ID.4 AR Racing
View the case- Brand
- Volkswagen
- Year
- 2020
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Fake-Up
Objective
Volkswagen wanted the ID.4 launch to run on fun rather than ads, giving locked-down audiences something playful to do with the car when they couldn't see it in person. The game folds in the model's own story — its EV battery management and VW's brand shapes — as the actual content of play, not decoration around it.
Solution
You open the game in your phone's browser, point the camera at any flat surface, and a miniature 3D racetrack — its layout traced from VW and ID.4 branding — unfolds on your floor or desk. You steer a tiny ID.4 around it live against other players, easing off the throttle into corners and back on out of them like a slot car. Pick a four-lap time trial or an endurance mode where you have to pace your battery to survive the distance, grabbing power-ups along the way; watch closely and the cars even dip below the floor's surface, headlights glowing from underneath. When you cross the line, you land on an arcade leaderboard with your time and initials, plus a personal result card animated for sharing on social media.
- 1
The player opens a link on their phone's browser to start — no app download or special hardware required, just a phone and a flat surface nearby.
- 2
Pointing the camera at the floor or a tabletop, the player places a full 3D race track in their physical space; the track's layout is shaped directly from the VW and ID.4 branding rather than a generic loop.
- 3
The player picks one of two modes: a four-lap race scored against a leaderboard, or an endurance challenge built around managing the car's battery charge.
- 4
Driving a miniature VW ID.4, the player races other players in real time, feathering speed into and out of corners slot-car style to hold the optimal line, and grabs bonuses and power-ups along the way to get ahead of the pack.
- 5
In certain sections of the track the cars dip below the surface they're racing on, visible only by their headlights shining up from underneath.
- 6
Vehicle features and messaging are woven into the run itself, including the ID.4's electric drivetrain, which the battery-management mode reflects directly.
- 7
At the finish, the player's time is posted to a shared, arcade-style leaderboard, where they enter three letters as their initials.
- 8
The player receives a personalized, animated scorecard of their run to share on social media.
