In the domestic market, whenever luxury brands are mentioned, Audi is definitely an unforgivable topic. As the first luxury brand to come to China, Audi has written too many legends that belong to it. Today, although the competition is fierce, although Audi's sales have slowed down, it has not affected its position in the hearts of the Chinese people. The reason for this is that constantly innovating is the correct solution. On April 19, Audi once again attracted the attention of fans around the world, and its new concept car Audi urbansphere ushered in its world debut.
For the Audi urbansphere, Markus Duesmann, chairman of the board of management of Audi AG, which is responsible for the Chinese market, said: "In order to be closer to Chinese consumers, audi's design teams in Beijing and Ingolstadt have always worked closely together to create this Audi urbanite concept car. This is also the first time that Chinese consumers have participated in the Design Process of Audi Vehicles, fully expressing their views and suggestions in the design concept of "innovation and co-creation" with Audi, so that the Audi Urbansphere Concept Car can better meet the needs of users for high-end travel.
The largest size Audi has ever seen
At the first sight of the Audi Urbansphere concept, you'll be amazed at its oversized size. 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. With a length of 5.51 meters, a width of 2.01 meters and a height of 1.78 meters, it is undoubtedly the best in the high-end car category. The design of the Audi urbansphere concept car can be described as a fundamental break with convention and a unique vision.
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.
Dusman, Chairman of the Board of Management of Audi AG, said: "In order to make electric mobility more attractive, our design idea is to start from the whole, from the needs of users. "It is more important than ever that it is not just the product itself that plays a decisive role, but also the entire ecosystem. As a result, Audi is actively building a fully integrated digital ecosystem that serves the entire vehicle. The Audi urbansphere concept offers a wide range of options for all occupants, with a highly personalized in-car experience and unprecedented freedom: users can flexibly switch between busy work and quiet personal privacy. As a result, the Audi urbansphere concept car has transformed from a car in the strict sense of the word into a "mobile experience terminal", only to bring an unparalleled user experience.
With Audi's own services and the integration of digital services from suppliers, Audi offers its customers endless possibilities. Users have access to a variety of services related to their current itinerary, as well as handling everyday tasks outside of travel, such as ordering food in the car or shopping online. In addition, audi urbansphere concept cars with advanced autonomous driving capabilities can automatically pick up passengers at the user's place of residence and can independently find parking lots and charging facilities.
The car also offers personalized in-car infotainment services such as seamless integration of in-car music and video streaming. Audi will also offer its customers exclusive events including concerts, cultural events and sporting events, based on their personal preferences.
Change from the inside out, leading the way to design change
All along, whenever we talk about design, I believe that everyone will think of design first. Today, with the introduction of the Audi sphere series of concept cars, Audi has transformed the basis of vehicle design and technology into an interior space, that is, a space where passengers live and experience during the journey.
Audi shaped the interior space, vehicle architecture and functions according to the needs and expectations of passengers. As a result of this value shift, the design process itself has also changed. The first step in the design discussion is to always focus on the interior of the car, and then the overall structure, exterior lines, body proportions, etc. With the blessing of technology, the car will become a complete work of art. The Audi urbansphere concept car has a double door design in front of and behind the car, 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 3.40-meter extra-long wheelbase and 2.01-meter width give the Audi urbansphere concept a majestic momentum and luxurious stance. This, coupled with a body height of 1.78 meters and a wide glass surface, 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 feature multi-faceted adjustment options. In relaxation and entertainment mode, the backrest can be tilted up to 60 degrees 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.
When passengers want to share an in-car infotainment system, a large transparent OLED screen drops vertically from the roof to between the two rows of seats. Through a "cinema screen" that runs through the interior of the vehicle, the two passengers in the back row can participate in video conferences or watch movies together. The large screen can also be used in split screens. When there is no need to use the large screen, passengers can see directly and clearly ahead due to its transparent design. Passengers also have the option to fold the screen up to blend in with the glass roof.
Simplicity is paramount, which is the way to travel intelligently in the future
In the era of intelligence, everyone "stacks the screen" in the car to achieve a more technological visual effect. Whether this approach is correct or not is worth exploring, but Audi is leading a new way, which is to implement the supremacy of simplicity in display and control. The Audi urbansphere concept car follows the principles of minimalist design. Before the driving function is turned on, both the round instrument panel and the black screen of the virtual driving system will be hidden.
Instead, the contoured, serene comfort zone is made of top-of-the-line materials. Wood, wool and synthetic textile fabrics are used all around the interior, seat covers and carpets, which are extremely soft to the touch.
At line of sight level, the interior is dominated by soft beige and grey tones. The seat shell is dark green for better eye soothing. The interior of the car gradually becomes lighter from top to bottom, creating a well-proportioned, spacious interior along with the natural light that enters the car.
