The Audi activesphere concept – a new luxury coupé that turns into a pickup
Audi just revealed the Audi activesphere concept – the fourth in the series of Audi’s sphere concept cars previewing the future of mobility. The Audi activesphere concept follows the Audi skysphere roadster, the Audi grandsphere sedan and the Audi urbansphere concept.
This luxury-class sports car measures 4.98 meters long, has impressive ground clearance and large 22-inch wheels, hinting at its off-road capabilities. Its distinctive four-door crossover coupé design lends it an elegant look, offering impressive versatility. At the touch of a button the rear of the activesphere can turn into an open cargo bed – ideal for carrying e-bikes or water and winter sports gear.
The Audi activesphere was designed and built at Audi’s Design Studio in Malibu, located just a few steps from the Pacific Coast Highway serving as an inspiration for the design.
“The activesphere is unique. It is a new type of crossover that cleverly combines the elegance of an Audi Sportback, the practicality of a SUV and true offroad capabilities.” – Gael Buzyn, Studio manager Audi Design Studio
The starting point has been the interior, the occupants’ living and experience sphere whilst traveling. Their needs and desires shape the space, the architecture, and the functions. It’s built around a new interior design concept, ‘Audi Dimension’, where passengers can also connect to the world outside. A mixed-reality venture that uses headsets to overlay information on the passengers’ surroundings. The interior offers plenty of space and ist kept quite minimal and reduced. The clarity and tidiness directly caught our eye as this is our aesthetic claim. When the Audi activesphere concept is driving in autonomous mode, the dashboard, steering wheel, and pedals disappear into an invisible position.
The Audi activesphere has a range of over 600 km and an extremely fast charging times thanks to 800-volt technology. In less than 25 minutes, the 100 kWh battery charges from 5 to 80 percent. With the earlier ‘spheres’, the activesphere has in common: luxury, autonomy and flexibility.
“The sphere concept vehicles show our vision for the premium mobility of the future. We are experiencing a paradigm shift, especially in the interior of our future Audi models. The interior becomes a place where the passengers feel at home and can connect to the world outside at the same time. The most important technical innovation in the Audi activesphere is our adaptation of augmented reality for mobility. Audi dimensions creates the perfect synthesis between the surroundings and digital reality.” – Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Board of Management for Technical Development
We are highly impressed by the Audi activesphere concept – the fourth in the series of Audi’s sphere concept cars previewing the premium future of mobility.
Pictures: Audi