Since August last year, Audi has released two Audi Sphere series concept cars, and the Audi urbansphere concept car will be the final work of the Audi Sphere series concept car. The urbansphere concept car, jointly created by the Sino-German Design Center, will be a large car that breaks the definition of traditional vehicles, focuses on high-end travel in the future city, and becomes the largest concept model created by the Audi brand in the history of the interior space.
For the first time, the Audi urbansphere concept car invites Chinese users to co-design, which is more in line with the chinese consumers' views on the future of high-end travel, and the sense of luxury private space it creates makes the vehicle not only a mobile rest place, but also a third space that extends beyond personal life. The production version of the car may be launched in 2023. "The Audi urbansphere concept car fully demonstrates Audi's definition of China's future urban high-end mobility blueprint," said Dr. Wen Zeyue, President of Audi China, "Through this concept car, we can see that we are constantly committed to providing Chinese users with innovative product and technology roadmap, and it will also be the first strong evidence of Audi China's enterprising 2030 strategy." ”
The Audi urbansphere concept car fully demonstrates Audi's definition of China's future urban high-end mobility blueprint, Audi China President Dr. Wen Zeyue said, "Through this concept car, we can see that we are constantly committed to providing Chinese users with innovative product and technology roadmap, it will also be the first strong proof of Audi China's enterprising 2030 strategy." ”
The stunning interior of the Audi urbansphere concept car is the result of the "innovation and co-creation" of Audi and Chinese consumers. Its spacious interior is both a high-end mobile room and a mobile office, so it becomes the third living space for users on the way. Even during peak daily travel hours, the Audi Urbansphere Concept offers users a superior ride that combines high-tech cockpits with extreme privacy. Autonomous driving technology has also greatly promoted the transformation of vehicle interior design. Eliminating the traditional steering wheel, pedals and dashboard, the interior layout is more spacious and becomes a mobile interactive space.
The Audi Skysphere, Audi Grandsphere and Audi Urbansphere are three concept cars launched by the Audi brand, showing Audi's vision of enterprising new luxury. With the Audi sphere series of concept cars, Audi is working hard to create a new and unique travel experience, so that travel is no longer just from the beginning to the end, but far beyond the driving experience itself. Audi, the first model of the Audi Sphere concept car, which debuted in August 2021, represents a grand vision for the self-driving GT model, with variable wheelbase technology that can be freely switched to a sporty sports car that can be driven by the driver himself.
Just a few weeks after the audi skysphere concept was released, Audi unveiled the grandsphere concept car, the second model of the Audi sphere series concept car, at the 2021 Munich International Motor Show in Germany. This large-size four-seater luxury sedan also fully reflects Audi's determination to define the future of enterprising new luxury. These two concept cars have the same autonomous driving function as the Audi urbansphere and reach the level of L4 automatic driving.
The Audi urbansphere concept car is not only the largest size of the Audi sphere series of concept cars, but also the largest of all the Audi concept cars to date. Its length is 5.51m, width 2.01m, height 1.78m, there is no doubt that its positioning belongs to high-end cars. The design of the Audi urbansphere concept car can be described as a fundamental break with the norm. The whole car is designed from the inside to the outside, with the interior space as the core, and always revolves around the needs of users. The extra-long wheelbase of up to 3.40 meters has become one of its most prominent dimensional data. The Interior Design of audiurbansphere breaks with tradition, not placing as many seats, storage and functional elements as possible in a limited space, but prioritizing the user's need for spacious space and listing it as an important consideration for ride comfort.
In terms of appearance, the new car is firm and determined, which is shocking at first glance. The iconic design elements and shapes of Audi's heritage have also been completely interpreted on the car, including an integrated grille, digital light faces, a large curved roof, sill trim that hugs the position of the battery cell, and 24-inch double six-spoke wheels.
Although the heat dissipation mesh is no longer required in the front of the body, the Audi's signature one-piece grille design is still retained. The digital light panel is located behind a light-colored transparent panel that covers a large area of the front face. The upper and lower edges of the integrated grille are still made of aluminium alloy and connected vertically by LED lights.
The new car has a two-door design in front of and behind the door, and the B-pillar is eliminated. When passengers get on the bus, the entire interior space is open to passengers. At the same time, the seats rotate outwards, and a beam of light is lit up like a "red carpet", full of emotional ritual. The 3.40m extra-long wheelbase and 2.01m width give the Audi urbansphere concept a majestic momentum and luxurious stance. Coupled with a body height of 1.78m and a wide glass surface, it gives passengers an extremely spacious interior experience.
Two rows of four separate seats provide passengers with the luxury and comfort of first class. The rear seats are particularly spacious and come with a wide range of adjustment options. In relaxation and entertainment mode, the backrest can be tilted up to 60° and the leg rest can be extended simultaneously. The central armrests on the side of the seat and the door armrests create a high degree of security.
In addition, the seats can easily meet the diverse social needs of passengers in a variety of ways. When communicating with each other, passengers can rotate their seats and talk face-to-face. Passengers who want private space can effectively isolate themselves from other passengers next to them in the upper head area through the privacy screen behind the headrest. Each seat also has a separate sound zone with speakers on the headrest. Separate displays are also available on the backrests of the front seats.
The new car is built on a PPE platform that focuses on electric drive systems, making full use of the technical advantages of the platform. The core component of the PPE platform is the battery module between the axles, and in the Audi Grandsphere concept car, the capacity of the battery module is as high as 120kWh. Since Audi uses an integral body baseplate between the axles, the battery module can be arranged in a flat manner.
The new car's two motors have a total output of 295 kW and a torque of up to 690 N·m, while the new car is also equipped with an electric quattro four-wheel drive system, and the front and rear axles are equipped with a motor, which can achieve four-wheel drive through electronic control if necessary, maintaining the perfect balance between driving dynamics and energy economy.
At the heart of the new car's drive system is 800V charging technology. Thanks to this technology, in the fast charging station, the vehicle can reach a charging power of 270 kW, charging the battery in the shortest possible time. In this way, the charging time is as fast as that of traditional fuel vehicles, only 10 minutes of charging, which is enough to increase the cruising range of more than 300km. In just 25 minutes, the battery can be charged from 5% to 80%. The new car has a range of up to 750 km of WLTP.
The new front axle features a five-link suspension structure optimized for electric vehicles and a multi-link structure at the rear. The front and rear axles are made of lightweight aluminium alloy. Despite a wheelbase of up to 3.40 m, its rear axle with steering function ensures excellent handling. In addition, the new car features Audi's adaptive air suspension, an air suspension system with semi-active damping control. Thanks to this, the vehicle offers superior driving comfort on the highway, and the body does not shake significantly, even on bumpy and potholed urban roads.
It is understood that by 2024, Audi, Volkswagen China and the joint venture partners plan to jointly invest about 15 billion euros in the field of electric mobility in China. In addition to continuing to expand its lineup of electric models, Audi will also invest in innovative technologies such as autonomous driving and automotive electronics. In terms of replenishment, Audi will also provide a full range of charging services for China's electric vehicle customers, covering home and public charging scenarios.