With a tap of your fingertip, you can wake up the car and activate the functions at the right time, perhaps the first of which will be the projection on the solid wood panels beneath the front windshield. Under different driving modes, such as traditional manual driving mode or L4 level autonomous driving mode, projection or transverse distribution throughout the interior space of the vehicle, or displayed separately in front of the driver or co-pilot, presenting all the information required for the journey in high resolution, which is amazing.
In addition, users can quickly switch between functions such as music or navigation by using the sensing area below the projection, which will display all the activated functions and applications of the vehicle. At the same time, the icon will flash with the different function menus.
Near the inside cut-out of the door, a unique and innovative control element is installed: MMI inductive control. When the user sits up straight, at a certain distance from the control area, he can manually select various function menus through the knobs or buttons on this control element, click the corresponding interface, and the operation is simple and intuitive.
In addition, thanks to the combined operation of eye tracking and gesture control, users can still use this convenient function when the seat is fully reclined backwards. Sensors will track eye movements and identify gaze and line of sight. Users only need to make simulated hand movements similar to touch operations, without leaning over or making any contact, and can easily operate the system.
Eye tracking, gesture control, voice recognition, physical touch and more are available for all modes of operation. Audi urbansphere concept cars can understand the preferences and common functions of different users according to their needs. Based on this, the vehicle is not only able to intelligently complete basic instructions, but also provides personalized recommendations directly to the user.
Combined with innovative digital technology, the Audi urbansphere concept car can also become a mobile personal health space, which is also a large part of Audi's co-creation with Chinese consumers. Occupant stress monitoring is one of the many features that is very important – through facial interpretation and speech analysis, the car can intelligently judge the passenger's feelings and provide personalized relaxation suggestions, such as using the "meditation" app through the private audio area on the separate screen and headrest, to soothe the body and mind and heal stress anytime, anywhere.
In addition, the control panel is integrated in the armrest of the door. In this way, the car can always provide passengers with a touch screen with visual information and show its position through an optical indicator. At the same time, vr glasses are equipped with VR glasses on the armrests of the left and right doors, which can be combined with infotainment systems including Holoride.
The lamp factory will certainly not disappoint you
Whenever we talk about Audi, everyone thinks of the title of "lamp factory". As Audi's latest concept car, it will certainly not disappoint you. First of all, in the front part of the car, the octagonal one-piece grille was innovatively adopted, showing the true color of Audi. 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 aluminum alloy and connected vertically by LED lights.
The light surface inside the integrated grille resembles a stage or a canvas (as it calls the "Audi Light Canvas"), with unique interactive features that provide a clear signal to other vehicles or pedestrians through dynamic lighting effects, improving driving safety. The rear of the car also has a matrix LED glossy surface with a similar function.
The light cluster above the left and right sides of the integrated grille looks slender and narrow, like a glowing "eye". Also known as the "Audi Eye," these digital lighting units echo the four-ring brand identity – they amplify lighting or separate the intersection of the two rings to act like "pupils", forming a new, digital light label.
The lighting area can be adjusted according to traffic conditions, environment and user feelings. For example, when used as a running light during the day, the light can be focused and dispersed, just like the "pupil" changes in size under adjustment.
If necessary, the digital strip can also be used as a dynamic turn signal, further highlighting the car's safety excellence due to its extremely high visibility and easy identification.
Advanced powertrain with charging technology to eliminate your anxiety
The Audi urbansphere concept car is based on a PPE platform that focuses on electric drive systems, taking full advantage of the platform's technical advantages. 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 120 kWh. Since Audi uses an integral body baseplate between the axles, the battery module can be arranged in a flat manner.
The Audi urbansphere concept has a total output of 295 kW and a torque of up to 690 Nm, while the Audi urbansphere concept is also equipped with an electric quadtro four-wheel drive system: the front and rear axles are equipped with a motor, which enables four-wheel drive by electronic control if necessary, maintaining the perfect balance between driving dynamics and energy economy.
An innovative design related to this is that the Audi urbansphere concept car can optionally deactivate the front axle motor as needed to reduce friction during coasting and effectively reduce energy consumption.
At the heart of the Audi urbansphere concept drive system is 800-volt charging technology. Thanks to this technology, in fast charging stations, the vehicle can reach a charging power of 270 kilowatts, charging the battery in the shortest possible time. In this way, the charging time is as fast as that of traditional fuel vehicles, only ten minutes of charging, which is enough to increase the cruising range of more than 300 kilometers. Charge the battery from 5% to 80% in just 25 minutes. This means that according to the Global Uniform Test Procedure for Light Vehicles (WLTP), the total cruising range is expected to reach 750 km. Even in energy-intensive urban areas and short-distance driving, it is often possible to avoid the hassle of half-way parking and charging.
In general, according to Audi's plan, in 2025, Audi will launch the last new internal combustion engine model for the global market, that is, a large SUV; starting in 2026, Audi's new models released for the global market will be fully converted to pure electric products; by 2033, Audi will gradually stop the production of internal combustion engine models for the global market. It can be seen that the Audi urbansphere concept car is Audi's answer to the future, and we will wait and see how much surprise it can give us after mass production.