New York, May 12, 2007 – You’d think a party at an auto dealership would be kind of cheesy, but there are no colored pennants flapping at Audi’s elegant showroom on Park Avenue in Manhattan. In fact, there were only two cars in the cavernous space on Saturday evening, where champagne-sipping guests ogled the new Audi R8 model, and got a first look at Karl Lagerfeld’s photo series, Kaleidoscopic Vision of a Car, which features the sleek sports car.

Brazilian Victoria’s Secret model Anna Beatriz Barros had already left the party when Mr. Lagerfeld arrived, fashionably late, with muse Amanda Harlech and bodyguard/sometime runway model Sebastien Jondeau in tow. Lagerfeld posed for photos with the gleaming R8, and he was the center of gravity, the mass of people following along as he took in the photos, and stopping when he paused.

Lagerfeld was not asked to speak to the crowd, but he was friendly, mingling and chatting with partygoers, and even graciously greeted regular folks who just wanted to shake the fashion designer’s half-gloved hand or snap a cell phone picture.

We asked Mr. Lagerfeld if he loves driving in Germany, noted for fine cars and high-speed autobahns. “I don’t drive”, he said, and we assumed the conversation was over. But he didn’t miss a beat: “But you know, I do all the advertising for Dom Perignon, and I don’t drink. I design dresses and I don’t wear them.”

Despite not actually driving, Mr. Lagerfeld owns a number of cars, and we asked him if he has a favorite. “You know, I love Hummers because I like huge cars. I have three of them, in the same color. And then, I like Lamborghini also, since you ask me”, he said. “But I think Audis are great”, Karl added, giving us a car salesman’s pitch. “And the good thing about Audi is that they’re the safest cars in the world. So if you care about your life, you’ll buy an Audi.”