Hello everyone, it’s me again. In this article, we will bring you the second heavyweight product released today: Audi urbansphere concept car.
A fun fact is that today, Mercedes-Benz and Audi’s two press conferences started at the same time. We were very worried that the two conferences would conflict with each other, but in the end, Mercedes-Benz finished its battle in just 8 minutes, while Audi’s car had not yet appeared…
This little accident is quite in line with the positioning of Audi’s car: if the mass-produced cars released by various companies are already the established norm, then Audi’s series of sphere concept cars depict and simulate our future travel modes in the context of the pure electric era.
Before this, Audi had already released the electric convertible sports car skysphere and the large four-seat luxury sedan grandsphere. The sizes of these two cars have gradually increased, and their ability to support automatic driving has become increasingly high.
The urbansphere released today seems to be a higher chapter of this series of trendy experiments, thoroughly surpassing the limitations of traditional impressions of electric car usage scenarios, whether it is the size of the body or the usage form, please open up your horizons.
It’s big, really big. In fact, the Audi urbansphere concept car is not only the largest in size among Audi’s sphere series of concept cars, but also the largest among all Audi concept cars to date. It is 5.51 meters long, 2.01 meters wide, and 1.78 meters high, and the 3.40 meter long wheelbase is also a prelude to various future experiences.
This makes us understand the value of the word “sphere” that runs through the concept cars. The core of the definition concept of these three consecutive cars is the interior space, which also gives meaning to the design architecture transformation brought about by electric car technology.
To be objective, the appearance of the whole car does not deviate too much from people’s traditional impression of Audi. Although the design of various lighting groups on the front face may leave a certain psychological shadow on friends who have a fear of density, the light and iconic design elements on the front face can still give us a familiar feeling at a glance. Audi, a brand that is good at playing with concepts, has hidden many historical Easter eggs. For example, the design of the 24-inch double six-spoke wheels is inspired by the Audi Avus concept car from the 1990s.
By the way, the super-large CNC lighting units on the front and back are not just for lighting. The light surface inside the integrated grille is also called the “Audi Light Canvas”, which can dynamically emit patterns with the external environment. The lighting groups on the left and right sides of the grille above are called the “Audi Eyes”, which can focus and disperse, just like the overall changes of pupils under light.
Although MPVs have become the strong trend of new pure electric products in 2022, Audi has clearly created a brand new category of passenger space outside MPVs. The ultra-long wheelbase and ultra-short front and rear overhangs of urbansphere make the curve and shape of the whole vehicle more full, breaking the conventional proportions and the handling of points and lines, making this car have a strong personality and vision.
Audi’s board chairman, Markus Duesmann, said: “In order to make electric travel more attractive, our design concept starts from the overall and from the needs of users,” which may be the fundamental reason why the interior and exterior of the whole car have such distinctive characteristics.
The basic setting of urbansphere is that it is a Level 4 autonomous driving car, which completely eliminates the traditional steering wheel, pedals, and instrument panel of the whole car, making various traditional assumptions about “cars” meaningless. Many companies have claimed that their cars are “mobile experience terminals” before, and urbansphere truly achieves this, just a little bit larger.
At this launch event, Audi not only unveiled a concept car, but more importantly, a series of conceptual scenarios.
There are many things you can do with this car.
The two rows of four seats have become the most important experiential aspect of the car. Not only do the seats rotate towards the passengers when they board, but they can also adapt to various postures according to the rest or communication needs of the passengers during the journey. However, communication does not mean losing personal space. Each seat has independent headrests, and privacy screens behind the headrests allow individuals to isolate themselves from others.
Since the concept involves technology, why not showcase more possibilities? In the car, urbansphere envisions a transparent OLED screen. During the normal time, it integrates with the overhead glass. When needed, it can flexibly expand and become the most eye-catching cinema display in the car.
Do you know what an ash decor panel is? If you don’t know, that’s right! This indicates that urbansphere is using more new sustainable materials, such as ECONYL and bamboo pulp fiber fabrics.
Combined with interior styles created by the integration of wood, wool, synthetic textiles, and other materials in beige, gray, and dark green shades, the car feels very close to nature. With the upper part of the car body, which has an extremely high light transmittance, it gives people a sense of being in a cozy home. There is even a central console inside the car, which has dedicated glass cups and drinking equipment.
In a word: it is really tailored to the tastes of young people who drink wolfberry now.
Your interaction with everything inside the car can also be more natural. Sensors will track eye movement, identify gaze and sightlines. Without actual physical contact, as long as the corresponding intention is made, the operating system can be easily manipulated.
Although it may seem technically innovative, the basic platform of urbansphere is the solid PPE platform that has already come to us. The vehicle uses a 120kWh battery module with a total output power of 295kW and a torque of up to 690N·m from the dual motors, realizing an electric quattro all-wheel-drive system that can adapt to common road conditions. When traveling long distances, the front motor will be deactivated, while the 800V charging and 270kW maximum charging power mean that the vehicle can quickly hit the road again after completing the 750km of WLTP standard range.
In order to balance the long wheelbase, the vehicle is also equipped with a rear-wheel steering system. The corresponding suspension system is equally outstanding with its full aluminum alloy material, front five-link, rear multi-link, and adaptive air suspension.
I suddenly feel that this vehicle may make the Alphard obsolete in the future.
This vehicle has a profound connection with China and may become the best answer to whether it values the Chinese market.
The Audi China design team in Beijing played a vital role in the design of this model. Stephan Fahr-Becker, Head of Audi China Design, stated that many ideas from Chinese consumers were incorporated into the design of this vehicle. Wu Yunzhou, Head of Audi China Interior Design, said, “Traditional Chinese courtyard architecture gave us inspiration. It has had a significant impact on our spatial shaping, styling, and color and material selection. You can see modern interpretations of Chinese aesthetics in this vehicle.”
Considering the important position of the Chinese market and the technical weight of the Chinese market, including more Chinese elements in this vehicle has unique significance.
“For Audi, it is more appropriate for the design of the ‘sphere trilogy’ ultimate concept car to originate in China,” said Audi.
However, this is not the end. At the launch event, Audi stated that there may be new ideas for this model concept in the future.
That will be the story for next time.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.