Porsche The elegance of simplicity.

The elegance of simplicity.

Connect
Reading time: 3 min
1/6/2019

You meet a calm, relaxed guy when you meet Stefan Bräutigam. But when you see his design work and range of international awards, you can already sense that behind the relaxed facade lurks a passion for speed. We want to find out more, and visit the designer in his adopted home of Hamburg to have him test the new Porsche 992 Carrera S and Connect Services.

Visual inspiration. Stefan Bräutigam arranges pictures for a mood board to show the design team his ideas.

"I've been a Porsche enthusiast since I was a child."

After lunch, we meet Stefan Bräutigam for a coffee at his favorite roasting house. He invited us to his design agency – a red clinker building in Hamburg-Ottensen, which combines rough, Hanseatic industrial charm with a contemporary interior. The co-founder and owner of Bräutigam & Rotermund has consistently turned his passion into his profession. His mission? Stringent design helps brands become more recognizable. Two years after foundation, he and his partner were voted Newcomer Agency of 2014 by Germany's renowned Art Directors Club. One of his current projects is the new corporate design for Europe's largest club festival, the Hamburg Reeperbahn Festival.

What inspires him? Sports cars from Zuffenhausen placed perfectly on the road. His heart above all beats for his 964 C2 from 1992 in black – the absolute dream car of his childhood. And even today, he makes little effort in hiding the anticipation of driving the new 992 Carrera S with Porsche Connect. We see the sun coming out of the Hamburg sky and know: Now it's time to get behind the wheel. The My Porsche app is freshly installed on his smartphone and is already waiting to connect to the sports car.

Stress out, inspiration in. Stefan Bräutigam puts on his sunglasses and gets behind the wheel. Now it's off around the streets of Hamburg. Before the journey begins, he connects the My Porsche app on his mobile phone to the vehicle, and transfers the destination directly from his calendar to the PCM. The user interface is quickly and intuitively accessible to the digitally experienced designer. He grins: A quick weather check – of course directly from the vehicle's PCM. Hamburg's stormy weather may be legendary, but we are in luck today: the sun is out.

While driving, you can feel that this is his city. For him, almost every corner is connected with stories and memories. Parties, exhibitions, concerts, but also quiet moments in the parks along the Elbe and the endless vastness of the harbor area. He enthusiastically points to a new building he hadn't noticed before. He enjoys living here in Hamburg with his family, and is well connected to the local community. He attends Porsche events frequently, and meets other enthusiasts, both analog and digital, especially the #heckcrew. He not only loves but also lives good car design, as evidenced by his Instagram posts, where he prefers to upload sports cars with a skilled eye. We notice yet another talent: He has an excellent feeling for curves and knows exactly when he can cruise in a relaxed manner or accelerate elegantly.

"As a designer, I am of course open to innovation, and I was very interested in testing the Porsche Connect services."

We park the 911 at one of his favorite places in Hamburg's Oberhafen for a souvenir photo. In passing, he also explains to us the different styles of the street artists who have left their mark on the old industrial facades along the Elbe. Then it's back to the agency. We chat a bit about the day. In his opinion, Porsche has taken up digitization perfectly with the Connect services and made life easier: Less stress with traffic jams, a perfect overview of vehicle consumption and condition, and access to the best tracks from his many music playlists at any time. Especially in his job, Stefan Bräutigam loves innovative tools that simplify everyday life. And here, the new 992 Carrera S with its Connect services fits in seamlessly. When he parks it again in the agency car park, right next to his classic, he gets out and lets his eyes wander back and forth between the two models – there are a good three decades of automobile history between them. It's a good thing he doesn't have to make up his mind now.

"You can really feel how Porsche DNA is developing. It's very interesting how digitalization has taken place here, too. The apps integrate themselves into everyday life and actually make your life easier."

"I really like living in Hamburg. I feel totally at home here, because there are so many contrasts, yet everything is in harmony. This inspires me."