Audi is ready to fight dirty in the battle for premium customers.
The luxury brand is preparing to go off-road with cars that push the brand into new territory.
Having shifted its motorsport focus from the glamour of Le Mans to the deserts of Dakar – at least until its new F1 campaign commences – Audi is flirting with the possibility of selling a genuine all-terrain vehicle to the public.
The brand released a concept car in January that shapes up as “a luxury coupe that turns into a pick-up”.
Riding on variable-height air suspension linked to 22-inch wheels with enormous all-terrain tyres, the Audi Activesphere concept car shows how the brand might venture further afield.
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The car has interesting design touches including glass elements in the bodywork that allow drivers to see their surroundings.
Able to transform from a coupe to a ute at the touch of a button, the Activesphere is pitched as the perfect car for folks who enjoy outdoor sports such as mountain biking or skiing.
On the inside, a simplified dashboard takes inspiration from Tesla with hidden air vents and speakers – current Audi models highlight the location of both.
Rather than fitting enormous touchscreens to the car, Audi equipped the one-off concept with augmented reality glasses that could change car interiors forever.
Some controls – such as airconditioning and navigational elements – are hidden from physical view and only displayed virtually as transparent digital elements only visible when wearing the special glasses.
As Audi says, “headset users can see control panels and other virtual displays in a tidy, minimalist design that remains hidden to the unaided eye”.
“Mixed reality optics gives users the ability to interact precisely with these real, yet invisible, touch-sensitive zones, as the headsets display and carry out functions by reacting in real time when users touch them.”
Audi says the concept car has 325kW and 720Nm of power, along with a 100kWh battery affording 600 kilometres of range.
It follows the Audi AI Trail concept of 2019 by promising a degree of self-driving ability away from paved roads.
The brand is betting that the acceleration and refinement offered by electric cars will make interior design the most important point of difference for prestige customers.
Design elements from the Audi concept car might make it to road-going models, though we shouldn’t expect HoloLens-style glasses to feature in the near future.
British outlet Autocar reports that Audi is preparing to offer a production car with ties to the Activesphere concept.
Both Audi and its parent company, Volkswagen, have been linked to plans for high-riding electric four-wheel-drives.
Such a car would give Audi a rival to the likes of Mercedes-Benz’s G-Class, a four-wheel-drive with enduring appeal that is set to transition into the electric age.
