Audi Ambassador, Vincent Fantauzzo, supports CYCA SOLAS Trusts 17 August 2014 Audi brand Ambassador and celebrated artist, Vincent Fantauzzo will donate 20 percent of exhibition sales to CYCA Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Trusts Fantauzzo’s ‘Offshore’ exhibition was created for 2014 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week The five large format paintings by Fantauzzo are valued at $45,000 Celebrated Australian artist, Vincent Fantauzzo, will donate 20 percent of the proceeds of his new ‘Offshore’ exhibition to the CYCA Safety of Life at Sea Trusts (SOLAS), following the exhibition’s opening at the 2014 Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. The exhibition was officially opened on Saturday 16 August 2014 by Vincent, together with Audi’s managing director, Andrew Doyle, the Oatley Family, and Fantauzzo’s wife, actress Asher Keddie. Fantauzzo has created the five large format paintings for the major sailing and social event, which is sponsored by Audi and held on Hamilton Island from 16 – 23 August 2014. Following the exhibition opening, the paintings will be available for sale throughout the major event, and 20 percent of the proceeds with be donated to the CYCA SOLAS Trusts. Each painting has been valued at $45,000. “In creating this exhibition of seascapes I was interested in what compels an individual to pursue a passion that can’t be explained, whether it be the arts, driving, food, fashion, nature or sailing. There is often no explanation,” Vincent Fantauzzo commented about the exhibition. “Passion drives people to make change and to aim for greatness, and I am compelled by that. Like art, sailing inspires and ignites passion. I was inspired by the idea that the ocean can be so mysterious, elusive, unpredictable. Creating this exhibition was an opportunity for me to understand what the ocean evokes for those who can’t resist it, and to learn and share with others who live their lives passionately,” Fantauzzo added. Vincent Fantauzzo became an Audi Ambassador in 2013. About the CYCA SOLAS Trust Following the tragic loss of six lives in the 1998 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the CYCA Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Safety of Life at Sea Trusts were established by the Club and a number of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s then Directors. The Trusts are managed by a company trustee with five Board Members including a Chairman. The Trusts’ objectives are to: - Assist the immediate needy family of those lost at sea during Yachting Australia sanctioned races - Provide assistance to search and rescue organisations - Foster research and training to improve procedures and equipment for use at sea. Since they were established in 1999, the Trusts have distributed in excess of $920,000 to search and rescue organisations Australia wide. – ENDS – The Audi Group delivered around 1,575,500 cars of the Audi brand to customers in 2013. From January through the end of September 2013 the Company posted revenue of €37 billion and an operating profit of €3.74 billion. The Audi Group is globally present in more than 100 markets and produces vehicles in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm (Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia), Aurangabad (India), Changchun (China) and Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with four rings produces cars also in Foshan (China) since December 2013, in 2015 in São José dos Pinhais (Brazil) and 2016 in San José Chiapa (Mexico). AUDI AG’s wholly owned subsidiaries include quattro GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and the sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The Group currently employs almost 73,000 people worldwide, including around 50,000 in Germany. Total investment of around €22 billion is planned from 2014 to 2018 – mainly in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi lives up to its corporate responsibility and has strategically established the principle of sustainability for its products and processes. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.