJaneirofromLondonHeathrowwith
BritishAirways.Visitwww.britishairways.com